From 2 November, probate solicitors in England and Wales will be made to submit the majority of probate applications online as part of legislative changes that are designed to provide a more efficient and reliable probate service, while also leading to estimated costs savings of £20 million over the next ten years.

As it stands, only one-third of probate applications are made online but the Ministry of Justice claims that once the government’s reforms are implemented this should grow to around three-quarters. Only those cases that are considered more complex – for example, because they involve intestacy, multiple claimants or a high-value and international estate — will be allowed to be submitted on paper forms. According to HMCTS figures, it receives around 280,000 probate applications a year, so the changes will affect hundreds of thousands of people and their probate claims.

The Ministry of Justice says that it believes the new web-based system will “reduce the stress on grieving families” and comes in the wake of a consultation that ended on 10 September.

Probate solicitors’ support for change

Many probate solicitors across the country have expressed their support for the changes; however, this support is not without its qualifications. For example, there is concern that the online probate system could lead to some level of disconnection between interested parties while the Law Society president Simon Davis has said that a number of probate solicitors who have used the system during trials experienced “teething problems”.

Davis also said that he believes it is essential these problems are overcome before 2 November and called for urgent clarification of the options that will be available to probate solicitors in the event the system suffers technological difficulties during the period of its introduction and, indeed, in the event of any significant outages.

HM Courts and Tribunals Services (HMCTS) certainly seems to have confidence in the system and has been busy trying to persuade probate solicitors and their law firms to register with the “MyHMCTS” probate application system.

HMCTS has also released a case study called “Probate online: Collaborating to tackle issues”, which is designed to show both the efficiency of the system and the benefits of the “collaborative approach” that was taken by HMCTS and probate professionals during the early trials of the project. This process began as early as April 2016, so it can only be hoped that the more than four years HMCTS has spent developing the system will ensure a smooth transition come 2 November.

In fact, probate solicitors have been able to use the system for some time, but in 2019 HMCTS found that many were shunning online applications. Since this time there has been further research and development, and by making the new system mandatory the MOJ is demonstrating clear confidence that significant improvements have been made. Watch this space.