• March 28, 2024
 Uncovering assets faster and more reliably

Uncovering assets faster and more reliably

A key part of administering an estate is gathering the assets and liabilities of the deceased. This has become increasingly problematic in recent years with the increase in the way in which we connect and communicate. Moving to a more ‘paperless’ and immediate lifestyle, these changes make things far easier to access and so people’s lives are more disparate. If the deceased died without putting their financial affairs in order, the locating of assets and liabilities can be extremely difficult and timely to complete. So, isn’t it time we used technology to make things easier?

With our advancing technology, we have become accustomed to having everything at our fingertips. You can access all your bank accounts, household bills, loans, savings, pensions and even share information all from your smartphone. And although this is all great, what does it mean for probate matters in particular?

It’s not as easy for a deceased’s family member to locate all assets and/or debts that a person may have if there is no easily accessible paper trail. Unless this information has been provided to the executor, they don’t always know they exist, and it is increasingly difficult for them to build the full estate.

Research from our annual Bereavement Index Report revealed that a staggering 91% of lawyers report assets being discovered during the probate process. Solicitors administering the estate need to contact anyone that the deceased may have had an account with, starting with the information provided by the executors. It can take lawyers a minimum of 6-8 weeks to complete all estate discovery, sometimes even up to 12 weeks, and without a standard format it is an all-consuming task for solicitors. It’s no easier for financial institutions, who are often blighted by prospective Data Subject Access Requests, which are so resource intensive they put the entire industry under strain. Considering more than 80% of probate cases have at least 10 printed letters sent, this is an extremely repetitive and protracted task.

The easiest solution is to maintain an up-to-date will, however we all know simply “being organised” is easier said than done. Going to the effort of updating a will with every open account isn’t practical for most, and assets will still be missed and remain unknown.

How Estate Discovery helps

Exizent’s latest feature for legal services firms, Estate discovery, is a step in the right direction. Joining forces with Experian, one of the world’s leading global information services companies, their new functionality addresses the major challenge for legal service practitioners in identifying key banking assets and financial liabilities associated with an estate, faster and more reliably. Including those not necessarily known to relatives or family executors.

Legal professionals and firms can now use Exizent’s platform to access a financial report, powered by Experian, with information about the deceased’s estate with a click of a button, transforming a process that can take many weeks to a few minutes.

“I was incredibly impressed with the speed at which the search was returned, I hadn’t expected it to be as instantaneous as it was.”

Exizent are strong believers that the probate industry shouldn’t be left behind in the fast-paced technology world we all live in.  It is this technology, and the continued dedication to improving the bereavement industry that will continue to digitise the probate industry and make the bereavement process as easy as possible for all of those involved.

To learn more about our latest feature, Estate discovery, click here or contact our team for a personalised demo here.

 

This article was submitted to be published by Exizent as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Wills and Probate. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Wills and Probate.

Exizent

http://www.exizent.com

Exizent is the industry platform for professionals involved with managing the bereavement process.

Learn the ins-and-outs of Exizent in this quick introductory video: Exizent connects the data and services used by legal services firms, institutions and executors when someone passes away, to make the journey for the bereaved an easier one. Exizent’s mission is to help everybody reduce uncertainty in the process, increase the speed to resolution, and make the bereavement process more straightforward for everyone involved.

Specially designed for legal and accountancy professionals, Exizent’s straightforward cloud-based platform allows probate professionals and their teams to streamline and efficiently deal with the administration of a deceased’s Estate, without the need for intensive product training or configuration.

Exizent platform users can save over 3 hours per case with automated features such as Court and Inheritance Tax forms pre-populated with your case data, and Estate Accounts, allowing you to produce full Estate Accounts designed to industry standards at the click of a button.

What's more, Exizent is continually developing their offering and are working hard to connect the data and services used by legal services firms, banks and financial institutions, and executors to reduce the administrative burden on those grieving – and those professionals helping them. Improving the process for all.

  • Collaboration and remote working
Easily create and manage all your cases in one place, assigning members of your team to work together with more clarity and efficiency. Capture all estate information in easy to navigate cases, adding details on people, assets, and liabilities.
  • Simplify Estate discovery
Access a deceased individual’s financial information in real time, from bank accounts to mortgages, directly on the platform at the click of a button, simplifying your estate discovery.
  • Quickly generate legal forms
Automatically produce fully or partially completed Court and Inheritance Tax forms from the data within your case, reducing rekeying and the potential for errors being made. From complex financial calculations to reformatting data, our platform greatly reduces the time taken to complete your forms.
  • Dedicated support
We ensure your team have the support they need. Our knowledgeable Customer Success team have the training and knowledge you need to take advantage of industry changes and digitisation within your existing workflows and processes.

CLICK HERE to book a zero-obligation demonstration today

Key Services  Address 1/3, 14 Mitchell Lane Glasgow G1 3NU

Key Contact Name: Sabina Konradova Email: sabina.konradova@exizent.com Linkedin Acc: Sabina Konradova