Changes due to online Probate Service

Changes due to online Probate Service

Following feedback from probate practitioners, the MyHMCTS digital probate service is due to benefit from a number of improvements from 19 August 2021.

The online service has been in force since 2019 and has been a great commodity throughout the pandemic allowing practitioners to submit Probate applications online and has reduced the reliance on the postal service whilst most practitioners worked and are still working, remotely.

The main changes are aimed at streamlining the functionality of the service and will include the following:-

• Trust Corporations will be able to apply for a Grant of Probate using MyHMCTS
• New prompts will clearly identify the title of the executor, including partners, members, shareholders and directors in a firm or successor firm
• Other prompts provide clearer options to account for executors that are not applying for probate, reducing the potential for cases to be stopped
• All parts of an application can now be amended before submission, including the probate practitioners' details
• Applications where only a notarial copy or a court sealed copy of the will is available can now be made through MyHMCTS
• Improved title and clearing wording on the legal statement
• The legal statement itself can now be signed, including with a digital signature, by a practitioner on behalf of their client and any of the applying executors.
• The legal statement can be uploaded to their application through their MyHMCTS dashboard or sent by post
• The legal statement will automatically contain the names of the applying executors and practitioner
• The requirement to send a death certificate of any pre-deceased executors has ended
• A system error that led to practitioner details being overwritten in the application has been fixed

MyHMCTS are encouraging users to submit/clear their dashboards in anticipation of these changes which will be implemented from 19 August.

Any applications that are not submitted, or are unable to be submitted, before the change on 19 August will not be able to progress and a new application will need to be created.

For anyone wishing to provide feedback on the changes, you can email probatefeedback@justice.gov.uk

For assistance relating to a specific probate application, you should email contactprobate@justice.gov.uk