Probate Fees to Increase

The government did not proceed last year with plans to increase probate fees to a maximum of £20,000. However, following consultation, they are to go ahead with replacing the flat fee of £155 with a sliding scale of fees ranging from £250 up to a maximum of £6,000. At present, a one-off fee of £155 […]

Lifetime ISA (LISA) – Is it worth a second look?

Although LISAs have been available through a few providers for over a year, they have not had the anticipated impact and take-up remains low. Is this the time to reconsider LISAs suitability? LISAs are intended to assist with one of two things, buying your first home or retirement provision. • You can save up to […]

Twenty Somethings – Less likely to save or own a home

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently reported that twenty somethings are now less likely to own a home than had previously been the case, and that fewer have accumulated any savings of note. These findings have been highlighted by several media organisations over the last month, including the BBC, and show that the proportion […]

Young People’s Savings – Child Trust Funds

Children born between 2nd September 2002 and 2nd January 2011 benefited from the Child Trust Fund (CTF) introduced by the Labour government as an attempt to encourage children to save. Between these dates, new born children were given a £250 voucher each to be held in a CTF with an additional £250 credited at age […]

Peer to Peer Lending

Despite the recent increase in the Bank of England’s base rate, interest rates available through mainstream banks and building societies, including cash ISAs, remain very low. With many years of low interest rates behind us and no expectations of significant increases in ahead of us, it is no surprise that many UK savers have been […]

Banks should treat fraud victims (more) fairly.

It seems that ‘scams’ of all sorts are constantly in the news and that they grow in complexity and sophistication all the time.  With one of the more sophisticated scams, ‘authorised push payments’, victims have been blamed for their own loss by the banks.  This isn’t a minor issue; victims lost a total of around […]

HMRC Interest Rates

HMRC has come under widespread criticism for what is seen as an unfair differential in the interest rate it pays to those who over-pay their tax and the rate it charges those who owe tax. The recent increase in the Bank of England’s base rate has led to an increase in the penalty rate of […]

Investing for Good

In recent years, there has been significant growth in investors seeking more than just a financial return from their investment; many also want to see a positive social impact arising from it.  This goes beyond ‘green’, ‘ethical’ or ‘socially responsible’ investments. It involves a deeper connection with the uses to which money is being put. […]

National Savings Interest Rates

Today the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee have met and have unanimously voted to increase interest rates from 0.5% to 0.75%.  The minutes of their meeting also show that, “all members agreed that any future increases in [the] bank rate were likely to be at a gradual pace and to a limited extent.” Obviously, […]

Pension (and other) Scams

The City of London Police Economic Crime Directorate is recognised as the national policing lead for fraud and is dedicated to preventing and investigating fraud at all levels. According to their figures, some £51 million worth of investments was lost to fraudsters in the second quarter (April to June) of 2018.  A large proportion (but […]

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Probate Fees to Increase

The government did not proceed last year with plans to increase probate fees to a maximum of £20,000. However, following consultation, they are to go ahead with replacing the flat fee of £155 with a sliding scale of fees ranging from £250 up to a maximum of £6,000. At present,

a one-off fee of £155 is paid if using a solicitor to apply to the court for a grant of representation. The fee if applying in person is £215.

In future, for estates of up to £50,000 there will be no fees, thereafter estates of £50,000 to £300,000 will incur a fee of £250, rising to £2,500 for estates of £500,000 to £1m and a maximum of £6,000 for estates over £2m.

Secondary legislation is anticipated to be introduced later this month. Once enacted it is thought that 25,000 estates per annum will pay nothing and only 1 in 5 estates will pay more than £750.

However, STEP (The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) has indicated that 85% of estates would have been liable for higher fees based on 2014-15 figures.