2024 in review

Throughout 2024, there were a number of legal industry updates and news stories that affected the Wills and probate sector. We’ve summarised some of the key changes and ongoing discussions that could affect professionals and their clients in 2025.

2024 Autumn Budget

Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the new Government’s 2024 Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024. She started by saying that she plans to “restore stability of public finances and rebuild public services” and made it clear that change must be felt. Her statement came with changes, including:

Freezing the Inheritance Tax Nil-Rate Band (NRB) at £325,000 until 2030
Increasing Capital Gains Tax from 20% to 24%
Pensions; from April 2027 unused pension funds and death funds will be counted as part of an estate for IHT purposes

To read a full update on all changes affecting estate administration and probate services following the Autumn Budget 2024, read here.

Death Certificate process

Starting from September 2024 in England and Wales, all deaths have to be referred to Medical Examiners.

The death certification system in England and Wales, which has remained largely unchanged for over 50 years, went through a reform by introducing additional scrutiny for every death in the form of a Medical Examiner's or a Coroner's investigation. This change follows numerous inquiries and reports highlighting the need for reform, including the Shipman Inquiry and the mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry.

The non-statutory system, introduced by NHS England and NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership in 2019, has become standard practice for scrutinising deaths not investigated by a Coroner. The new statutory system will make this independent scrutiny mandatory for all deaths. This system is grounded in sections of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and the Health and Care Act 2022, with detailed regulations set to ensure seamless implementation.

Probate Registry delays

Losing a loved one is an emotionally challenging experience, and for many families in the UK, this is compounded by delays in the probate process. In 2024, Personal Representatives (PR) were increasingly facing extended waiting periods to distribute estates, which brought new financial and emotional stress.

Kings Court Trust visited the Probate Registry earlier in the year to raise concerns about turnaround times and get an update on their progress to reduce and clear backlogs. We can confirm that they have a new management team now in place, they owned up to mistakes made, and in the last couple of months, we have seen the highest number of Grants come back, so their plan is bearing fruit.

At our most recent visit on 18th December 2024, we have been advised of the following:

We can now chase grants 12 weeks from submission
Paper applications, on average are issued in 8 weeks
Online grant applications, on average are issued in 2.5 weeks
If we make a pre-lodgement enquiry on a PA18 it will be reviewed by a registrar within 1 week
Their 2025 plan is to expand the digital intestacy journey - should be able to apply online down to siblings of the deceased by the end of 2025

Clearly, significant changes are being made and we look forward to seeing this continue in 2025. If you need tips on how to avoid a stopped application, read this blog.

Income Tax

Up until 5 April 2024, you did not need to report to HMRC, if the only income received during the period of the administration was bank account interest, which was less than £500. From 6 April 2024, if the estate’s income from any source is less than £500, you do not need to report the estate to HMRC.

£500 tax-free amount applies:

For every tax year of the period of administration you cannot carry over unused allowance;
To all types of income, except ISAs which continue to be exempt.

Kings Court Trust rebrand

2024 has been a year of great success for us, from major technical improvements to winning Probate Provider of the Year (South) at the British Wills and Probate Awards. Now, with our rebrand, we're taking the next step in our ongoing journey of growth and improvement to better serve both our clients and partners.

Any successful rebrand is about more than just updating a logo; it's instead about aligning every aspect of messaging and communication to reflect who we truly are and how we want to be perceived.

We look forward to working with you in 2025 to provide our expert, fixed-fee probate and estate administration services to your clients.

Happy holiday season and a happy new year from our team at Kings Court Trust.

Want to get in touch to discuss working in partnership with us in 2025? Fill in the form below and a member of the team will be in touch:

Your partner through probate. Kings Court Trust is an award-winning probate and estate administration provider that support families at the difficult time of losing a loved one. Our tax and legal teams have the expertise to advise on any situation. We are committed to offering families a great service for a fair price which is why we work on a fixed fee basis so they know exactly what our service will cost from the outset.