As providers of digital death notification solutions, we work closely with probate solicitors, financial institutions, and multiple private sector organisations to streamline estate administration. What is clear from our experience is that the current death notification system, while improved by public sector tools like Tell Us Once, still leaves significant gaps, particularly in the private sector.
Probate solicitors rely heavily on timely and accurate death notifications to perform their legal duties efficiently. The journey from death registration to asset recovery, however, is seldom smooth. When someone dies, executors and families are often left to notify dozens of organisations individually (banks, insurers, pension providers, utilities etc) each with their own process, requirements, and timelines. This burden delays probate, creates risk, and increases distress for the bereaved.
By contrast, the Tell Us Once service provides an effective model for public sector coordination. It allows families to report a death once and have the information disseminated to relevant government departments. Those who have used it appreciate it. Critically, however, the concept of a single, universally-agreed digital notification pathway does not extend to the private sector which is usually where most help is required. This is where a significant opportunity for transformation exists.
Probate solicitors consistently tell us they would welcome a centralised notification service that extends beyond the public sector. In recent research conducted on our behalf, solicitors were unanimous in their belief that all service providers and banks should use a private sector equivalent of the Government’s Tell us Once. Their customers concur; nearly three in four (72%) of UK adults agree that every bank and utility company should have a specific death notification service comparable to process followed by the public sector.
A solicitor’s ability to act quickly and securely on behalf of an estate is often hindered by delays in asset holders being informed of the death. These delays not only impede the speed with which an estate can be administered but also, and perhaps of greater concern, leaves financial accounts open to fraud and abuse.
Timely notification allows those dealing with an estate to lock down assets, reduce risks, and begin the probate process with the minimum of fuss. More importantly, it ensures that institutions cease taking payments or charging interest (all of which can lead to challenges, disputes and avoidable stress further down the line), and begin releasing information or funds, all of which are necessary steps for closing an estate efficiently.
And it is not only the solicitors and their clients who benefit. The banks, insurers, pension providers etc also win. An agreed, verified death notification system can significantly reduce the operational costs associated with fruitless contact attempts, unclaimed assets, and fraud. With the right legal safeguards and data standards in place, a digital notification ecosystem could benefit all parties: families, legal professionals, and institutions alike.
So, should private sector participation be mandated in the same way Tell Us Once has been for the public sector? We believe it should and have called upon the Government to act. We believe there is now a real need for a platform that allows verified death notifications to be shared across both public and private entities.
Of course there are challenges, not least around data security, and there would need to be clear legal guidelines about how and when an institution can act. Privacy needs to be protected, but that needs to be balanced with the need to empower families and authorised representatives to act decisively and at pace in the aftermath of a death, without finding themselves in the depressingly familiar cycle of ‘the computer says no!’.
As a digital provider of award-winning death notification services, we are already working with forward-thinking firms to help create this bridge. Our technology enables secure, consent-based notifications to multiple institutions in a single step. The feedback from solicitors both in the UK and internationally has been overwhelmingly positive: less paperwork, faster asset location, fewer delays, and improved client satisfaction.
The technology exists. The demand is clear. What’s needed now is leadership to bring the private sector fully into the fold. In a time when almost our entire lives can be managed digitally, it is surely no longer acceptable for the most sensitive life event to trigger a painfully manual and disjointed process. Probate professionals, financial institutions, and technology providers have a shared opportunity to build a smarter, more compassionate system.
Phil Hickson is SVP, Global Partnerships at The Estate Registry
This article was submitted to be published by The Estate Registry as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Wills and Probate. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Wills and Probate.
