100 staff added to probate team to boost capacity

At our latest Probate Service Users Group meeting with HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), we heard the welcome news that 100 new staff are now in post in the probate team, with training underway.  

The group, which includes representatives from the Institute of Legacy Management (ILM), Law Society, STEP and ICAEW, alongside Remember A Charity, meets regularly to discuss updates about probate services, representing our members.  

With staff numbers having increased from 175 to 275, we were encouraged to hear that, once the new HMCTS recruits have completed their training this month, output levels should be on the rise, with a reduction in processing times. 

Although there is still a large number of grants awaiting processing, exacerbated by unexpected volumes of applications, it’s anticipated that probate cases will start to move more swiftly through the system in the weeks ahead. HMCTS and group representatives alike noted a lag not only during probate but between the date of death and the application for probate.  

We are grateful to HMCTS for working with us all to keep us in the loop. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and share further updates.

HMCTS publishes its probate figures and processing times here.