Estatesearch provide peace of mind for Will & Probate Services, supporting them in better understanding their clients’ financial affairs. Will & Probate Services is one of the leading independent estate planning firms in the UK. Professionally run by qualified paralegals, the team specialises in later life and post-death planning and administration.
Established since 2005, Will & Probate Services is headed by Nick Ash TEP, a Fellow of the Institute of Paralegals and one of the most respected figures in the Will Writing Sector.
A specialist team
Nick and his specialist team use Estatesearch for Asset and Liability searches, Share Valuations and placement of Section 27 Notices. He explains:
“I was aware of Estatesearch for several years prior to using them in earnest. As a firm, we really care about our clients and our goal is to offer them peace of mind while offering the best possible service. Therefore, we only recommend and use services that are accurate and can be relied on.”
Build a better understanding of clients’ financial affairs
Estatesearch’s Financial Profile Search provides a comprehensive and detailed report to support an efficient fact-finding process, helping solicitors quickly build a better understanding of clients’ financial affairs to manage and/or administer an estate effectively.
Using information and data from a variety of sources, the resulting report helps support due diligence, with a clear audit trail to demonstrate the steps undertaken to identify all assets and liabilities. The search includes AML and identity trace, Liability Search, Financial Asset Search and in the Financial Profile Premium, Company Directorships and an Unclaimed Asset Search which includes up to 40 additional pension and insurance providers to help locate forgotten accounts, policies and shareholdings. All subjects are automatically enrolled with the Vulnerability Registration Service to prevent fraud and financial abuse against the estate too.
Nick Ash added:
“Over the years, Estatesearch has refined their offering into a comprehensive and accurate Asset and Liability search which helps us to ensure nothing is missed. Previously, we needed to write to financial institutions individually to identify assets. It was not perfect but as good as we could get at the time.
Quicker and more cost-effective
With Estatesearch, our team now accesses the Financial Profile Search through a secure portal and Esatesearch does the rest. This saves us a significant amount of time. We also use the portal to order Section 27 Notices which is quicker and more cost-effective than going to the publications directly. Using Estatesearch’s Share Valuation service also saves us time, which in-turn is good for our clients too.
The Financial Profile search often confirms what we already know, but regardless, it always provides reassurance. If a client has any doubt or says: “I think” then we always advise taking advantage of Estatesearch’s Asset and Liability search. If we do discover unknown assets, it’s usually a lost pension scheme or sometimes online account holdings the family was completely unaware of.
A full financial picture of the estate
Once a Financial Profile search is completed, which takes around 30 working days, we know we have a full financial picture of the estate. When we are working on administering around 200 cases at any one time and around 400 over a year, it is essential that nothing comes out of the woodwork later on. We know people are going through a difficult time and we want to help them through that as much as we can and Estatesearch gives both us and our clients peace of mind.
I teach at the Society of Will Writers College on the Probate and Trusts course and Estatesearch is cited as a recommended supplier. It is a testament to the quality of the services they provide that I’m able to advocate Estatesearch at that level.
Highly professional and good fun too!
As well as the excellent service Estatesearch provides, the team are highly professional. They have been our to our offices in Peterborough twice to ensure everyone here knows how the reports work and what and why they can order, in addition to covering new features. Socially, they are good fun too! A recent invitation to join them at the Modern Law awards where Will & Probate Services won the best employer award made for a fun and memorable evening. They are genuine, kind people and align with our own values as a firm to be open and honest, to care and treat people with respect.
At Will & Probate Services, we always strive to be better and serve our clients better and Estatesearch helps us achieve this.”
Originally published on Today’s Wills and Probate – 20th November 2023