Reduced Probate Waiting Times Welcomed by the Estate Registry

The Estate Registry (TER) which offers a range of end-of-life admin products including NotifyNOW, InheritNOW and LegacyNOW, as well as award-winning bereavement notification service Settld, has welcomed the announcement from His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) that open probate cases have been reduced by 49% in the past year.

In its annual report for 2024-2025, HMCTS records that probate applications fell by 33,000 from over 69,000 at the end of March 2024.

Extra staff have been recruited to handle the backlog and many of HMCTS services have been digitised.

In probate, digital uptake has risen from 17% in 2019 to 80% in 2025. It reports that probate applications made online are processed four times more quickly than using the paper service.

Howard Enders, Chief Operating Officer at TER says: “The greater use of digital services at HMCTS, and consequent reduction in time granting probate, is commendable.

“However, we would like to see much wider adoption of digital death notification options to benefit grieving families, streamline end of life administration and augment the work being done by HMCTS.

“Delays in closing down financial, utility, phone, household and many other types of accounts still cause considerable distress to the bereaved and, in many cases, take far too long, with information frequently having to be repeated.

“The adoption of digital death notification options by all financial institutions and utility companies would help to relieve that burden on families.”

The average time from submission to probate being granted has reduced from 14 weeks at the height of the delays to 4.9 weeks for applications submitted in the quarter to March 2025, and from 24 to 13 weeks for paper applications.

There is no one single reason for delays. Inaccurate or missing information accounts for many. Complications from overseas trusts may delay the gathering of documents. HMRC takes longer to process Inheritance Tax Accounts than in the past – and these need to be submitted before probate can be granted.

In 2016, a joint statement issued by the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice noted that unnecessarily complicated processes were not designed around users, leading to frustration and confusion as well as increased running costs.

Enders adds: “HMCTS is making a concerted effort to address the issues around probate and, at TER, we recognise that. Unfortunately, the bereaved still have adverse experiences of the system through no fault of their own.

“Delays in probate can cause increased financial stress for families as properties can’t be sold until probate is granted, inheritance tax reliefs may depend upon being able to sell a property within 12 months and additional tax returns may be required for the estate. InheritNOW was developed by TER for this eventuality.

“A digital first approach from end to end following a bereavement will help to expedite the administration of an estate and avoid unnecessary obstacles which cause so much distress.”