Plans for a 'death tax' that would have hit grieving families with bills of up to £6,000 have been replaced with proposals for a flat fee.
Probate charges for individual executors will increase from current fees of £215 to £273, a 27 per cent jump. Professional users of the probate system, such as solicitors, will see fees rise 76 per cent from £155 to the new flat rate.
It comes after the Government dropped controversial plans that would have seen 280,000 families a year pay on a 'sliding scale' tied to the value of the deceased's estate. If instigated, 56,000 families would be left facing bills of £2,500 to £6,000 to secure probate - the term given to the legal right to a dead person's property, money and possessions. Estates valued at less than £5,000 or less will continue to be exempt from the new fee, due to be introduced early next year.
