Grant Saw Solicitors LLP is a leading firm of solicitors based in South East London, with offices in Greenwich and Blackheath. Providing a range of legal services for individuals and businesses, Grant Saw specialises in conveyancing, wills and probate, contesting wills, powers of attorney, commercial leases, insolvency law, disputes, divorce and separation, and employment services.
Grant Saw’s probate team of five lawyers and two support staff based in Blackheath have used Estatesearch’s Financial Profile Search for three years and also use the Estatesearch portal to place Section 27 notices and more recently, to order Estatesearch’s new Will Search.
Accessible via a single ordering platform, Estatesearch provide solutions to help speed up probate.
An efficient fact-finding process
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, Company Directorships, and, in the Financial Profile Premium, 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.
Helping to speed up probate
The Estatesearch Will Search provides a robust and dynamic solution to locating a Will. Estatesearch make enquiries 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). It also includes a search of the Probate Depository and a number of online will providers. Crucially, Estatesearch takes into account that the average person moves house up to eight times in their lifetime, and search on all connected addresses supplied with no upper limit.
Kalpa Prajapati, Partner, Grant Saw Solicitors, explains:
“It can vary but we process between 50-75 probate cases each year. We had looked at other services in the past, but none matched Estatesearch’s comprehensive approach and speed of delivery.
We now use Estatesearch’s Financial Profile Search on every case where we are executors. Where we are not executors, we offer the asset search within our terms of engagement letter, and for any family that is unsure of the assets and liabilities of their deceased relative, we always recommend a search.
Over the years, several accounts have come to light that the family were unaware of. None have contained huge amounts of money, but the search reassures the family nothing has been missed and it speeds up the process of searching.
Estatesearch has also helped us uncover company directorships and lasting powers of attorney. The liability search is helpful too. We’ve not discovered any major liabilities such as a mortgage, but we have found unknown credit cards for example.
Everything in one place
As a law firm, Estatesearch’s Asset and Liability search and Will Search ensures we can complete due diligence. It also saves us time as the searches and Section 27 Notices are all ordered within a secure portal. Our support staff do most of the searches and they have found the process very straightforward. It is particularly beneficial to have everything in one place.
For our clients, Estatesearch’s services mean we can be more efficient, speeding up the process of probate where possible, and keeping beneficiaries in the loop about the current position of the estate. We pride ourselves on our client-focused and approachable service, with our lawyers all experts in their field. Estatesearch supports us in offering a best practice approach, both in identifying assets and liabilities and in locating the latest Will for the benefit of our clients.
We are always happy to recommend Estatesearch.”
“Estatesearch Helps Speed up Probate for Grant Saw Solicitors” – Originally published in Today’s Wills and Probate, 10th November 2023