# House of Lords approves changes to probate fees

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/12/20/house-lords-approve-changes-probate-fees/
- Published: 2018-12-20T08:00:17+00:00
- Author: Melanie May

**The House of Lords has agreed the changes to probate fees, which, it has been 
estimated, could cost the charity sector £10 million in reduced income.**

The Peers discussed the draft regulation on 18 December. The draft Non-Contentious
Probate (Fee) Order introduces a new regime of fees for applications for a grant
of probate, with a banded structure based on the value of the estate. Fees would
be revised to rise to up to 0.5% of the value of the estate, with the estate value
threshold rising from £5,000 to £50,000. This would give a sliding scale of fees
rising from £250 to £6,000 on all estates worth £50,000 or more.

There was some resistance however with some Peers comparing the proposed changes
to a tax. Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames proposed that the House decline the changes,
saying they would be “an abuse of the fee-levying power, since the proposed increased
fees substantially exceed the cost involved in making grants of probate and would
amount to a tax, which should only be introduced, if at all, by primary legislation.”

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However, 187 voted against declining the changes, versus 90 for.

Lord Beecham also referred to the Order as one that “arguably amounts to a stealth
tax”, proposing a motion to regret against the Order, on the grounds that the proposed
fee structure was too far above the cost of the service.

His motion was agreed however, with 186 members in favour, and 161 against. The 
motion however does not stop the Order, but gives the House the opportunity to put
on record its regret that the increase in fees is far greater than the actual cost
of the service.

The regulations were presented as a Statutory Instrument (SI), meaning it must be
debated in both Houses before it can be made law. It will now go before the House
of Commons and could become law in April next year.

[In November](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/11/07/proposed-changes-probate-fees-cost-charities-millions/),
the [Institute of Legacy Management](https://legacymanagement.org.uk/) also compared
the changes to a stealth tax, saying that while it welcomed the drive to improve
the operation of the Court Service and the need to balance the interests of taxpayers
and Court Service users, the fees would have a significant impact on income for 
charities, and could reduce it by £10 million.

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