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Money Box: Probate Delays and Pension Charges

17/02/2024

Probate Delays and Pension Charges

BBC Radio 4 - Money Box, Probate Delays and Pension Charges

Why are there long delays to get probate and what can be done about it?

New research suggests many of us don't know how much we're being charged on our pensions.

When someone dies and leaves a property in their own name, or has significant savings or investments, the executors must apply for probate - a legal document which gives them the right to deal with the dead person's estate and distribute their assets. The Ministry of Justice says probate should be granted within 16 weeks, but some bereaved families have been facing delays of nearly a year. Why is that?

A new report shared exclusively with Money Box suggests many of us know very little about the charges being taken out of our pensions. People's Partnership carried out a survey which found that out of a thousand people who'd transferred their pension in the past two years without getting advice beforehand - 72% didn’t know exactly what the fees for their old pensions were, or what they were being charged for their new one.  What should you look out for?

And for the first time the percentage people in England who're married or in a civil partnership has fallen below 50 percent.  If you live with someone and share your money - what do you need to know?

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner
Researcher: Sandra Hardial
Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 17th February 2024)

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