Clients affected by delays in granting probate are being forced to sell investments and dip into savings to bridge the gap, research from investment manager Downing has found.
The study revealed 76% of wealth managers and advisers have had to cash in investments as a result of probate delays in the past two years, while 52% have had to use their savings.
Around a third (34%) of those questioned said clients have even had to borrow money to pay for probate, with more than a quarter (27%) saying probate delays have made it difficult for clients to pay inheritance tax (IHT) bills.
To add to the difficulty, a fifth (22%) of advisers said probate delays have triggered family disputes for their clients.
The researchers also found problem of probate delay is widespread, with a third (33%) of those quizzed saying a lot of clients have experienced problems with probate delays in the past two year, and 59% saying some clients have suffered problems here.
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Just 6% of advisers and wealth managers said they have no clients who have faced probate delay issues, with 2% not expressing a view.
Downing noted the mean time to grant probate now is around nine weeks compared with 15-and-a-half weeks a year ago. However, in cases where there are issues around sourcing documents the mean time to grant probate is 24-and-a-half weeks.
Mark Dunn, head of retail sales at Downing, said: “It is good news that the average time to grant probate is falling and is down significantly on last year. However, in more complex cases delays are still a major concern for clients.
“That is demonstrated by the impact of delays on client finances shown in the research with advisers reporting that clients have to cash in investments and savings and even borrow money in order to cope while delays are sorted out.”
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