Bid to ease the legal burden on bereaved
PROBATE experts Exizent have just produced research suggesting we don’t know enough about the financial affairs of our relatives when they pass away.
And not having access to this information can prolong what is already a slow and inefficient process.
It can also be emotionally draining, as James Armstrong, who lost his wife, father-in-law and both parents within six years, found out. He said: “Organising the financial affairs of a close family member who has passed away is extremely upsetting. You are already grieving, meaning your emotions are all over the place, so the last thing you need is a complicated legal process to exacerbate things. But sadly, that is exactly what happens.” Legal professionals themselves are well aware of the issues – 90 per cent of them think probate is “slow and inefficient” and 75 per cent think there are things that could be done to improve it. According to the vast majority of legal professionals, awaiting responses from institutions they are dealing with causes delays, with nearly a third saying this is the single main cause of probate cases being held up.
Nick Cousins, founder and CEO of Exizent, said: “Death is a difficult time for everyone. And sadly, as we have discovered in our report, the processes that come with it can be lengthy, repetitive and complicated, dragging things out for everyone involved. At an already challenging time, handling estates administration is an added burden for the bereaved, with legal professionals themselves admitting that the probate process is not fit for purpose.
“We believe estates administration should be simpler, and that modern technology solutions can make this a reality. We are also pushing for ‘open finance’ for the deceased to make asset discovery much easier, because – as our research shows – this is a major cause of stress and delay.
“We want to make it easier for legal services firms and institutions to work together to sort out what is badly needed to ease the burden on the bereaved.”