Hampshire Sponsor Article

Specialist Services for Clearing Estate Administration Hurdles

There has been a development in new complexities due to the rise in multi-family households, and an increase in assets held overseas as people increasingly live, work and invest outside of our borders.  

However, we haven’t got much better at making Wills. Statistics  indicate that two thirds of British people still don’t have a valid Will, and nearly 60% of parents don’t have a valid, up-to-date Will in place. This can have a profound effect on estates and the heirs. Private client practitioners are required to have a very broad skill set, so it can be comforting to know that, where needed, professional probate genealogists can step in. 

No instructions

On learning of the death, practitioners may have a problem right at the start: no instructions to act, no access to funds, and little or no information about next of kin entitled on intestacy. Probate genealogists can assist to help get the administration process moving, with a variety of flexible fee options.

Due diligence 

The subject of Wills – or their lack – can be thorny. The family is convinced that a Will was written naming them; or that a more recent Will exists than the one in your possession. Our thorough Missing Will Search, backed up by Missing Will indemnity insurance, can remove uncertainty and allow the estate representatives to move on with the process.

Verification

The work of tracing missing beneficiaries utilises many research tools via publicly accessible online records of births, marriages and deaths, census records and social media, as well as electoral roll and other commercial data. It’s the training, credentials, special records access and research methodology that set a professional probate genealogist apart from ‘bedroom’ sleuths: ensuring that all parts of the family tree have been carefully researched, and all beneficiaries located.

Estate practitioners can find themselves misinformed about the true extent of the family. The family members don’t always know about additional heirs that emerge through research, but genealogists find some beneficiaries are economical with the truth. Taking the word of the ‘sole heir’ at face value is a potentially costly risk to take, that can be avoided by engaging a professional probate genealogist to independently verify the family tree. 

“There’s no one else…”

Finders International was involved in the estate of a man with a £400,000 intestate estate. The man’s sister asserted she was the sole beneficiary. Finders verified the tree and found that she had a nephew, entitled to half the estate. She had, it appeared, neglected to mention his existence because she didn’t approve of his behaviour. The nephew received his rightful share of the inheritance, and the practitioners saved a great deal of trouble and expense from a potential later claim.

Finding assets 

The work of tracing missing beneficiaries utilises many research tools via publicly accessible online records of births, marriages and deaths, census records and social media, as well as electoral roll and other commercial data. It’s the training, credentials, special records access and research methodology that set a professional probate genealogist apart from ‘bedroom’ sleuths: ensuring that all parts of the family tree have been carefully researched, and all beneficiaries located.

Louise Levene

International Asset Services Manager

at Finders International