Wills and Probate | Certainty National Will Register Blog

Solicitors benefit from ‘Avoiding negligence’ webinar by Gill Steel

May 20th, 2013
Gill-Steel

Gill Steel, LawSkills

Gill Steel presented ‘Avoiding negligence claims in estate administration’ as a CPD accredited webinar, aimed at solicitors and practitioners to help them administer an estate accurately, effectively and efficiently within a reasonable time and on budget with no complaints.

To administer an estate accurately,
effectively and efficiently within a
reasonable time and on budget with
no complaints

Over 500 solicitors registered for the webinar which was fully subscribed within a matter of hours. The webinar provided the attendees with wide ranging information about the avoidance of risk which also included reference to Certainty Will Search, a simple, quick, thorough and inexpensive disbursement to establish the existence of a Will or a later Will.

As expected the webinar was very well received by solicitors:

‘Useful, helpful, interesting and informative? Very much so!’….. Hillyer McKeown Solicitors, Birkenhead

‘Great webinar. Very helpful information and useful pointers from a risk management point of view’….. Scott Walker, Tassells Solicitors, Kent

‘Interesting and informative’….. Louise Hobbs, Hobbs Law

‘Very useful information’….. Colemans Solicitors, Haywards Heath

The high demand for Gill’s webinar means that it will be running again in the near future and Certainty will be scheduling a series of webinars to cover other important issues relating to Wills & Probate business. More information to follow.

If you require any additional information regarding Certainty services please contact gerard.odriscoll@certainty.co.uk

Wow! Look who uses and recommends Certainty?

April 2nd, 2013

Certainty Logo

Certainty services are endorsed (through use, reference and recommendation) by:

  • Educators and advisors to Wills & Probate practitioners, notably Gill Steel and Professor Lesley King
  • Professional Indemnity Insurance providers
  • The Treasury Solicitor, Bona Vacantia Division
  • Advisors on Compliance, Risk Management, OFR and COLP
  • Lexis Nexis and Practical Law Company – issuers of practice notes to practitioners
  • Legal networks such as SFE, LawNet, Bold Group and regional law societies
  • Probate Researchers such as Title Research and Fraser & Fraser
  • Search service providers such as TM Group and Quantus
  • National Awareness coalition Dying Matters
  • UK Charities such as Macmillan Cancer, Will Aid, Alzheimer’s Society, PDSA and Remember a Charity
  • Public Advice bodies such as Citizens Advice Bureaux
  • National Association of Funeral Directors
  • Legal Marketing advisors such as MarketLaw
  • Law firms – thousands of practitioners around the UK and endorsed by the Law Society

The reason why so many organisations and sectors recommend Certainty? Because it is specifically designed to help law firms and testators to protect the content and location of their Will, helping loved ones and beneficiaries at a difficult time. Will Registration, Willbank Management and Will Search services are the key!

With law firms facing increased competition and pressure it is also good to know that Certainty is income generating as well!

For more information contact gerard@certainty.co.uk

5 ways Certainty can help your Wills & Probate business

March 19th, 2013

CertaintyNationalWillRegister

If you are a Wills & Probate practitioner Certainty provides simple measures and services to help you, your firm and your clients:

1. Risk Management – Certainty services are recommended by PII providers and will assist the COLP to reduce risk and meet the requirements of Outcomes Focused Regulation. Will registration, Willbank Management and Will Search provide risk-based solutions to daily matters.

2. Avoid incorrect distribution and allegations of negligence – its not always clear if a Will or a later Will exists when dealing with a probate matter. Will Search ensures that you can search for unregistered Wills as well as those on the register, providing comfort and protection for your firm and clients.

3. Best practice – referenced in the Probate Practitioners Handbook and in practice notes issued by Lexis Nexis Certainty services are standard procedure for thousands of practitioners around the UK. Certainty services are also used by probate researchers, Treasury Solicitor, UK charities, Search Service providers and other organisations.

4. Income and Profit – Certainty helps law firms protect their probate work income, and other client business. Simple, effective services specifically assist business development and control of clients/income/probate work.

5. Client retention – Will registration and Willbank management (TOUCH) are specifically designed to strengthen client loyalty and make future contact more meaningful and straightforward.

For further information please email gerard@certainty.co.uk

Lasting Powers of Attorney – The duties and responsibilities of Attorneys

March 8th, 2013

Scott1

Scott Walker of Tassells Solicitors in Kent on LPAs

A Lasting Power of Attorney (‘LPA’) is an important and powerful document. It follows therefore, that a person appointed as an Attorney under a LPA has a high level of responsibility. An Attorney owes a duty to the person making the LPA (known as the ‘Donor’) to act in their best interests.

Making a LPA is the only way to make plans for a time in the future when you may lack the capacity to make decisions for yourself.

It is important to distinguish the two different types of LPA; Property and Financial Affairs and Health and Welfare. Each LPA creates different powers which will affect the type of role that the Attorneys take, their duties and the decisions that they can make under the LPAs.

Read the rest of this entry »

Now is the time for Certainty

March 8th, 2013

Tony Pearce, Thornleys

Thornleys Solicitors Ltd in Plymouth have been members of Certainty since 2008. Tony Pearce, MD, is a member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists and an experienced litigator with over 25 years experience.  Formerly a Deputy District Judge, Tony specialises in Will and Trust disputes and claims against Estates.

Tony comments: “We saw membership of Certainty as a way of avoiding risk, improving client care, to assist with Will management and to assist with our marketing efforts. The benefits have been evident. Using Certainty we have been able to rationalise our Will bank. Also as a member of ACTAPS I am very concious of the risks associated with Will production and probate services. Our professional indemnity providers this year recognised that being part of Certainty was seen as good risk management. The search facilities are excellent and increased the range of services we offer and this also helps to avoid risk.

We can all imagine a situation where a Grant is obtained, the Estate is distributed and later (perhaps much later) it is discovered that the Deceased had left a perfectly valid Will or a later testamentary document with another solicitor. The client would ask the question ‘Why did you not advise me of the desirability of undertaking a search?’. Then you inform your indemnity insurers.

Even in situations where we have acted for a deceased client and his/her family for many years and it appears wholly unlikely that a subsequent testamentary document or letter of wishes exists, we now ensure that on taking instructions that we advise the client in writing to undertake a Certainty Will search. This is in addition to other enquiries that are recommended. If necessary we consider with the client the need to additionally publish a Notice. In situations where the solicitors instructed have not been the ‘family solicitor’ it is more important to ensure that the Estate is advised of the effects and possible loss the later discovery of a testamentary document would likely cause. Certainty has proved increasingly effective where we have used its search facility with a good number of the solicitors contacted providing a prompt response by email”.

Certainty CPD training team make a real difference

March 7th, 2013

Adrian 2

At Certainty we recognise the importance of training to help practitioners and solicitors fully engage with the various services, and so appreciate why they are so important to their firm and clients. Will registration and Will search are specifically relevant for practitioners as they are dealing with Wills and Probate matters on a daily basis.

Appreciating the context, background and benefits of these services is key to success. The Certainty CPD training team, headed up by the fragrant Adrian Flower (pictured), is well versed and highly experienced in offering advice on how best to use and present the services. As a consequence firms are able to use risk-based solutions on matters, which is good for the COLP, look after clients better and protect the income and probate work from clients.

Adrian says ‘we take this part of our service seriously and urge firms to take up the training when they join, or even to have a refresher course, especially when new staff are employed. There is no cost for training. I see how firms benefit from the training and it is very good to know that is having positive impact on their business and clients’.

Gillian Linford Solicitors said: ‘We have already received two lots of induction training from Adrian Flower by telephone which were informative and useful.   In addition, we have found Adrian in particular to be extremely helpful and efficient in dealing with any queries we raise’.

Button Legal in Coventry: ‘Things are going well and Adrian has been tremendously helpful and supportive – I can’t thank him enough for his time and effort in getting us up and running!’

Pennine Kennedy Solicitors: ‘We are happy with everything and Adrian has been very helpful.  We particularly like your assets search which is now routinely carried out on all our probate matters’.

McHale & Co Solicitors: ‘Adrian has been extremely helpful and I have learnt a lot from the training sessions.  We are in the process of communicating with our will database and encouraging all new clients to register with Certainty’.

Full CPD training is provided to all Certainty members as a matter of course but we do also offer CPD training to non-members who wish to use the Certainty Will Search system. This is available for use on a case by case basis and enables law firms to search for registered and unregistered Wills, protecting against incorrect distribution and allegations of negligence.

For more information please email gerard@certainty.co.uk

Scott Walker, guest blogger: Appointing Executors – their duties and responsibilities

February 26th, 2013
Scott Walker, Tassells Solicitors

Scott Walker, Tassells Solicitors

Thanks to Scott Walker, Tassells Solicitors for submitting the following information:

In making a Will a crucial issue is choosing executors. The importance of choosing the correct people as executors cannot be stressed enough.

Executors are the representatives who will ultimately carry out the wishes of the deceased and ‘administer’ the estate of the deceased. The choice of executors can often be the difference between a smooth running administration and conflicts arising.

The choice of executor is a personal one and should be exercised with care. Ideally people who are morally sound, essentially decent and people who are more likely to adhere to the wishes of the deceased should be chosen. It is possible to appoint independent executors and it may be sensible to do so if wishes are particularly contentious or a family dispute can be envisaged.

Read the rest of this entry »

Certainty links up with Dying Matters – Awareness Week 13-19 May

February 25th, 2013

Dying matters

Dying Matters (www.dyingmatters.org) has teamed up with Certainty to offer members free Will Registration.

Dying Matters is a wide ranging and inclusive coalition which aims to change public attitudes towards death and bereavement in England, encouraging greater engagement on related issues. Will writing and making sure that loved ones can find the Will is an important part of the process. Every year thousands of families cannot find a Will following the death of a loved one.

Dying Matters have produced a newsletter in advance of the Awareness Week 13-19 May and comment as follows: ‘As part of our efforts to encourage more people to make their end of life wishes known, we are delighted to be able to offer all Dying Matter members the chance to register their Will free of charge with Certainty National Will Register.

The initiative is aimed at ensuring that those people who have planned for what happens after they die by writing a Will also register it – so it can be easily tracked down after their death. Many Wills are rewritten or misplaced over the years, and many families don’t know where their loved ones have stored their Wills. A simple solution is offer by Certainty to ensure there is always a record of where the most up to date record is kept and that it is traceable by the family after death’.

Nigel McGinnity, Founder of Certainty, said: ‘We are pleased to be able to contribute to the Dying Matters Coalition by providing free Will registration, which is an important step to ensure that when the time comes, loved ones and beneficiaries will not have the extra anxiety of not knowing where the Will is located’.

Sintons LLP and Living North providing good Will advice to the NE/Yorkshire Region

February 14th, 2013
My head is spinning and I feel as if I’ve gone back in time studying for my law degree or bar exams.
I’ve read oodles of reports, articles and opinions, and am I any the wiser? Well yes, I am. What follows
are a few thoughts which I genuinely hope are helpful, but there is really one key message I would like
you to take away: if you have any of the responsibilities that life blesses and burdens us with, you must
make a will. Do you drive a car, or own a home? Are you or is it insured? Yes, I thought so. Just imagine
if you weren’t and you hit a child in your car or your house burned down, your life both emotionally
and financially would be in tatters. And yet more than two thirds of people in the UK don’t have a
will. Some of the reasons for this will follow but as will become clear, it is madness not to have one.
Moreover, if you do have one, does it still do the job it was intended to? If not, you need to update it
For the special feature that follows, in addition to a lot of
reading we also talked to a number of practising lawyers, the
Law Society and others to understand the subject better. We
were particularly grateful to Sintons who we met with on
several occasions and who guided us through the various life
stages and the need for making or updating a will and our
thoughts inspired by them are revealed in the following pages.
Everyone’s circumstances are different, and so making a will
should not be an impersonal experience but actually a very
personal one. It should be uplifting not depressing, it should
bring peace of mind and above all it will ensure, should the
worst happen, your wishes are followed. That really is worth
paying for. Put another way, the potential for chaos and upset
if you don’t make a will just isn’t worth it.
‘It should be uplifting not
depressing, it should bring peace
of mind and above all it will
ensure, should the worst happen,
your wishes are followed. That
really is worth paying for’
So why in an age of complicated relationships and an
increasingly litigious society do 60% of adults of sound
mind decline to make a will? Well, clearly if you have no
responsibilities; property, family, and so on, there may
be more pressing issues, but as the pages ahead show,
when responsibilities do come to you so it becomes your
responsibility to make a will, and a good one at that.
Yes, you can buy a will kit in a shop for under £10 or
do it yourself online, but there are real pitfalls to watch
out for. Lawyers’ charges will vary depending on the
complexity of the will, but that in itself will reflect your
own circumstances. Perhaps the expression ‘the last will and
testament’ puts us off, so maybe we should think of it this
way; ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’. Even the old cliche
‘nothing is certain but death and taxes’ can be seen in a
more positive light by accepting the inevitable and allowing
it to spur you on to ensure that death does not result in an
unexpected tax bill. By making a will you are able to pass
on your property and assets on your death to whoever you
choose. Despite the use of some fairly historic terminology,
the process of creating a will is not overly complex – what is
key is to convey your own wishes, consider all your options
and then ensure it is legally valid (for example a beneficiary
or their spouse should not sign a will as a witness).
If you do not make a will or make an invalid one your
property and assets will be distributed in accordance with
the intestacy rules, which set out who is entitled to inherit
from your estate, and these unforgiving rules can lead to
especially unwelcome situations. The brutal fact is the
intestacy rules may not cater for your own wishes, and in some
circumstances may be very different to those wishes. Moreover,
if you have no relatives and no will the Crown is likely to take
your estate; now that is a complete disaster, surely?
In addition to making a will, the possibility of setting up a
trust, possibly for the benefit of your children, is something
that can be crucial to your wishes being carried out. A few
words from Hay & Kilner in the following pages offer some
valuable advice on this area.
Once we’ve made a will, many of us put it in a drawer and
forget about it (remembering to tell someone we trust
where it is!) However, the whole subject of making a will
has started me thinking about other key matters, from
inheritance tax to other forms of managing life’s finances in
a more positive and successful way. This is why we should
review our will at key stages in life, as suggested in the
following pages, or as circumstances change. If the changes
are only small a codicil can be made, which is then read in
conjunction with the will, or for larger changes, you can
revoke your will by destroying it or making another while
cancelling all previous ones.
What is clear is that making a will is rarely just a once in a
lifetime event, but for that reason alone it should not be put
off. Circumstances and relationships change, children are born,
people die (possibly one of your principal beneficiaries). The
process of probate and the implications of The Inheritance
(Provisions for the Family and Dependants) Act 1975 all add
to the potential worries for this stage of life. Having a solicitor
may be more expensive but professional advice at this time is
really valuable as mistakes made can be hugely costly. What
remains fundamental is that your will should represent your
wishes after you die, and if it does not you should change it.
‘Times have changed but the
importance of making a will has
not, so take my advice and make
one, and tell your children to
follow suit’
For further inspiration to update my own will, I think of my
own recently changed circumstances. My will, which I have
read many times recently, has to be updated or my wishes
and those of my wife will not be carried out. As part of my
legal training many moons ago, I undertook two sets of work
experience. They were dull, but I remember them as if they
were yesterday; the files addressing matters of probate when
wills had been disputed or not carried out properly. I can
still smell the dust on the ancient letters, and the cigarette
smoke wafting through the office door of the equally ancient
Senior Partner. Times have changed but the importance of
making a will has not, so take my advice and make one, and
tell your children (if they have responsibilities) to follow suit.
Then you can enjoy living, knowing that if the worst should
happen your wishes will be followed and that is worth the
time and cost alone.My head is spinning and I feel as if I’ve gone back in time studying for my law degree or bar exams.
I’ve read oodles of reports, articles and opinions, and am I any the wiser? Well yes, I am. What follows
are a few thoughts which I genuinely hope are helpful, but there is really one key message I would like
you to take away: if you have any of the responsibilities that life blesses and burdens us with, you must
make a will. Do you drive a car, or own a home? Are you or is it insured? Yes, I thought so. Just imagine
if you weren’t and you hit a child in your car or your house burned down, your life both emotionally
and financially would be in tatters. And yet more than two thirds of people in the UK don’t have a
will. Some of the reasons for this will follow but as will become clear, it is madness not to have one.
Moreover, if you do have one, does it still do the job it was intended to? If not, you need to update it
For the special feature that follows, in addition to a lot of
reading we also talked to a number of practising lawyers, the
Law Society and others to understand the subject better. We
were particularly grateful to Sintons who we met with on
several occasions and who guided us through the various life
stages and the need for making or updating a will and our
thoughts inspired by them are revealed in the following pages.
Everyone’s circumstances are different, and so making a will
should not be an impersonal experience but actually a very
personal one. It should be uplifting not depressing, it should
bring peace of mind and above all it will ensure, should the
worst happen, your wishes are followed. That really is worth
paying for. Put another way, the potential for chaos and upset
if you don’t make a will just isn’t worth it.
‘It should be uplifting not
depressing, it should bring peace
of mind and above all it will
ensure, should the worst happen,
your wishes are followed. That
really is worth paying for’
So why in an age of complicated relationships and an
increasingly litigious society do 60% of adults of sound
mind decline to make a will? Well, clearly if you have no
responsibilities; property, family, and so on, there may
be more pressing issues, but as the pages ahead show,
when responsibilities do come to you so it becomes your
responsibility to make a will, and a good one at that.
Yes, you can buy a will kit in a shop for under £10 or
do it yourself online, but there are real pitfalls to watch
out for. Lawyers’ charges will vary depending on the
complexity of the will, but that in itself will reflect your
own circumstances. Perhaps the expression ‘the last will and
testament’ puts us off, so maybe we should think of it this
way; ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’. Even the old cliche
‘nothing is certain but death and taxes’ can be seen in a
more positive light by accepting the inevitable and allowing
it to spur you on to ensure that death does not result in an
unexpected tax bill. By making a will you are able to pass
on your property and assets on your death to whoever you
choose. Despite the use of some fairly historic terminology,
the process of creating a will is not overly complex – what is
key is to convey your own wishes, consider all your options
and then ensure it is legally valid (for example a beneficiary
or their spouse should not sign a will as a witness).
If you do not make a will or make an invalid one your
property and assets will be distributed in accordance with
the intestacy rules, which set out who is entitled to inherit
from your estate, and these unforgiving rules can lead to
especially unwelcome situations. The brutal fact is the
intestacy rules may not cater for your own wishes, and in some
circumstances may be very different to those wishes. Moreover,
if you have no relatives and no will the Crown is likely to take
your estate; now that is a complete disaster, surely?
In addition to making a will, the possibility of setting up a
trust, possibly for the benefit of your children, is something
that can be crucial to your wishes being carried out. A few
words from Hay & Kilner in the following pages offer some
valuable advice on this area.
Once we’ve made a will, many of us put it in a drawer and
forget about it (remembering to tell someone we trust
where it is!) However, the whole subject of making a will
has started me thinking about other key matters, from
inheritance tax to other forms of managing life’s finances in
a more positive and successful way. This is why we should
review our will at key stages in life, as suggested in the
following pages, or as circumstances change. If the changes
are only small a codicil can be made, which is then read in
conjunction with the will, or for larger changes, you can
revoke your will by destroying it or making another while
cancelling all previous ones.
What is clear is that making a will is rarely just a once in a
lifetime event, but for that reason alone it should not be put
off. Circumstances and relationships change, children are born,
people die (possibly one of your principal beneficiaries). The
process of probate and the implications of The Inheritance
(Provisions for the Family and Dependants) Act 1975 all add
to the potential worries for this stage of life. Having a solicitor
may be more expensive but professional advice at this time is
really valuable as mistakes made can be hugely costly. What
remains fundamental is that your will should represent your
wishes after you die, and if it does not you should change it.
‘Times have changed but the
importance of making a will has
not, so take my advice and make
one, and tell your children to
follow suit’
For further inspiration to update my own will, I think of my
own recently changed circumstances. My will, which I have
read many times recently, has to be updated or my wishes
and those of my wife will not be carried out. As part of my
legal training many moons ago, I undertook two sets of work
experience. They were dull, but I remember them as if they
were yesterday; the files addressing matters of probate when
wills had been disputed or not carried out properly. I can
still smell the dust on the ancient letters, and the cigarette
smoke wafting through the office door of the equally ancient
Senior Partner. Times have changed but the importance of
making a will has not, so take my advice and make one, and
tell your children (if they have responsibilities) to follow suit.
Then you can enjoy living, knowing that if the worst should
happen your wishes will be followed and that is worth the
time and cost alone.

Sintons Law

Thanks to Living North Magazine and Sintons LLP (Certainty members) for permission

My head is spinning and I feel as if I’ve gone back in time studying for my law degree or bar exams. I’ve read oodles of reports, articles and opinions, and am I any the wiser? Well yes, I am. What follows are a few thoughts which I genuinely hope are helpful, but there is really one key message I would like you to take away: if you have any of the responsibilities that life blesses and burdens us with, you must make a will. Do you drive a car, or own a home? Are you or is it insured? Yes, I thought so. Just imagine if you weren’t and you hit a child in your car or your house burned down, your life both emotionally and financially would be in tatters. And yet more than two thirds of people in the UK don’t have a will. Some of the reasons for this will follow but as will become clear, it is madness not to have one. Moreover, if you do have one, does it still do the job it was intended to? If not, you need to update it

Read the rest of this entry »

Will Registration working for Charities – producing Will clients for law firms

January 29th, 2013

Will & Testament

Since 2008 Certainty has been providing services to Wills & Probate practitioners alleviating long standing problems relating to ‘lost’ Wills and the possibility of incorrect distribution. Despite the primary focus being on the legal profession, Certainty has made equally significant strides with the public and other relevant sectors and organisations.

It comes as no surprise that members of the public are often unaware of, or reluctant to consider, the many important issues surrounding wealth planning, succession, Wills, intestacy and implications for loved ones and beneficiaries. The fact the an estimated 70% of the adult population does not have a Will is a clear indication of public antipathy.

Read the rest of this entry »

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