Update 25 April 2017: The below post is outdated because due to Theresa May’s snap election called for 8th June 2017, the British government has dropped the plans to raise probate fees (at least for now). More on the matter here.
Please note that the UK Probate fees will change from May 2017. For estates with a value of up to £50,000 (pre IHT) the fees will be nil. This is an improvement, because the current threshold for fee exempt estates was £5,000. For all other estates, the probate fees will now be significantly higher. The current flat fee up to now was £215. The future probate fees for estates in the United Kingdom are:
| Value of estate (before inheritance tax) | Probate Fee |
| Up to £50,000 or exempt from requiring a grant of probate | £0 |
| Exceeds £50,000 but does not exceed £300,000 | £300 |
| Exceeds £300,000 but does not exceed £500,000 | £1,000 |
| Exceeds £500,000 but does not exceed £1m | £4,000 |
| Exceeds £1m but does not exceed £1.6m | £8,000 |
| Exceeds £1.6m but does not exceed £2m | £12,000 |
| Above £2m | £20,000 |
More details on the increased UK Probate Fees are available here.
For more information on cross border probate matters, international will preparation and German inheritance tax matters see the below posts by the international succession law and tax law experts of German law firm Graf & Partners LLP:
- Brochure on German Probate and German Inheritance Tax (in English)
- Most Germans die without a Will (German Intestacy Rules)
- Formal Requirements to set up a valid Will in England, Scotland and Germany: What are the Differences?
- The Perils of German IHT and Gift Tax
- How to access German assets without going through Probate
- Careful with Deed of Variation if Estate comprises Foreign Assets
- Basics of German Inheritance and Succession Law
- Executors and Trustees in German Inheritance Law
- How to apply for a German Grant of Probate
- The Infamous German Community of Heirs – And how to avoid it
- Germans Heirs are Personally Liable for Debts of the Deceased
- International Wills and Estate Planning for British-German Families
- Prove German Wills for English Probate
- Disputed Wills and Contentious Probate in Germany
- Disinherit your no-good children? Not so easy in Germany
- Don’t be afraid of Clients with Foreign Assets!
- Can foreign Taxes be set off against UK Inheritance Tax?
Or simply click on the “German Probate” section in the right column of this blog.
The Anglo-German law firm Graf & Partners and its German-English litigation department GP Chambers was established in 2003 and has many years of experience with British-German and US-German probate and tax matters, including the representation of clients in contentious probate matters. We are experts ininternational succession matters, probate and inheritance law. If you wish us to advise or represent you in a German or cross border inheritance case please contact German solicitor Bernhard Schmeilzl, LL.M. (Leicester) at +49 941 463 7070.