State of the Probate Registry

Everyone knows Benjamin Franklin’s dry witticism that: ‘In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.’ But what is the horror when they both arrive at the same time?

Already branded as the ‘most hated tax of all’ inheritance tax (IHT) is a particularly emotive topic as it impacts individuals when they are already at an emotional low. This discontent was brought to the forefront of press scrutiny following chancellor Rachel Reeves’ autumn Budget which announced that more people will be dragged into its net and compelled to pay tax at a higher level than ever before.

It is forecast that IHT will raise £7.5bn in 2024-25 and this will reach £9.7bn by 2028-29. But the chancellor’s recent pronouncements will make this even higher.

In what appears to many to be a carefully co-ordinated strategy of boosting the...