In a series of Supporters in Focus pieces, we are thrilled to introduce our sponsor of the Afterparty at The British Wills and Probate Awards 2023.
We are delighted to have Estatesearch on board with the sixth year of The British Wills & Probate Awards and grateful they took the time to answer some of our questions.
First of all, tell us who you are and what you do?
Estatesearch’s mission is to help probate professionals achieve greater efficiency and mitigate risk, while delivering a service that delights customers.
Much of our work supports private client solicitors in identifying the full extent of a person’s estate in bereavement or loss of mental capacity cases. Our goal is to make the process as smooth as possible at what can be a difficult time. In addition to asset & liability searches accessed through our free, secure portal, we also offer a range of additional services including: Trustee Notices, Will Searches, Overseas & UK Bankruptcy Searches, Unoccupied Property Insurance, Early Distribution Insurance and Share Valuations which can all be accessed in one place and all on one invoice for greater efficiency. With no registration or subscription fees, our customers simply pay for the disbursements they need, when they need them.
What made you support this years awards?
This year, we are delighted to sponsor the afterparty at the British Wills & Probate Awards. The BWAPs as they are fondly known, are highly regarded in the sector, celebrating the best the industry has to offer. We love the way the awards highlight all the good work and development that businesses have achieved over the past 12 months. We also love a great party!
In your opinion, what are some of the key challenges currently faced by law firms or legal professionals in the industry? How does your company aim to address or mitigate these challenges?
With the move to digital banking, it is becoming increasingly difficult for private client practitioners to identify all the assets in a deceased’s estate. We offer a Financial Profile Service which gives executors, beneficiaries, deputies and attorneys peace of mind through comprehensive, efficient and demonstrable due diligence that mitigates risk and cost of missed assets or liabilities. In a recent customer survey, 70% of respondents stated Estatesearch had helped them identify assets that they would have been otherwise unaware of.
Further, probate is often a detailed and lengthy process. This can be frustrating for executors and beneficiaries and so if private client solicitors can mitigate delays, it can help smooth the process at what is a difficult time for their clients. Estatesearch helps firms identify all the assets within an estate within 30 working days. Notifications are returned within our secure portal as institutions respond, and so solicitors can keep their clients informed and can begin enquiries immediately rather than wait for the full report which can speed up the process.
How do you envision your company’s role in shaping the future of the legal sector? What impact do you hope to have on the industry?
In 2021 there were approximately 600,000 deaths registered in the UK, a number which is projected to rise to 780,000 by 2040 demonstrating the need for efficient services to support legal professionals to meet demand.
Indeed, demand for our services is growing rapidly and we are working with new law firms’ month on month. We are also developing new solutions to meet the challenges faced by private client solicitors.
The need to identify digital assets within an estate is a particularly complex and challenging area and one which is only set to grow. Hence, the recent launch of our Digital Assets Search, which is a good example of how we hope to help shape the future in this area, contributing to making digital asset identification easier.
Our Digital Assets Search went live in testing phase at the beginning of June and is now available to order alongside Estatesearch’s Financial Profile Searches, extending enquiries to an additional 64 institutions and online service providers in the digital space. Assets might include liabilities such as subscriptions but also include the balance of a PayPal account, funds in an online marketplace account, or crypto tokens in a digital wallet.
One issue is that digital is a largely unregulated space but we can now help private client solicitors ensure due diligence obligations have been met by undertaking enquiries on their behalf, allowing them to demonstrate that they have done everything possible to identity the full extent of the estate for their clients.
In the future we will be pleased to continue to support clients in probate matters as a trusted partner to make the process as smooth as possible and enable consumers to receive what is rightfully theirs in a timely and efficient manner.
For further information about Estatesearch please see: www.estatesearch.co.uk
Thank you to Estatesearch for their support for The British Wills & Probate Awards 2023.
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