Article by Phil
Probate Registry Offices have reported a backlog of over 40,000 cases awaiting Grant of Probate creating local probate service delays.
This is because there has been a 3% increase in the number of requests.
The local probate service average time for Grant of Probate has now increased to 15 weeks, up from 9 week the year before.
This has a knock-on effect for families as assets like houses can’t be sold until Probate is granted. Unfairly, interest continues to accrue on Inheritance Tax liabilities regardless of the delays.
These backlogs are despite the fact that almost 60% of people don’t have a Will that’s over 30 million people. Including third of over 55’s don’t have a Will in place. The main reasons for not having a Will include:
- Not having enough assets to need a Will
- Thinking they have plenty of time to make a Will later.
- Not understanding why a Will would be needed, and
- Assuming family will inherit everything anyway.
The amount of Inheritance Tax paid by estates on gifts made in the seven years before death has now risen to almost £200,000 and affects over 1,300 estates. This is a 150% increase over the last 10 years.
The pre-paid probate services market is also under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority who are concerned that pre-paid plans are being mis sold when they are not needed or appropriate. The numbers have grown rapidly over the last 5 years as the value of estates has also increased.
Perhaps it has something to do with people working for longer and earning more well into their retirement.
It’s always better to use a local probate service than a pre-paid service. These can be provided by Independent Financial Advisers or solicitors of course.
There are now over 1 million self-employed businesspeople who are over 50 years old. With 15% of these having started their business less than three years ago. That’s despite a drop in the number of self employed by 150,000.
The number of over 65’s working has also grown by over 20% to half a million.
Canada Life’s latest research suggests than over half of over 55’s who aren’t already retired expect to work until they are 72.
Does this mean that younger people will also be working longer? Perhaps not according to research from St James Place. They found that:
- 60% of under 35’s had a financial plan in place, compared to only 27% of over 55’s.
- Overall they found that 40% of people had a plan in place.
- 75% had looked at their bills in the last 6 months and 70% had made savings by switching
All of which might mean that the younger generation may be better prepared for retirement. However, they will have to have robust plans in place. The World Economic Foundation has now estimated that retirement ages will need to increase by at least 8.5 years by 2050 if the balance between workers and retirees is maintained. That would mean UK workers not retiring until they were 75 years old.
A sobering thought.
