Church’s probate income is down by two-thirds

The court’s role in granting probate, from which it derives most of its money, has been reviewed by the States and its future will be announced shortly amid concerns about the perception of its involvement and whether it discourages outside investment.

Surplus money from the court goes to the Guernsey Deanery Fund and is given to charity or used for church repair work.

While in 2015 the fund received £1m., a year later it received £300,000.

That reflected a drop in income of the court from £1.32m. in 2015 to £603,452.

The Dean of Guernsey, the Very Rev. Tim Barker, has released the court’s accounts for the year, after previously making public the figures dating back to 2009.

Mr Barker said that the £1.32m income in 2015 showed that it had been ‘an exceptional year’.

The vast majority of the court’s income comes from fees it charges for probate, with Mr Barker saying that ‘a very small fraction’ of that money came from marriage licences.

‘It’s a totally unpredictable income stream,’ he said of the fees received by the court. ‘And the income will probably tend to be lower going forward because one change I have introduced from 1 May is an upper cap, so the maximum fee payable will be £100,000.’

The basic rate for probate work is 0.35%, but for very large estates this can represent a substantial amount, which Mr Barker thought could deter high net-worth individuals.

He said that the idea of there being a fixed charge for everyone had been suggested, but he thought this would have a negative impact on those with very small estates.

Monies transferred to the Deanery Fund, itself a charity, are donated to various local causes, with the Guernsey Youth Commission, the Little Chapel, the Caritas charity and the Town Christmas Lights among the recipients.

The drop in fees and the resulting reduction in the transfer to the Deanery Fund meant that overall the Ecclesiastical Court ended 2016 with £454,500 in its bank account – only about £9,000 less than it had at the end of 2015.

‘We keep a reasonable carry-forward because we are never sure of the income and have to make sure we have sufficient in the bank to cover the running costs,’ said Mr Barker.

The accounts show that the court’s biggest outlay in 2016 was the registrar’s service fee, at £276,115.

Previously this fee included operational costs such as rent, utility expenses and computer/copier costs.

These have now been separated out and totalled just over £30,000 in 2016.

Today, the registrar and the staff are paid a salary since they are now employees, another change introduced by Mr Barker.

‘It’s taken a little time to introduce it and get contracts of employment sorted out, but it’s better for the staff,’ he said.

The Dean first put the accounts into the public domain in 2016 following many years of requests and pressure from the Guernsey Press to past officials of the court.

But Mr Barker said he had absolutely no problem with making the accounts public. ‘I’ve no idea why they were not presented before, but I have no hesitation or reservation about publishing them.’

He also would not have a problem with the figures being put online, but said that the idea had not been considered.

‘It’s probably fair to say that it would be very low down my to do list,’ he said, ‘but I would not be averse to doing it.’

A review of the role of the court in probate has been conducted by Policy & Resources, and should it decide that there should be a change, the court could see its income drastically reduced.

But the Ecclesiastical Court of Jersey no longer handles probate, so Mr Barker would be talking to that island’s Dean about a way forward should it be necessary.

‘The States of Guernsey will be making the final decision, and they have every right to do so,’ he said.

However, he has warned that a change could lead to whatever body took over the role charging more for its services.

‘Be careful what you wish for,’ was his message to those who would like to see probate taken away from the Ecclesiastical Court.