Benefits of Performing a Due Diligent Financial Asset Search

Do you believe a financial asset search due diligence report is necessary? Is a financial asset search due diligence report necessary at all when you administering a deceased estate? Many executors and estate administrators have in the past pondered this important subject.

Harrisons Asset Search Solutions research has found that conducting a due diligence Financial Asset Search in 90% of cases undertaken has increased the value of a deceased estate and located at least one asset previously unidentified.

What is due diligence?

The definition of due diligence is "reasonable care and caution exercised by a person who is buying, selling, giving professional advice, etc., especially as required by law to protect against incurring liability" or  "the process of gathering or disclosing relevant and reliable information about a prospective sale, purchase, contract, etc"

Due diligence in this instance is a procedure of financial asset research. It relates to comprehending an estates financial situation regarding assets and liabilities.  Ensuring the estate is maximised and all assets accounted for and that liabilities are settled, ensuring the executor or administrator has performed their role with limited liability following distribution.

Why do we require Financial Due Diligence?

Financial due diligence is crucial for a variety of reasons. We thoroughly research property before making a purchase. The purchasers may study every part of the company they purchase, thanks to financial due diligence. The buyer benefits in the following ways:

Decreased risk:

Financial due diligence assists Executors and estate administrators in reducing the risk associated with a administering a deceased estate. The executor becomes aware of potential issues such as liabilities after thoroughly examining financial institutions, share registrars and pension providers.

Help with Decision Making:

An executor or estate administrator can compile estate accounts ready for distribution knowing they have perform full due diligence and done as much as possible to locate assets and liabilities.

Benefits of performing a Due Diligent Financial Asset Search:

­ Approximately £1.3 billion is held by UK financial institutions in lost, dormant, and active accounts, and this amount rises yearly. Add to this £3 billion in NS&I and an estimated £200 billion in unclaimed pension funds. A sizable portion of those is likely the deceased's property. Data taken from the March 2017 Commission on Dormant Assets Report.

Executors are in charge of a decedent's estate "in perpetuity," and they must find all of the assets in the estate so as not to harm the beneficiaries.

Failure to find and distribute all assets during the process might result in HMRC fines for unreported IHT and additional estate expenses.

The time and difficulties encountered by the executors trying to discover all assets when writing to financial institutions are greatly reduced by doing an asset search.

Harrisons Asset Search Solutions introduced our VERAFI Financial Asset Search and VERAFI Share Search Service in direct response to our Clients needs to search and correctly identify all assets belonging to the deceased.

90% of our searches for financial assets over the past 12 months have turned up at least one account that matches the estate, whether closed, inactive, or active.

Contact our team today 01923 693784