Some 230,000 families a year will be forced to hand back financial support received after the loss of a loved one to pay for higher probate fees planned by the Government. Lisa Nurse of Graham and Rosen said solicitors that previously would pay fees upfront to assist with the probate process, will no longer be able to from next April. Kay Ingram of financial advice firm LEBC noted that parents of younger children are the most disadvantaged by the changes, adding: “Estates need probate, even when the spouse is the beneficiary, so it really is a tax on the bereaved.”

The Daily Telegraph Daily Mail, Page: 22