The Ministry of Justice propose changing the non-contentious probate rules to make it mandatory for professional users (solicitors and other probate practitioners) to use the online process in making applications for grants of representation.
The Private Client Committee of Birmingham Law Society has considered the recommendations and agree in principle with mandating online professional applications with all of the benefits that have been identified; however, we believe that the system must first be proved to be fit for purpose before it is fully rolled out and should not be made compulsory until all of the issues identified with the current system have been resolved. Birmingham’s private client solicitor community will want reassurance that the online system works and is fully tested before mandating its use. We also seek confirmation that the service levels will not decline and that these changes will not lead to an excessive increase of fees charged to professionals for making applications.
The full response can be downloaded from the website.