{"id":4138,"date":"2020-02-24T12:00:16","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T12:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.georgehay.co.uk\/blogs\/?p=4138"},"modified":"2023-11-16T11:42:51","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T11:42:51","slug":"probate-sub-registries-closing-doors-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.georgehay.co.uk\/blogs\/2020\/02\/probate-sub-registries-closing-doors-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"Probate sub-registries closing doors throughout the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a push to modernise the legal system, the Government are closing the doors of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgehay.co.uk\/our-services\/probate-and-estates-service\/\">probate<\/a> sub-registries throughout the UK.<\/p>\n<h5>Probate sub-registries closing down<\/h5>\n<p>On 31 January alone, a total of 18 probate sub-registries closed down including Peterborough, Norwich and Lincoln. Increasingly, a centralised national courts and tribunals function will be dealing with probate requests.<\/p>\n<p>Susan Acland-Hood, Chief Executive of HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service (HMCTS), wrote: \u2018There will be a managed programme to close further registries, but this will only happen when we are confident closures will not adversely impact the time it takes for users to obtain grants of probate. There will be no further closures before April 2020, and we will let you know about others as they are confirmed.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgehay.co.uk\/blogs\/2019\/10\/probate-fee-increases-abandoned\/\">probate fee fiasco<\/a> that has played out since 2017 created a huge backlog of probate applications across the board. Consequently, many bereaved families were left facing open-ended delays.<\/p>\n<p>Despite reassurance that things are returning to normal, many remain concerned that closures are as good as taking \u2018one step forward, two steps back\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Acland-Hood goes on to point out that many of the locations listed amongst the closures haven\u2019t been staffed for years; others were open only on a part time and sometimes ad-hoc basis, using staff from other registries.<\/p>\n<h5>What do the closures mean for bereaved families and individuals?<\/h5>\n<p>I certainly take Acland-Hood&#8217;s point. The centralisation of the service will, I think, be a good thing for bereaved families and individuals awaiting a grant of probate. I also anticipate it being a positive change for us as practitioners, putting in requests and acting on our client&#8217;s behalf.<\/p>\n<p>In the past year or two, there has been growing confusion and an exasperating lack of consistency (in addition to the aforementioned delays). We have previously sent documentation to a designated office, only for it to be referred to another <em>&#8216;less busy&#8217;<\/em> office.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, where ambiguities arise in relation to an application the Probate office has to make a ruling or interpretation. The conclusions often vary office to office.\u00a0Centralising the service, we hope, will facilitate a more joined up approach to dealing with probate requests. Subsequently, much of the inconsistency that we and our clients have experienced up until now should be eliminated.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, we want the courts and tribunal service to work more effectively with us as agents, to deliver the uncomplicated, stress-free experience that clients deserve.<\/p>\n<p>Exactly how the service shapes up in the coming months remains to be seen. We will continue to monitor and cover any important developments, as we hear about them.<\/p>\n<h5>How can GH Probate help?<\/h5>\n<p>The process of obtaining probate, as well as all that follows, can be complicated and often time-consuming; not least because of the various rules, regulations and steps to adhere to.<\/p>\n<p>We offer a comprehensive, non-contentious, service without any need to involve a third party. This instantly simplifies the whole process, for you.<\/p>\n<p>By using GH Probate Ltd., you can rest assured that everything will be carried out correctly. We act with compassion and discretion, and we will do everything within our power to minimise any delays.<\/p>\n<p>To talk to one of our probate practitioners about how we can support you, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgehay.co.uk\/contact-us\/\">contact us<\/a> today.<\/p>\n<p><em>Our Probate service is provided through GH Probate Limited.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>GH Probate is the trading style of GH Probate Limited. Registered in England and Wales number 9630102. Registered Office: St George\u2019s House, George Street, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE29 3GH.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Authorised to carry out the reserved legal activity of non-contentious probate in England and Wales by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England &amp; Wales<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a push to modernise the legal system, the Government are closing the doors of probate sub-registries throughout the UK. Probate sub-registries closing down On 31 January alone, a total of 18 probate sub-registries closed down including Peterborough, Norwich and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12,137,141,9,230],"tags":[489,153,97,577,60,576],"class_list":["post-4138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accounting","category-barry-jefferd","category-inheritance-tax","category-probate","category-tax","category-team-member","tag-bereavement","tag-estate","tag-government","tag-hm-courts-tribunals-service","tag-probate","tag-probate-application"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Probate sub-registries closing doors throughout the UK - George Hay Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a push to modernise the legal system, the Government are closing the doors of countless probate sub-registries up and down the country.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.georgehay.co.uk\/blogs\/2020\/02\/probate-sub-registries-closing-doors-uk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Probate sub-registries closing doors throughout the UK - George Hay Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a push to modernise the legal system, the Government are closing the doors of countless probate sub-registries up and down the country.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.georgehay.co.uk\/blogs\/2020\/02\/probate-sub-registries-closing-doors-uk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"George Hay Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-02-24T12:00:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-16T11:42:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.georgehay.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Probate-subregistries-closing.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Barry Jefferd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Barry Jefferd\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.georgehay.co.uk\\\/blogs\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/probate-sub-registries-closing-doors-uk\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.georgehay.co.uk\\\/blogs\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/probate-sub-registries-closing-doors-uk\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Barry Jefferd\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.georgehay.co.uk\\\/blogs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c6ead19f08150ddd7b01394f37810789\"},\"headline\":\"Probate sub-registries closing doors throughout the UK\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-24T12:00:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-16T11:42:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.georgehay.co.uk\\\/blogs\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/probate-sub-registries-closing-doors-uk\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":606,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.georgehay.co.uk\\\/blogs\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/probate-sub-registries-closing-doors-uk\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.georgehay.co.uk\\\/blogs\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/Probate-subregistries-closing.png\",\"keywords\":[\"bereavement\",\"estate\",\"Government\",\"HM Courts &amp; Tribunals service\",\"probate\",\"probate application\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Accounting\",\"Barry Jefferd\",\"Inheritance Tax\",\"Probate\",\"Tax\",\"Team Member\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.georgehay.co.uk\\\/blogs\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/probate-sub-registries-closing-doors-uk\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.georgehay.co.uk\\\/blogs\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/probate-sub-registries-closing-doors-uk\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.georgehay.co.uk\\\/blogs\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/probate-sub-registries-closing-doors-uk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Probate sub-registries closing doors throughout the UK - 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