Short, dated updates on the things that actually change for an estate, inheritance tax thresholds, probate waiting times, and the rules governing when a property can be sold. Each one cites the source that changed, and nothing appears here without one.
This is not an aggregated news feed. We write an update when something changes that an executor would need to act on, and we link to the primary source so you can read it yourself. If nothing has changed, nothing is published.
Tax
Pensions come into the inheritance tax net from April 2027
Most unspent pension pots sit outside the estate for inheritance tax today. For deaths on or after 6 April 2027 they will not, and around 10,500 estates a year will owe inheritance tax that would not have owed any before.
Probate process
What the latest probate waiting times mean for a sale
The Ministry of Justice publishes probate timings quarterly. The headline average is five weeks, the typical case is one week, and an estate without a will waits far longer than either. Which number applies to you depends on the grant you need.