Page 74 • The HERALD • 17th September 2026 v WE’VE BEEN YOUR LOCAL SINCE 1994 v Call our Waterside Team For a free initial meeting on Wills, Probate or Powers of Attorney Jasper Vincent Solicitors Unit 1 Chevron Business Park Lime Kiln Lane Holbury Southampton SO45 2QL Tel: 023 8089 0919 e: waterside@jaspervincent.com www.jaspervincent.com Out of hours appointments are available on request BRYANT & CO Chartered Accountants & Business Advisers We provide a wide range of accounting and business services to individuals, partnerships and limited companies. We specialise in working with family owned businesses, providing guidance and advice as appropriate. Our services include: • Annual Accounts • Bookkeeping • VAT • Payroll and CIS • Personal and Corporate Tax Returns • Management Accounts • Business Advice • We also provide training on the use of Sage and Quickbooks, and the implementation of computerised and manual accounting systems. • Meetings can be arranged to suit your needs, including evenings and weekends if more convenient to you. • The initial meeting is free of charge, regardless of the length of time, as we believe it is important to develop a good working relationship from the outset. • All fees are agreed in advance of any work being undertaken. Please call Peter or Lisa on 023 8089 4982 to arrange a meeting to discuss your business needs. You can also contact Peter on 07976 808969, or email us at info@bryantandcompany.co.uk Have a look at our website www.bryantandcompany.co.uk for a fuller understanding of our business. ASK A PROFESSIONAL Government Probate Fee Increased Advice from Jasper Vincent Solicitors Most people know that the UK government charges a fee to issue a grant of probate to the executors of any estate. A grant of probate is the key document sought when administering a deceased person’s estate as, when it has been issued by the government, it entitles you to nally sell any property and to liquidate large assets into cash, ready to distribute according to the terms of a Will. A minority of probates (particularly the simplest examples) don’t require a grant to be issued, however most estates will nd a grant useful to nalise probate administration work. A grant will always be necessary where a property needs to be sold or the deceased held sizeable investments. In July the government quietly increased the cost of applying for a grant of probate from £300 to £526. e fee increase applies both to lawyers and to private applicants. e last decade has seen a steady increase for this particular court fee; pre-2022 the fee was o en £155, but then it rose to £215 in 2022 and it increased again up to £300 in 2024. e current jump from £300 to £526 is therefore the largest scale of increase in recent history, representing an e ective upscaling of an eye-watering 75% from the previous fee. So what justi cation has the government provided for such a surprising fee hike? Quoting chapter and verse from the Ministry of Justice, they have said the following about the jump in price: “[it] recovers the cost of an ever-improving service, and the new cost accounts for rising inflation as well as investment in delivering an efficient and modern service”. The government comments are obviously very vague. ese days a non-taxable estate will see its grant of probate application take a few weeks to issue the grant, which is a great turnaround time for the majority of cases. Taxable estates can take much longer for grants to be issued. For an initial Will or probate consultation, feel free to contact partner Angela Pelleschi and senior associate solicitor Edward Kennard at Jasper Vincent’s Waterside o ce on: 023 8089 0919.
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