Estate administration – the pain points

According to recent research Finders International carried out with solicitors on LinkedIn, 50 percent of respondents say their biggest struggle with the estate administration process is finding missing beneficiaries, while 38 percent claim it’s the gathering of the deceased’s assets that gives them the biggest headache and 13 percent find it difficult to obtain the necessary certificates.

Here at Finders International, we specialise in many of those services, and have years of experience in tracing missing heirs to an estate. In fact, we’re so well known for it, we’re regulars on the popular BBC programme Heir Hunters where stores about some of more unusual cases regularly feature.

We can find heirs all over the world, and the missing beneficiary service we offer solicitors is fast, efficient and cost-effective. Whether you need our company to trace missing heirs to an intestacy or a missing beneficiary of a Will, it is highly likely that we can help. And as we have been in the business for such a long time, we can find missing beneficiaries even when provided with only limited information.

No fee payable

Results can often be guaranteed and if we can’t find the heir, there’s no fee payable to the beneficiary.

We’re also approved agents for Aviva, the company that provides missing beneficiary and missing Will insurance, and can get you a quote almost instantly, guaranteeing peace of mind. Circumstances are often unique, so we specify quote to individual cases, and you can either phone, fax or email us with the details.

Thanks to people’s greater mobility, an estate’s assets can often be scattered far and wide, with bank accounts, shares and property located all over the UK and indeed the world. Our missing assets service draws together all the resources that can be checked for unclaimed or missing assets. This will help you check for funds that might have been overlooked or deposited in accounts that have been forgotten.

True worth of an estate

The financial asset search offers the reassurance that an estate’s true worth can be calculated and whether this has implications for inheritance tax due or not. The UK asset search draws together searches of more than 150 financial institutions, share registrars, pension providers and insurers and credit reference agency data.

While carryi8ng out our searches, which can take up to 50 days to complete, we will keep you up to date on what we find.

For lasting power of attorney or court of protection orders, we offer as asset search for living clients too. For foreign assets, our services include helping to meet overseas’ banks requirements for closing accounts and sell or transfer foreign listed stocks or shares.

Missing documents service

For those solicitors who say locating missing certificates is the biggest headache for them, Finders International has a missing document service that is available to the UK legal profession only.

We can obtain English and Welsh:

  • Certificates of Birth, Marriage, Death & Adoption
  • Copies of Wills, Grants of Probate or Grants of Letters of Administration
  • Copies of Decrees Absolute
  • Other documents on request.

These are usually provided to you at cost, depending on how many you need. Scottish, Irish and overseas can be obtained too, but please contact us for a quote and confirmation.