HM Courts and Tribunals representatives have claimed the probate application backlogs are under control in a recent blog review of the current problematic situation.
The current waiting times were said to be between six and eight weeks for a fully completed, processed and returned application.
To combat the backlog of an average excess of more than 40,000 applications, HMCTS had employed over 20% more staff to ‘meet the challenges’.
Delays extended beyond the eight-week point were attributed to ‘stops’ in service caused by inaccurate information leading to requisitions for additional information or correcting mistakes.
HMCTS claim that applications are ‘stopped’ whilst information and amendments are made by the relevant applicants, a delay the Government does not factor into the overall time it takes for a completed application.
Jonathan Wood, National Services Director at HMCTS, commented:
“A considerable number of applications for probate have to be stopped because we need further information or assurance before we can issue a grant of probate. These stops are usually because there is a document missing, a procedural defect (for example, names on the will not matching precisely with the application or the death certificate) or we need further confirmation that the documents being submitted are correct.
“We don’t count the time from stopping until we get the responses back and start working again on the application. This is because we cannot progress the application in the intervening period and so we move to other work. But it is clear that when applications are stopped it adds to the time it takes us to process and the impact is felt more acutely when people are already waiting far too long.
“Stops are frustrating for all of us. They are frustrating for the public because they have to do more work, or go back over an application they have already made, in order to get their grant of probate. They are frustrating for us because it means we are starting and stopping work that we could deal with if we had everything we need. This is why we are working hard to ensure the new process is much simpler and clearer.”
Is the backlog reducing and delays less frequent? Is it fair to suggest applicant errors are causing delays beyond the eight weeks suggested by HMCTS?
