The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (Court Proceedings Fees)
(Virgin Islands) Rules, 2017 (the New Rules)
impose new fees for non-contentious probate applications and
replace the old fees which had applied since the 1980s.
The new fees apply to all grant applications submitted on or
after 1 November 2017 irrespective of the date of death of the
deceased.
The higher fees imposed under the New Rules are yet another
reason for clients holding shares in BVI companies and other BVI
assets in a trust rather than personally in their own name.
In the past, the total filing fees for a grant application was
nominal and was usually within US$100.
However, under the New Rules, the amount has increased quite
substantially and the categories of fees have been expanded as
well. For example, for an estate with a value of more than
US$5,000, the filing fee for declaration of value is increased from
US$20 to US$1,000. Also, there used to be a standard fee of
US$3 per
