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19 February 2025
Issue: 8105 / Categories: Legal News , Wills & Probate , Technology
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Probate speeds up & goes digital

Average wait times for probate are now just over four weeks, HM Courts and Tribunals Service data published this week shows. 

This is reduced from 12 weeks in December 2023 and eight weeks in June 2024.

Justice minister Sarah Sackman KC said about 80% of grant applications are now completed online, with digital applications taking on average just over two weeks to complete. Paper applications take about 15 weeks.

Sackman said extra staff have been recruited to reduce delays. Two years ago, lawyers were advising clients to expect probate to take nine months, with some applications taking more than 11 months.

Issue: 8105 / Categories: Legal News , Wills & Probate , Technology
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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