By Kiera Thorold, Compliance and Audit Manager, W & P Legal
W & P Legal based in Market Deeping, 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.
Estate planning is unregulated but as a firm, we work as if we are regulated. For us, best practice means taking those extra steps to ensure due diligence in every matter, as this protects our clients as well as the firm.
Many of our clients come to us when a family member has passed away. It is an emotional time, and they are faced with conflicting information on-line. Our role is to put people on the right track. Some families don’t need Probate and so we offer free initial consultations to advise them about the appropriate next steps. If they do require our services, we have a team of 20 specialists on hand to help guide them through the complex Probate process with as little stress as possible.
Our detailed attention in relation to compliance ensures consistent processes across the board. Much of this involves enhanced training of the team. This can be in-house, through webinars or via Law Society events. For example, I’ve recently completed an anti-money laundering training session with my colleagues to ensure we correctly assess the risks of each file, and confirm that we know our clients and who we are working for. Training means we are all confident in the tools we use on a daily basis.
I was also recently interested to attend a training session at the HTF Legal Conference covering Beneficiary checking, which was delivered by Estatesearch, a legal tech company who we’ve been working with for around four years. At the event, it was highlighted that someone who is bankrupt for life is removed from the Land Registry list after five years. Therefore, it is essential to check the Insolvency Register too, to ensure these people are picked up. Estatesearch’s Beneficiary Checks automatically check both registers for us.
We also use Estatesearch for Asset and Liability searches, Share Valuations and placement of Section 27 Notices. As a firm, we really care about our clients and it means we can offer them peace of mind while offering the best possible service as Estatesearch’s services are accurate and can be relied on.
Just a few thousand pounds over may change the taxable bracket for an estate, so it is essential to identify all the assets of the deceased person. We also want to avoid the family receiving a letter at a later date saying they owe a debt. Estatesearch’s asset and liability check ensures we tick all the boxes.
Estatesearch’s Financial Profile 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.
Our team accesses Estatesearch’s services through a secure portal. This saves us a significant amount of time.
As well as the excellent service Estatesearch provides, the team are highly professional. 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 W & P Legal , we always strive to be better and serve our clients better and Estatesearch helps us achieve this.
For further information about W & P Legal please see: www.wplegal.co.uk
Originally Published in the Cambridgeshire Law Society Magazine – Issue 104 Summer 2024