In most Probate matters there will be a Will and/or at least one potential beneficiary to represent the estate. Occasionally you may face a situation where there is neither a Will nor legal representative; typically a friend or neighbour will approach the law firm seeking help with the person’s estate.
As the friend is not a legal representative they have no authority to instruct a solicitor or authorise deductions from the estate. Likewise the solicitor cannot authorise deductions for their own fees or any 3rd party, which creates a standoff whereby the estate cannot proceed. Without instructing specialist researchers the beneficiaries will not be traced and without at least one beneficiary the estate cannot be acted upon or distributed.
We regularly hear about solicitor firms that have turned away the friend or neighbour, as they do not think they can help. In fact there are established procedures in place for exactly this type of situation.
If no beneficiaries can be found the estate could be referred to the government Bona Vacantia department but this would likely incur higher costs to the estate, additional delay to distribution and from the solicitor’s point of view the loss of any fee-earning potential.
Although law firms can approach this in different ways it will essentially boil down to whether there are any living beneficiaries under Intestacy? And if so can they be located? Even if the estate is referred to Bona Vacantia it would subsequently end up in the same position.
In the UK there are a number of probate research firms that will trace beneficiaries without requiring any upfront charges or commitment from the solicitor, making ‘no success no fee’ contingency arrangements with any beneficiaries found.
Once potential beneficiaries have been located, the estate can begin to be processed in line with the rules of Intestacy. The beneficiaries can elect an Administrator to represent them, instruct a solicitor and conduct a Missing Will search. If a valid Will is subsequently found, then the terms of the Will apply and those previously identified (under Intestacy) may no longer be potential beneficiaries.
At TraceInline we regularly help solicitors in this situation and in the vast majority of cases the solicitor referring the estate gets to keep the administration. The Administrator has the option to choose their own solicitor but we tend to find that people are happy to keep it with the local law firm that already has the details and knows about the estate.
If the estate is to be processed under Intestacy then the responsibility and liability for distributing to the correct beneficiaries falls on the Administrator. To mitigate this risk the Administrator can request a report detailing the research and steps undertaken, which can then be used to obtain cost-effective Missing Beneficiaries Insurance.
At TraceInline we present the research in the form of a single bounded document, with family tree, contact details and documentary evidence. The cost of Missing Beneficiaries Insurance can vary wildly based on the quality and thoroughness of the research; we always aim for our reports to achieve the lowest possible premium.
Next time you are faced with an estate with no known Will or Kin then you can tell the friend or neighbour that you know how to help. Collect the details about the person who has died and the friend and then ask TraceInline to find the relatives. There is nothing more for you to do. We will find the family if there are any and you will most likely get keep the administration.