PRESS RELEASE
For
immediate release
An Axe, a Stuffed Snake
and a Tortoise are NOT the Weirdest Things Left in Wills According to a New
Survey from Estatesearch
·
Those
in the North West are least likely to have a will (39%) compared with 47%
nationally and 58% in London
·
Well over half of respondents in the North including Yorkshire
and the Humber, North West and North East and Cumbria (57%) didn’t
know if their will had been registered with a will registry service compared to
53% nationally
·
Those in North East &
Cumbria are some of the least likely to store financial documents digitally (29%),
compared with those in London 40%, Scotland 27% and West Midlands 24%.
16 May 2023: An
axe, a stuffed snake and a tortoise are not the weirdest things people have
been left in wills, reveals a new research study of 2,000
UK residents conducted by independent market research firm Danebury Research on
behalf of legal technology company, Estatesearch. The survey, designed to find out more about
estate planning, found people had inherited various quirky items from a horse,
to a bed, to a Victorian trumpet.
However, the weirdest items included: one sock and one shoe, my father’s
spade and “my granny’s false teeth”!
Ben Furlong, Customer
Services Director, Estatesearch confirms: “Much of our work is about supporting
clients in identifying the full extent of a person's estate, in a bereavement
or loss of mental capacity case. This was a serious study to ascertain how easily
people can locate or already know the whereabouts of assets like life
insurance, pensions, savings, premium bonds and share certificates. It revealed that 30% of people can’t easily
locate or don’t know the whereabouts of their personal pensions for example, the
same applied to 32% when questioned about other policies such as life
insurance. A further 38% of people had not, or were unsure, if they had informed
their next of kin where to find information pertaining to a National Savings
and Investments account.
“We also discovered
less than half the respondents have a will (47%) and of these, less than a
third say that it is up to date (28%).”
Further findings
included:
·
There
is a clear gender disparity with well over half of male respondents confirming
they have a will (54%) compared with only 41% of women.
·
Well over a third (38%) of
people have made, updated or considered making a will due to the COVID
pandemic. In the 18-24 year old age
group this rose to more than half (51%), compared with only 21% of those over 55 years of age.
·
Londoners
are most likely to have a will (58%) while those in the North West are least
likely (39%) compared to East Midlands 46%, East of England 46%, North East
& Cumbria 43%, Scotland 48%, South East 49%, South West 51%, West
Midlands 44%, Yorkshire & Humber 45%, Wales 43%.
·
As
expected, younger people are less likely to have a will. In the 18-24
year old age bracket 38% of respondents have a will compared with just over
half (51%) of 55-64 year olds and 70% of those over the age of 65.
·
40% of respondents in London
store financial documents digitally compared with North East & Cumbria 29%,
Scotland 27% and West Midlands 24%.
·
More than half (52%) of
respondents hadn’t or didn’t know if their will had been registered with a will
registry service. Only 36% of Londoners
hadn’t or didn’t know if their will had been registered with a will registry service
compared with 52% in the West
Midlands, 61% in the South East, 52% in Scotland.
·
If a spouse or significant
other passed away, 35% of respondents said they would not be able to locate all
their assets.
Ben Furlong continues:“Inspired by the Bond film Skyfall, where Judi
Dench’s character M left James Bond a ‘Bulldog figurine’ in her Will, we also decided
to find out what interesting or unusual items people had inherited. Further answers included: a boat, a cutlery
set, an egg timer, a penny, a torch, a handmade hair spray can cover and a gun!
“Although this question was designed to be lighthearted, our survey
highlights the real challenges which families and their executors face when it
comes to identifying and locating the assets of the deceased. Over time, it’s easy to lose track of pension
pots, premium bonds or life insurance policies. It is estimated
that there is over £200 Billion in unclaimed assets in the UK including £1.45
Billion in banks and building societies and £3.4 Billion dormant assets in
National Savings and Investments. In
2016, there was £15 Billion in unclaimed pension funds, while there are a
further £640 Million in dormant share registrations[1].
“On
behalf of one solicitor, our asset and liability search recently identified an
unknown bank account containing over £75k, and this meant those funds were able
to rightfully distributed to the beneficiaries. Away from our core services, Estatesearch are
also committed to promoting awareness of the issues faced by private client
practitioners to the wider financial industry, facilitating conversations
between financial institutions and legal membership groups.As one
of the founders of the Vulnerable
Banking Group, we are developing technology to help firms
comply with Consumer Duty and ultimately improve outcomes for vulnerable people
at what can be a difficult time. The results of this research will now be used
to educate and inform private client solicitors about the challenges and
solutions available to support their due diligence processes in identifying
estate assets.”
For further information please visit: Services
- Estatesearch
-
Ends –
Notes to Editors:
[1]: Source: The
Reclaim Fund Ltd
[2]: Source: Dormant Asset Commission Report 2016
[3]: ‘Gone Away’
figures from a 2016 FCA Thematic Review suggest £15bn. Extrapolated to 2023, we
estimate that the figure could be closer to £200bn
To access a summary presentation of the overall
market research findings, please see: http://www.estatesearch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Estatesearch-Consumer-Survey-Results-April-2023.pdf
·
.Interviews
with Ben Furlong are
available on request.
Survey
Methodology
Using
an online methodology, Danebury Research conducted a nationally representative
survey of 2,000 UK residents aged between 18 and 65. Fieldwork was conducted
from 20 April 2023 to 26 April 2023.
About Danebury Research
Danebury Research is a
global full-service market research company based in Stockbridge, Hampshire. It
works with both agencies and clients on a global level. With access to a panel
of over 200 million respondents, Danebury Research is dedicated to empowering
brave decisions through the provision of reliable, accurate, and representative
data. Services offered by Danebury Research include market research, brand
research, customer satisfaction surveys, employee surveys, and PR surveys. www.daneburyresearch.com.
About Estatesearch
Estatesearch, a legal
technology company for private client practitioners working on bereavement and
loss of mental capacity cases and one of the founders of the Vulnerable Banking Group,
has long been an advocate of protecting those who are most of risk. Estatesearch is now the largest provider of
Asset & Liability Searches in the UK and has been pioneering new data and
technology to help private practitioners identify assets and liabilities since
2018. For further information please
see: Simplify
Estate Due Diligence with Estatesearch
About the Vulnerable
Banking Group
The Vulnerable Banking
Group was formed by representatives of leading membership bodies and technology
businesses working in the Legal Sector, to help bridge the gap between the
financial industry and consumers, the goal being to strengthen communication
and develop services which help to provide the best outcome for vulnerable
people. For further
information please see: Vulnerable Banking Group
For further information
/ high resolution images contact:
Mel Betts
Grapevine PR Ltd
01544 318546