Private client group STEP is to lobby the government to bring the Non-Contentious Probate Rules (NCPR) in line with the Legal Services Act 2007 in the wake of the Mazur ruling.

It comes as the Law Society has issued a practice note on the implications of the judgment and a leading criminal defence solicitor warned about the case’s impact on that sector too.

A guidance note issued by STEP said that while the Act expressly provides for certain exempt individuals to carry out probate activities under supervision – typically employees working under the direction of an authorised person – the NCPR define a ‘probate practitioner’ specifically as an authorised person for the purposes of the Act.

“This definition has the effect of excluding exempt individuals from carrying out activities under

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