Government actions to resolve probate backlog welcomed by legacy bodies
Melanie May | 12 November 2020 | News
Charity legacy bodies have welcomed news of HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) plans to resolve the delay and backlog of Wills passing through probate.
During the pandemic, pressure on the probate system has increased through rising death rates, an increase in incomplete grant applications and challenges to the usual working practices, leading to a bottleneck in terms of legacy notifications and funds.
With 29,000 estates currently held in the system, HMCTS has been working collaboratively with the Institute of Legacy Management (ILM) and Remember A Charity to monitor and address the situation and its impact on the charity sector.
It has now laid out its plans in a statement. In it, HMCTS announces that several measures have been put in place to address the backlog and minimise future delays. This includes taking on and training more staff, reducing the waiting time on digital applications and trialling a new digital notifications solution with Smee & Ford. Regular progress data on applications and grants will be published on a monthly basis via the HMCTS website.
The plans have been welcomed by ILM and Remember A Charity.
Matthew Lagden, CEO, Institute of Legacy Management, commented:
“It has been a priority for ILM and Remember A Charity to work closely with HMCTS to keep our members informed, looking at the ways in which we can track and help to resolve delays, particularly during such a challenging year. We are delighted to see that HMCTS has expanded its probate team to help increase capacity, and that Smee & Ford’s digital service is speeding up the current process of notifications. These steps give us confidence that HMCTS has the capacity in place to deal with the backlog and the expected rise in applications through the winter.”
Rob Cope, Director of Remember A Charity, added:
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“Charitable income has been heavily hampered by the pandemic this year, making legacies all the more important in enabling charities to keep their frontline services going. HMCTS recognises how much the sector relies on gifts in Wills and we are hugely grateful for their continued commitment to work with us to resolve the backlog. This commitment not only helps charities to forecast future income, but to plan their vital services going forward.”
ILM and Remember A Charity will continue to work closely with HMCTS and other partners to keep members and the charity sector informed of further progress.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.