Press Release - Probate

Probate income benefit to Alderney

Proposed changes to Guernsey's probate jurisdiction will mean that Alderney will receive excess income where an estate belonged to a resident or was held on the island.

Probate is currently administered by the Ecclesiastical Court which does not keep separate accounts for estates held by residents of Alderney and Sark, or estates held on those islands.

Last year, Guernsey's Policy and Resources Committee began the process of transferring the jurisdiction to the Royal Court.

The original proposal was to transfer excess funds to the Social Investment Fund to be allocated for good causes but both Alderney and Sark made the case for a proportion of any surplus relating to their islands' probate to be for them to allocate locally.

The Ecclesiastical Court has revealed that in the previous four years, there were 14 Alderney estates where the deceased was a resident of Alderney or held assets on the island. There were six in Sark.

Administration costs at a Bailiwick rate set by Guernsey Policy & Resources will be deducted before any surplus is transferred. Legislation is now being drawn up to effect the switch to the Royal Court and the system, which will be retained across the Bailiwick in its current form, will be reviewed after two to three years of operation.

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