Faced with the difficult and often complicated task of settling the estate of a deceased individual, Personal Representatives will often require additional support in identifying and locating all beneficiaries to an estate.

The research service works on behalf of Personal Representatives to ensure that all reasonable due diligence work has been undertaken to mitigate all common risks in the distribution of any estate. The family tree and line of inheritance can be verified and researched in full, and distribution schedules prepared, as well as making all reasonable efforts to locate any existing Wills, beneficiaries and legatees, and arranging appropriate insurance cover for any missing beneficiaries that may have a claim on the estate in the future.

The Service

We use proven techniques to locate the current whereabouts of beneficiaries and legatees anywhere in the world.

In cases where the Personal Representatives have a family tree, we can provide a professional genealogical opinion, and check this against all available vital records to identify any missing heirs, omissions or mistakes.

Where there has been no family tree initially provided, or when a Family Tree Verification has identified further beneficiaries, we provide an in-depth genealogical research proving the line of entitlement for the estate, obtaining all required certificate evidence and providing a full Genealogy Report following the line(s) of entitlement. The report produced will then be used to obtain a Missing Beneficiary Indemnity Insurance (MBII) quotation.

In cases of intestacy, we will organise a search of the Certainty National Will Register, for notifications to be placed on the Certainty Missing Wills Register, and to contact solicitors in the area where the deceased lived using the Certainty REACH Will Search Service.

We will organise a quotation for Missing Will Insurance to cover either a Will coming to light following an Intestacy estate distribution or a later Will to the one used to distribute the estate being discovered.

We arrange for a thorough search of assets in the UK and arrange for the required public notices to be made.

Arrangement of Missing Beneficiary Indemnity Insurance and Missing Will (Trustee) Insurance:

As part of an FCA registered firm, we are able to arrange insurance policies on behalf of the Personal Representatives, protecting against future claims on the estate by missing beneficiaries through intestacy or through any missing Will. This service is provided at cost — quotations are provided without obligation.

We prepare the distribution schedule for all beneficiaries entitled to a share in the estate, calculating their individual entitlements clearly and accurately, thereby allowing for a faster and more straightforward distribution.

For enquiries, contact our Commercial Manager, Rebecca McNaught on +44 (0) 1954 266030 or email direct [email protected]

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