Yahoo Finance Probate service refuses to speak to families until they have waited four months, lawyers warn
Civil servants have been accused of refusing to speak to bereaved families about time-crucial probate applications for four months, as courts grapple with a backlog of cases.
Probate registries are telling families “not to call them” until 16 weeks have passed after they apply for a grant, according to legal firms.
Telegraph reader Alison Morison from East Sussex said, 14 months after the death of her son in January 2022, she was granted probate in February. However, in a letter to this newspaper, she said a spelling mistake by the registry meant that the documents had to be sent back for amendment.
“Unsurprisingly, these papers have still not been returned,” she said. “But our solicitors have been told that they are not allowed to call the registry anymore, since the system has been centralised.”
A number of reputable law firms have also reported being told their inquiries cannot be dealt with until four months have passed.
A grant of probate is the legal document required so bereaved families can wind down their late loved one’s estate. Families have faced long waits after changes to the probate registry in 2019. The Ministry of Justice tells executors to expect a four month wait before they can get a grant of probate – even longer than the 12-week delays seen during the pandemic.
In 2019, the Government began closing down regional probate registries and centralising the services while also moving the application system online. These changes are believed to have caused the huge delays, which have been made worse by the rise in deaths after the pandemic.
Family Courts data shows that one in five applications for probate are currently taking six months or longer to be processed.
Delays have caused property deals to fall through and left families facing extra inheritance tax charges due to not being able to pay bills on time.
Russell Kaminski of law firm JMW confirmed civil servants were not accepting calls.
“I don’t think probate registries appreciate the impact delays have on families, particularly with regards to property sales,” he said. “Among my clients, we’ve had a number of buyers threatening to pull out because the grant is taking so long. And with the property market going down, the families are worried they will have to cut asking prices.”
Andrew Kidd of the law firm Clintons also said calls were going unanswered. He said as well as disrupting property sales, the delays were causing families distress.
Simon Hancox of the estate administration firm Kings Court Trust added his firm too was told not to attempt calling the registry. He said his team had over 100 applications that had now been with probate registries for over 16 weeks. “We never used to have to chase them because the grant would get submitted so quickly,” he said.
A spokesman for HM Courts and Tribunals Service spokesperson said:
“Applications are processed in the order they are received and applicants can call for advice and assistance at any point in the process.”
The Ministry of Justice was approached for comment.
