A new process for applying for grants of probate was introduced, without warning, on 23 March and has caused great concerns for clients and practitioners.
It's running with a transitional period until Monday 18 May, the original four week period having been extended to eight weeks, the 'transition' involving the fading out of the old process for doing statements of truth.
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) had not, it seems, taken into account how the coronavirus pandemic has totally transformed the ways of doing and getting legal documents signed. We thought it would be right to outline some of the key changes, for those who might be executors of estates or might be acting for them. If you know anyone who is confused by what’s happening, they are not alone.
The Probate process changes seem designed to achieve two main aims, to streamline the data process, and make it easier for HMCTS to centralise their probate services, and to encourage professionals to switch to using the online application process. This would make more sense if the online service was more fully developed. Instead, in practice, it can be difficult to use, not just normal teething problems, but many circumstantial restrictions on when an online application can be made. If you're trying to use it, don't be surprised if a fairly normal situation cannot go through and you need to switch to a paper application.
A great confusion then arises with the same form numbers, PA1P & PA1A, being used for lay applicants and professionals.
- PA1P (possibly now being renamed “PA1B”) is the application for a grant of representation where a person left a will. (Grants of probate and grants of letters of administration with the will annexed).
- PA1A is for Probate applications where the deceased "did not leave a Will", for a Grant of Letters of Administration.
If you search either of these numbers, the link to a gov.uk page gives first the online process, then a personal application and thirdly an application by a professional person. It’s difficult when the second and third forms are labelled with the same numbers, so one needs to tread with care. We understand that the forms are to be amalgamated before the end of the eight week transitional period, on 18 May, so that one form is used by lay and professional applicants alike.
There are a few more points, worth noting, that now seem clear.
- Where to send applications: a major change is where Probate applications are now processed. It appears that lay applicants now send to an office in Harlow, whereas the PA4SOT form (which says where to send) shows 3 places for practitioners to send their postal applications, to Cardiff, Oxford and Newcastle. HMCTS were moving to one central processing office in Birmingham, so we assume that is now used for the online applications.
- The forms refer to a first applicant who will be sent all the correspondence and the grant. So if you are applying personally then it’s crucial to put the right details first. It’s not all clear, but there is provision for a legal representative, if you choose the right form. There can be an easy confusion as there are two forms with the same number.
- There are serious questions to be asked about the form, and why some information is needed, and we are contributing to the professional bodies making representations to HMCTS. For example, the form for a grant of probate, where there is a will, asks about relatives of the deceased (children and their children if they have pre-deceased), which sounds like an enquiry to make where there is no Will and thus an intestacy arises. It isn’t information that the executor would necessarily have or need, or clear the purpose for which it is required?
- There are also duplications, creating unnecessary extra work and cost.
HMRC responded to the crisis with changes to Inheritance Tax payments and signing of IHT accounts.
Brought in on 9 April, this is a positive step to help during the COVID-19 crisis. HMRC has made two temporary changes of process:
- Payment of IHT can no longer be made by cheque, so must now be made by one of the specified electronic means, and likewise repayments will be done in the same manner
- Signing IHT Accounts - IHT 400 and IHT 100: HMRC recognise the difficulty of getting forms signed and where a professional agent is acting in an estate or trust, there's a new procedure to save the need for actual signing of forms.
If you have any queries on the probate process, or you or a client need any help making an application, please do let us know. We can help you make sense of the changes, to allow you to focus on what’s important to you.
Published: April 2020
A monthly briefing from Irwin Mitchell
April 2020
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