My uncle died 11 months ago, and my mother also died, leaving my brother and myself to settle his estate. Ten months after applying for letters of administration, we are still waiting for probate to be granted. His house has to be sold to pay off an equity loan within 12 months of his death. We are losing £1,000 a month in interest on the loan with no sign of a solution.
DK, Bromley
You are among many grieving relatives caught in a ruinous legal limbo because of probate delays. Last year, in a bid to streamline the system, the process was moved online and local courts were closed. Coupled with Covid and staff shortages, the result, for many, has been waiting times of several months. At the same time, the government is proposing to raise probate fees by up to 137% next year, a move the Law Society insists must be accompanied by service improvements.
“In 2020, people had to wait 12 to 14 weeks on average to receive their grant. This is unacceptable,” says Law Society president, I Stephanie Boyce. “Our members have also told us that since the online probate service was made available to all professional users in October 2019, they have experienced issues with the online system, communication issues with HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), errors on issued grants, and property transactions have been impacted due to delays in grant of probate.”
It’s frustrating that HMCTS managed to grant probate within two days of my contact. It told me that your mother’s death had complicated the application and led to clerical errors. “We apologise sincerely for delays that must have made a challenging period even more difficult,” it says.
It told the Observer that improvements to the online service and staff recruitment had reduced average waiting times to just over two weeks. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman can address unresolved complaints about probate services, but applicants have to be referred by their MP once they’ve exhausted HMCTS’s procedure.
Email your.problems@observer.co.uk. Include an address and phone number. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions
