Recent changes to Victorian probate fees have sparked concern, but a closer look reveals that the increases, while significant in percentage terms, remain relatively small in real dollar amounts, representing a tiny fraction of most estates.
If you found yourself seriously panicked about the future of your inheritance this week, I’m not surprised. On Monday, the Victoria n government’s for estates in Victoria came into effect and, to many, they sounded utterly terrifying. For those unfamiliar with the process, probate relates to court fees that are paid to have a will validated and approved, so that a deceased person’s estate can be distributed.
More often than not, this task is handled by the executor of the will, or their legal representative. While no one likes part of their inheritance going to government coffers, in reality, it’s a tiny amount.But something I learned early on in my career is that when it comes to finances, numbers can work both in wonderful and worrisome ways, depending on how they’re presented. Let me give you an example: per this week’s changes, the probate fees for estates worth between $250,000 and $500,000 in Victoria have increased by a whopping 645 per cent. Sounds scary, right? By any measure, that’s a huge jump. Now, let me put the same figures another way: In real dollar terms, this 645 per cent increase takes the previous probate fee of $69 up to $514. Don’t get me wrong, $514 is a lot of money. But even if your inheritance comes in at the lowest point in this bracket, the increased fee will still only represent just 0.2 per cent of the estate. And if the total value of the estate is $500,000, that becomes even lower – dropping to just 0.1 per cent. Having a system that can allow a process to run smoothly ... can make an already traumatic experience slightly less difficult. Here’s another example. The second-highest fee rise is to estates worth $7 million and up, where fees increased by 625 per cent. Again, without context, those kinds of numbers are enough to make your jaw drop. But digging into it, what this really means is that the fee has increased from $2319 to $16,803. Again, if your inheritance comes in at the lowest point of this bracket, that’s just 0.03 per cent of the estate
Inheritance Probate Fees Victoria Estate
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