Kings Court Trust, based in Bristol, offers leading probate and estate administration services through a team of award-winning specialists providing fixed-fee solutions across the UK.
Lee Rossiter, Operations Director of Kings Court Trust explains: “We are called upon at a sensitive time when families are going through the stages of grief, but there is an acceptance that certain realities need to be addressed. We do everything in our power to minimise any stress to the families that entrust us to take care of their estate administration. We also need to protect our firm from risk too.
“One important aspect of estate administration is to conduct a Will search. We have used legal technology supplier Estatesearch for around three years, as they offer a robust Will search which includes a full database search of local and national Will holders including local solicitors and Will writing members of The Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW) and The Society of Will Writers (SWW). Estatesearch also completes a search of Probate Depository and a number of online Will providers which means we can demonstrate our due diligence in doing everything we possibly can to identify the most recent Will when someone passes away.
“Our previous Will search supplier did not check the Probate Depository and one matter has highlighted how important this is. We were recently instructed by the executors of a mid-sized estate where the family did not believe there was a Will. Because the deceased was not married, following the rules of intestacy, the children would have inherited the entire estate. However, a Will search conducted through Estatesearch revealed the existence of a Will held with the Probate Depository.
“This was a surprise to the children as not only did it name another beneficiary, it became apparent they were not the executors of their mother’s estate, so their instruction was not valid either. We were then able to work with the deceased’s brother who was the correct executor to ensure that the beneficiaries named in the Will received what was rightfully theirs. Finding the Will also avoided the time and expense that could have been wasted on gaining a Grant of Probate that was incorrect.
The importance of Will Searches
“Put simply, without the Estatesearch Will search, as a firm we could have potentially missed the existence of this Will. Distribution would have been made to the children and if the Will had come to light – even years later – that distribution would have needed to be corrected.
“Of course, no Will search can offer 100% certainty and another case we worked on demonstrates the particular risk where Wills are not professionally stored. In this instance, the deceased had no immediate family and there was no evidence of a Will, so we used a genealogy company to identify and trace who should inherit the deceased’s estate. As a result, we were able to distribute the estate to cousins of the deceased. However, despite a Will search being conducted through our previous provider with no indication of a Will, an aunt later contacted us with the Will leaving the entire estate to charity. We contacted the cousins and they immediately paid back the money, which was then correctly distributed to the chosen charity.
“If the cousins hadn’t been so cooperative and honest, the charitable beneficiaries could have potentially sued our firm as we were named on the Grant of Probate. We would have needed to litigate against the cousins even though our due diligence had been completed. Thankfully this protracted and potentially stressful situation was avoided. Even though our due diligence is always completed, there is still a risk, which is why we take out insurance for our cases.
“The quality of the Will search plays an important part in proving due diligence. We found that our previous Will search provider was not expansive enough, only searching three local law firms. On the other hand, Estatesearch trawls all the local and big Will bank players, which means extra protection for all parties involved and clearly demonstrates that as a firm, there is nothing more we can do to find the last Will and Testament of the deceased. Without Estatesearch, we may have difficulty obtaining insurance or the premiums would be far higher, especially without including a search of the Probate Depository.
“We conduct a Will search on every estate administration case. It is rare to find a Will that the family is unaware of, but it only needs one to be missed to result in far-reaching consequences.
“As the winners of Probate Provider of Year – South for 2024 and Probate Provider of the Year (Large Firms) at the 2019, 2020 & 2021 British Wills and Probate Awards, we want our clients to know they are in safe hands. Estatesearch’s Will search as well as the company’s asset and liability searches that we also use help us to offer complete peace of mind for our clients dealing with the loss of a loved one.”
Originally Published on Today’s Wills and Probate.