A One Bermuda Alliance MP raised “caveats” on a policy direction for seniors granting relief from land tax to surviving spouses for up to 24 months during the probate process after the death of a loved one.

The move was announced on November 21 in the House of Assembly by Wayne Furbert in his capacity as Acting Minister of Finance, who said it averted “unnecessary financial distress or the risk of displacement”.

Douglas De Couto, the Shadow Minister of Finance, issued a statement in response.

He said the Opposition welcomed the policy change, recognising that “lengthy probate delays are causing financial hardship and unnecessary distress on many Bermudian families”.

However, Dr De Couto highlighted that the break singled out spouses aged 65 and upwards.

“This policy will not help, for example, when a senior citizen passes away without a spouse, leaving their estate with children who are not also seniors,” he said.

Mr Furbert acknowledged the restriction last week in the House after taking questions from the Opposition, saying there would be “discussions” on wider relief for families.

Dr De Couto added that the relief only applied to properties below an annual rental value of $45,500, equating to $1,941 of land tax — meaning the tax would have to be paid on properties above that threshold.

A ministry spokeswoman confirmed that the new policy did not amend or remove the cap.

Dr De Couto said that “perhaps most importantly, this policy change is a Band-Aid on the underlying problem: unreasonably lengthy probate delays that impact all Bermudian families”.

Cases of lengthy delays in the processing of probates, which are required paperwork for the disposal of an estate after death, have been made public repeatedly in recent years. Substantial waits for death certificates have also been raised.

In February, the Supreme Court announced that it had taken on three additional staff to tackle a backlog in probate processing.

Dr De Couto said the Government “has not seemed to make any progress on actually reforming probate delays”.

He added: “For example, are the courts supplied with enough staff and proper resources to handle probate applications? Is the Land Valuation Office set up to handle the volume, given that they often assess property valuations in probate applications?”

MPs heard last week that the Tax Commissioner had “broad authority” under existing legislation to grant relief in cases of hardship.

Mr Furbert said spouses would need to appear before the Tax Commissioner with documents attesting to the probate in order to qualify — with the option of asking for an extension beyond 24 months if necessary.

Dr De Couto called the move “yet another piece of window dressing that pretends to offer meaningful change” and said the real problems remained “unaddressed while Government pats itself on the back”.