Brace yourself for the death tax

As if having to sort out probate isn’t horrendous enough, says Sarah Moore, you might soon be hit with a new, expensive death tax.

As if having to sort out probate isn't horrendous enough, you might soon be hit with a new, expensive "death tax". This is set to kick in after a planned revision of probate fees, which must be paid in order to activate a will.

At the moment, you pay a flat rate of £215 for all estates worth £5,000 and over (or £155 if applying through a solicitor already sharply higher from £45 in 2014). But the government which has just released a consultation document on the topic wants to make the move to a tiered system, which would see some families having to pay a fee of as much as £20,000.

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Sarah is MoneyWeek's investment editor. She graduated from the University of Southampton with a BA in English and History, before going on to complete a graduate diploma in law at the College of Law in Guildford. She joined MoneyWeek in 2014 and writes on funds, personal finance, pensions and property.