Probate: Time Limits
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to review regulations on time limits for executors of wills to apply for probate.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones
There are no plans to review the law on time limits for executors to apply for probate. The existing legal framework offers flexibility, accepting the probate process is a complex one undertaken at an emotional time for many personal representatives.
There is currently no maximum time limit within which a personal representative must obtain a grant of probate, but there are penalties laid down for administering an estate without a grant of representation, and there are time limits for paying tax for which an estate is liable prior to applying for a grant.
There are also mechanisms for beneficiaries and other interested parties to hold personal representatives to account for failure to act in applying for probate, and if necessary to seek their removal.
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