Civil service delays are causing huge disruption and emotional anguish to bereaved families trying to unlock estates.

After someone dies, a grant of probate is a vital step to gaining control over the deceased’s estate. Without it, families can be left unable to sell their loved one’s home, access their bank account to pay beneficiaries their inheritance or settle any outstanding debts.

HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) has been working with huge backlogs in processing probate applications since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. While delays are improving, executors can still expect a 10-week wait before they are issued their grant of probate.

According to the latest data from HMCTS, for the 22,072 grants of probate issued in February 2023, the average timeline from submission to grant was 10.6 weeks – a slight reduction from the 11 weeks recorded in January.

Private client partner Fiona Dodd said: “These lengthy delays are, rightly, causing huge frustration and anxiety for bereaved families who are having to pay the price as a result of faults within the system.

“They are being left in limbo as it is basically a waiting game – there is no shortcut or way to avoid the delays when applying for grant of probate. Despite these types of applications being daily bread and butter for probate practitioners, legal teams up and down the country are experiencing the same problem.

“Pre-Covid, if probate had not been granted, we would follow up with HMCTS after just 10 days. However, now, there is a 16-week purdah in place where we are unable to chase the registry to find out what is happening with an application.

“The onus is on the government to come up with a way to get through the backlog and speed up the current process. In the meantime, we recommend seeking legal assistance with the estate administration to ensure the application is carefully prepared, and completed and submitted correctly.

“Longer term, if clients are wanting to avoid problems in the future, we recommend they seek legal advice, have joint accounts, and make sure their pensions and insurance nominations are up to date.”

On Saturday 1st April 2023, we further strengthened our position as the leading law firm in Sussex when we merged with long-established firm, Lawson Lewis Blakers.

There are such great synergies between our two firms that a merger made perfect sense.

Lawson Lewis Blakers has always been known as a modern progressive law firm that can trace its roots in Sussex back almost 200 years.

Lawson Lewis & Co was established in Eastbourne in 1875 and grew organically and by merger, establishing an office in Peacehaven in 2000, and absorbing Lewes firm Blaker Son & Young (established approximately 1830) in 2012 to become Lawson Lewis Blakers.

The merger has seen Lawson Lewis Blakers now become part of the Mayo Wynne Baxter brand, taking the Mayo Wynne Baxter team to more than 220 people. Their Peacehaven office is now our eighth office in the Sussex area, and staff from their Lewes and Eastbourne offices have moved into our existing buildings in those towns.

Jeremy Sogno, director at Lawson Lewis Blakers, said when we announced the merger: “We were looking for a larger organisation that shared our values and could offer greater growth opportunities for our talented and ambitious team, as well as providing additional services and expertise to our valued clients; Mayo Wynne Baxter more than fits these criteria, and we are excited about joining forces and continuing our legacy within the local area.”

There were no redundancies as a result of the merger and Lawson Lewis Blakers’ clients can expect the same high levels of exceptional service from our friendly team. As part of MWB, clients will have access to a greater range of services and specialists in more areas of law.

They will also be offered our Satisfaction Guarantee whereby if they are not completely satisfied with the service received, they can deduct up to a maximum of 20% off their fee. No quibble.

Clients who had documents held for them by LLB can rest assured that they remain safe with us. Should you wish to retrieve your Will or Deeds then please click here.