‘Death tax’ hike delayed

GRIEVING families will have more time to apply for cheaper probate after ‘death tax’ hikes were put on hold.

The Ministry of Justice had planned to raise probate fees by up to £6,000 from Monday, affecting 300,000 families.

However, due to Brexit, Parliament is too busy to pass the order. Relatives currently pay £215 for probate to secure legal control over a deceased person’s estate.

The fee is set to rise in line with the value of the estate, so those worth more than £2 million would see a 2,700 per cent jump.

Tax expert Gordon Andrews said: ‘The delay might be one of the only positive things to have sprung from the uncertainty caused by Brexit.’

The MoJ was last night unable to say when the order might go before Parliament.

It is the second time plans to hike probate have been deferred. The MoJ initially tried to increase the fees to up to £20,000, but the plans were derailed by the 2017 general election.