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<p>The proposed changes to probate fees do not require primary legislation, as the
power to introduce these changes is provided under section 92 of the Courts Act 2003
and section 180 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. These powers
expressly enable the Lord Chancellor to charge fees for anything dealt with by the
courts, including the Probate Service, and at a level that exceeds the cost of that
for which the fee is charged.</p><p> </p><p>These powers are exercisable by the Lord
Chancellor by way of secondary legislation in the form of a statutory instrument,
subject to the affirmative procedure. Any income raised must be spent on funding an
efficient and effective courts and tribunal service.</p><p> </p><p>Our plans to raise
the threshold from £5,000 to £50,000 will lift around 25,000 additional estates annually
out of paying fees altogether and more than half of estates in England and Wales will
pay no probate fee at all. Of those who do pay, around 60% will pay £250 – close to
the current fee level – and around 80% of estates will pay £750 or less. No one will
pay more than 0.5% of the total estate value and all fees are recoverable from the
estate.</p><p> </p><p>Any income raised must be spent on funding an efficient and
effective courts and tribunal service. This allows the Government to subsidise other
parts of the system that do not recover their costs in fees, including domestic violence
proceedings in the family court and tribunal cases before the First-tier Tribunal
concerning mental health.</p><p> </p>
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