**New death tax to hit grieving families : Fury as ministers hike probate costs from £215 to as much as £6,000.
The cost of securing legal control over a deceased’s estate will soar next April.
Roughly 280,000 families a year will have to pay more than the current £215 fee.
56,000 will face bills between £2,500 and £6,000 in the stealth death tax.**
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Bereaved families must apply for probate to administer their loved ones’ finances when they die. There is a fixed fee of £215 – or £155 for families who use a solicitor.
But the Government is linking the charge to the size of the estate, with the levy ranging from £250 to as much as £6,000 for wealth estimated at over £2million. Inheritances of less than £50,000 will be exempt – compared with the current and less generous threshold of £5,000.
In short , staircasing … the more the value of the estate , the more one pays.
Hopefully , there will not be a last minute surge to beat the April 2019 deadline ?