Martin lewis money saving expert: how to save thousands probate fees

Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis, 46, appeared on This Morning today to discuss the rise in probate fees. Probate is the judicial process where a will is ‘proved’ to have been the last true

testament of the deceased. Martin warned ITV viewers the fees will soon rise to almost £6,000, urging people to apply for probate now. He advised: “When someone dies and leaves property,

money and possessions – collectively known as their estate – the person looking after the estate needs to administer out who gets what. “If there is a will: The person appointed an

‘executor’ will need to get a 'grant of probate’. “If no will was left: The next of kin must apply for what is known as a 'grant of letters of administration’.” Martin then

explained the process of applying for probate . He added: “Then the executor of the will or next of kin will need to get a 'grant of representation', which proves their authority

to administer the estate. The process of applying to the court for the grant and the document used to manage the estate is often generically referred to as 'probate' – and incurs

probate fees. “Currently the probate fee for estates over £5,000 is a flat £215 (or £155 if you apply through a solicitor). “Yet from April in England and Wales only (Scotland and Northern

Ireland have different probate fees) this plans to change – yet there’s no exact date yet and it still needs to be approved by House of Commons, so could be delayed. “Yet if it does go ahead

in April as planned, the new fees crucially are charged based on when you apply for probate (not on when the estate holder died), so some should start applying for it now to save thousands

in added fees.” Martin then summarised the changes: Estates worth less than £50,000 will pay nothing. The Money Saving Expert added: “There's no change for estates worth less than

£5,000, but estates worth between £5,000 and £50,000 will save £215 compared to the current system. "So in theory you may be better off waiting until April. However, you'll need to

get the grant of probate before you can settle the estate and share out assets, so some may want to apply sooner to speed up the process.” * Estates worth more than £50,000 will see an

increase in fees of between £35 and £5,785 – depending on how much your estate is worth: * Estates worth from £50,000 up to £300,000 will pay £250, a rise of £35. * Estates worth from

£300,000 up to £500,000 will pay £750, a rise of £535. * Estates worth from £500,000 up to £1 million will pay £2,500, a rise of £2,285. * Estates worth from £1 million up to £1.6 million

will pay £4,000, a rise of £3,785. * Estates worth from £1.6 million up to £2 million will pay £5,000, a rise of £4,785. * Estates worth more than £2 million will pay £6,000, a rise of

£5,785. He then urged viewers to apply for probate fees before April, adding: “So if you’ve been putting off applying for it (understandably) it may be worth doing before April to avoid

thousands extra in fees.” On This Morning Martin also revealed how to get 5p-per litre off of fuel at Tesco. He said: “Spend £50 or more at any Tesco (in store or on online groceries) and

you'll get a voucher for 5p/litre off fuel to use at a Tesco forecourt (max purchase 100 litres), until Sunday 10 February. “If you spend in store, your voucher will be valid for 14

days, if you spend online, you'll get the voucher when your shopping is delivered and it’s valid until Sunday 24 February. Tesco says it’s only one fuel voucher per customer. Find full

terms on the Tesco website.”