Public Sector Service - Estate Research

Over the last 10 years we have provided genealogy and probate services to the public sector, this includes local authorities, hospitals and coroners.

We have proven solutions for welfare funerals and for estates that need legal assistance. We work on all cases whether there is an estate or not. All our services to the public sector are free.

Why locate next of kin?

Informing the bereaved and offering the option of attending the funeral can only reflect positively on the authority.
Averts bad publicity if a relative turns up after a funeral
You can ask any traced kin to take over responsibility for funeral arrangements. If the family cannot take on the costs, at least you can give them the option to attend.
Properties and estate assets are secured and insured within 24 hours, reducing the risk to the authority.
The family can be asked to deal with any personal possessions.
We speed up the process of dealing with estates and in most cases reduce the authorities expenditure, particularly on welfare funerals.
Any costs that the council has incurred or any debts owed to the council are paid as soon as possible.
If our research proves that there is no family, you can proceed with funeral arrangements and make a definitive GLD referral.

”I consider it important to not just concentrate on the commercial aspect but the overarching mission, which is to assist public authorities in contacting next of kin so that they can attend the funeral of a relative and help minimise public expenditure on welfare funerals. It feeds through to our commitment to be transparent to all parties and to be used by public sector bodies for all occasions. This is our greatest competitive advantage: it helps us build robust bonds with our customers and motivate employees: they know that they are working with/ for a company that is having a positive impact on society. There is only one opportunity to attend a funeral and we always hope to get people there.”

Aidan Hutchings
Managing Director

Scenarios you may encounter

Known kin but details unclear
No known kin & No estate
No known kin
Relative comes forward

A person passes away, you are aware that there is kin but their current whereabouts are unknown. A lot of our work is tweaking information provided by you. Quite often, the next-of-kin details have not been updated for a long time. For instance, your information might say there is a sister to the deceased; you have an address and telephone number however you find the phone number is out of service and there is nobody of that name at the address.

Solution
We invest heavily in our databases: we can call up any address since 1983 and look at the occupants. We will use information provided by the authority to locate the new address or if they have passed away we can look for other kin. In the majority of cases, results can be achieved within 24 hours. This information can allow you to inform next of kin of the situation.
A person passes away and the authority is left to make the funeral arrangements as a welfare funeral. There are no known kin and there is no estate.

Solution
We will look for immediate family to the deceased – spouse, children, parents, siblings, nephews and nieces. We aim to do this within 48 hours.
A person passes away and the authority is left to make the funeral arrangements. There are no known kin but the deceased has left an estate.

Solution
We will locate any next of kin according to English intestacy law. We still need to contact family before a funeral has been organised. Once located, they will need to instruct solicitors to administer the estate. The appointed solicitors / next of kin will liaise with the authority and assume responsibility for the funeral. We then provide the authority with a fully documented claim to prove next of kin’s authenticity (according to criteria established by TSol/Duchy). In the instances where there is no next of kin, we would recommend that you carry on with the arrangements and then refer the matter to TSol/Duchy with the knowledge that there is no entitled next of kin.
You are dealing with a death of a person with an estate and a relative has come forward, or you already have kin details. We feel it is good practice that they provide documentation proving that they are related to the deceased. It is also imperative that you are certain that they are the closest next of kin. We would recommend you let us prove their entitlement with our free paperwork report.

Solution
We can assist families in verifying their claim to the authority so that you can freely pass on any sensitive information. We do not charge families for this service. We make sure their fully documented claim is with you without delay so the arrangements can be made quickly. We can also assist the family with instructing solicitors and assist in finding any other missing kin.

Proving entitlement

We provide you with all the necessary paperwork required to prove eligibility of a traced kin: in doing so, we are mindful of the criteria as set out by the GLD. We also offer a paperwork check service if you are in touch with kin but want a paperwork report to ensure that they are entitled to act on behalf of the estate. This is a free service to the family and to the authority. Our paperwork reports contain:

Family Tree – showing how the next of kin is related
Supporting birth, death and marriage certificates– proving their entitlement
Certified copy of passport or driving licence – proving their identity
Copy of bank statement or utility bill – to prove their address
Details of their solicitors

Transparency and fees

Public Sector clients can be wary of what exactly a company does with the information provided. We have always had a policy of full transparency when dealing with any family traced. This is also detailed on our terms of business (available on request). It is our ethos that we pass as much information to the family as possible so they can make an informed decision as to whether to use our services. It is our policy to inform any kin of the full situation, we notify them of:

who has died (we are hoping they may attend the funeral)
an indication as to the likely size of the estate
if possible, an indication of how many beneficiaries may be involved
details as to who referred the matter to us