STEP and the Law Society of England and Wales have supported the compulsory use of the online probate system, however, they have urged the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to be cautious.
The online service has been available for personal applications since late 2016. This was then extended to professionals after changes to non-contentious probate rules in November 2017.
It was made available to all practitioners in October 2019. Whilst it is deemed a positive step forward, some users have reported problems.
The Law Society said:
“HMCTS must state what alternative options will be available should the system experience difficulties, such as technology issues or if a practitioner can show that the online system cannot cope with a particular aspect of the application.”
