A recent survey by Direct Line Life Insurance revealed that 38% of respondents did not know where their partner or spouse held financial assets and 66% were unaware of where their parents held their wealth.
In a society increasingly turning to online and paperless services, this means that, when a loved one dies, the evidence of assets might be extremely sparse or even non-existent: the paper trail might not be there.
Many banks, building societies and investing platforms are rightly doing away with regular paper statements and this could mean that unless the deceased has previously spoken about their savings accounts and other assets, some wealth might be overlooked during the probate process.
Increased use of technology can throw a spanner in the works
It's all very well knowing that your parent or partner had a stocks and shares ISA, but if you don't know who with and you can't gain access to their records then this can be an even more frustrating situation.
Biometric security and 2-step authentication systems have made it easy and more secure for the user in a world reliant on smartphones and tablets to handle our affairs, but when someone dies, it can be difficult for executors to know where to start in valuing an estate if everything is behind a password.
Is there a track and trace for your loved one's wealth?
Sadly, no. There are a number of developing systems that can help speed up the process of informing relevant organisations about a death, but, at the moment, no way of finding accounts without some basic information.
The Tell Us Once service informs all government-related departments that someone has died and this can often be initiated when the death is registered. The Death Notification Service is a relatively new operation which can inform participating financial institutions that a person has died in one go (eliminating the painful process of contacting them individually and having to repeat the same information), but you need to choose the institutions you wish to notify and it is not a search service.
Currently, you can trace inactive accounts using a service called My Lost Account, but this is only available for dormant accounts where there has been no activity for a number of years.
How can I make sure my loved ones know about my wealth?
The advice is to adopt a low-tech approach.
Firstly, if appropriate, talk to your family about your finances, make sure they are aware that you have investments, assets, and bank accounts so that when you die they are not completely in the dark about what needs to be valued, gathered and distributed.
Secondly, keep written details of accounts, etc. This could mean keeping any paperwork you receive, such as the information you receive when opening an account or annual statements. Keep them filed securely in your home or with a copy of your Will. If your accounts are all online, make a note of the details. You could draw up a list every two to three years of all accounts that you hold and have it stored with your Will. Your solicitor can help you with this.
Don't write down log-in details or passwords; as long as your loved ones have the basic details, they will know who to contact when the time comes to find out more. Most institutions have systems set up to assist executors but they will want to see a copy of the death certificate and proof that the person contacting them has authority to handle your affairs.
This approach may seem difficult and morbid, even, but if you want to help your executors and probate solicitors handle your estate efficiently so that your loved ones can benefit from the entirety of your estate, it will help the probate process to run smoothly if you have everything in place.
