By Legal Futures’ Associate Certainty National Will Register
The British Wills and Probate Awards 2019 are just around the corner, taking place at the Belfry Hotel and Resort in Birmingham on Thursday 17th October 2019. As previously reported 90% of this year’s nominees use Certainty the National Will Register to register their clients’ Wills on The National Will Register and to search for registered and for Wills that have not been registered.
90% of The British Wills and Probate Awards 2019 nominees use Certainty the National Will Register in their processes. This high percentage of those nominated and shortlisted demonstrates the importance of Will Registration and Certainty Will Search. There are over 8.4 million Wills in the system and 12% of estates searched against in 2019 had an unknown Will attached to them. Either being a later Will revoking the Will being used or the estate was to believed to be intestate and a Will existed.
Charlotte Crawford, Senior Associate at Hugh Jones Solicitors comments on the firm’s nomination and her experience using Certainty the National Will Register: “We’re delighted to be shortlisted for Solicitor Firm of the Year in both the national and north categories of The Wills and Probate Awards 2019. The firm offer both private client services and boasts the largest team of Court of Protection lawyers in the UK. We have built an impressive reputation for supporting vulnerable people in a professional, friendly and effective manner.”
“Providing our clients with reassurance that they are administering their loved one’s estate according to their last Will is of paramount importance to us. A search of The National Will Register using Certainty Will Search allows us to provide this guarantee and helps to avoid any complications that would arise as a result of a later Will being discovered after distributions have been made.
“Will searches are also used to locate Wills for our deputyship clients, when they are otherwise unable to tell us if they have made a Will or where it is located.”
Certainty Contentious Probate Hub & Area list specialist Jack Ackrill, Solicitor at The Wilkes Partnership LLP said: “I am of course, delighted to have been nominated in the category of ‘Young Practitioner of the Year’ in The British Wills and Probate Awards 2019. I feel that this is an exciting stage in my career, having qualified a year ago at the Wilkes Partnership. I have been working hard with the team at Wilkes and it has taken a lot of hard work, drive and support for me to get here.
“Being nominated is a great achievement, especially given the level of quality that would have undoubtedly been put forward by other firms. It has been a steep learning curve, but with the support I’ve had since qualifying I feel that I have excelled.
“Clients find me approachable, straightforward and practical. For me, it is about achieving the client’s goals in practical and timely fashion. This is a complex and emotional area of law and I do think that this should always be borne in mind my practitioners dealing with these types of disputes. Although I qualified only a year ago, I do believe that my drive, innovation and persistent need to always achieve something better for my clients provides that extra level of service and value for money.
“I am proud to be listed as a specialist in the Certainty Contentious Probate Hub & Area as I believe that this adds value to our client offering at Wilkes.”
David Hilton, Partner and Head of the Court of Protection team at Bromleys Solicitors LLP said: “Being shortlisted for the ‘Court of Protection Team of the Year’ award is a great achievement. It recognises law firms that support the most vulnerable members of society by showing a compassionate and empathetic approach to client care and the highest standards of technical excellence.”
“It is the first year of the category and we have beaten off stiff competition from much larger firms to get this far, demonstrating the continued hard work and efforts of the team. It bolsters our reputation as a leading Court of Protection specialist firm on the back of our most successful year to date.”
“The Court of Protection Team’s service is complimented by our membership of Certainty National Will Register as it allows quick and easy searches for Wills of protected parties. The team use the service on a regular basis ensuring all avenues are covered giving peace of mind to all involved.”
“Our shortlisting follows a string of recent awards successes, including being named Professional Services Business of the Year at the 2018 Pride of Tameside Business Awards and Law Firm of the Year – small at the 2018 Manchester Legal Awards and we were also shortlisted for Private Client Team of the Year at the 2019 Manchester Legal Awards.”
Simon Hancox, Chief Executive Officer, Kings Court Trust says: “We are extremely pleased to be shortlisted for the Probate Provider of the Year award for Large Firms at the upcoming British Wills and Probate Awards 2019. We’re thrilled to be recognised within the industry as one of the UK’s leading providers of probate and estate administration.
“Being shortlisted for this award is a testament to our estate administration knowledge, legal and tax teams, and ability to advise on any situation. We help families with the practicalities of dealing with a bereavement and everyone at Kings Court Trust goes the extra mile to help those who entrust us to take care of their estate administration. That’s why it is truly a privilege to be recognised for this award.
“When we take care of the entire probate and estate administration process, Certainty the National Will Register helps in cases where we can’t find a Will. Certainty Will Search allows us to thoroughly search circa 8.4 million registered Wills, as well as Wills that have not been registered.”
Kalpa Prajapati, Partner and Head of Wills and Probate, Grant Saw Solicitors LLP comments on their nomination and membership with Certainty the National Will Register: “Grant Saw Solicitors are delighted to be shortlisted for the Solicitor Firm of the Year (South) for the second year running. Last year we came runners up and this year we hope to come first! The Private Client department have grown in size over the past year and we can confidently say that we are now more efficient than ever due to embracing the use of new IT systems.
Grant Saw are also proud to be shortlisted for the Community Involvement Award. We as a firm elect a charity every year which we support through various fundraising events and we also often support other local organisations. The Private Client department in particular, give talks in the community to highlight the importance of making a Will and Lasting Powers of Attorney.
Grant Saw have been members of Certainty the National Will Register since 2011 and offer Will Registration to all clients that make a Will with us. It is especially useful for clients who have executors/ beneficiaries all over the UK and worldwide. We also offer Certainty Will Search to all of our Probate clients and always make use of this facility when we are the appointed executors.”
Amy Peters, Director of Operations, Beneficial Trust & Will Co Ltd adds: “The team are thrilled at being shortlisted once again for these awards, particularly in celebration of our 20th year in business. The industry has faced a number of challenges once again this year, but we are pleased to have been able to grow, with regard to both our clients and members and also in working with new partners to further enhance our proposition to the marketplace. Our commitment to our clients with services such as the Certainty National Will Register is a reflection of our desire to continuously strive to provide a trusted professional service that supports all Will writing and estate planning needs and we are thrilled to be amongst some very strong peers on the shortlist for this category.”
It’s fantastic that so many professionals who incorporate Certainty the National Will Register’s services into their client offering are being recognised for their outstanding achievements.
The team at Certainty the National Will Register wish all of those nominated the best of luck at the awards!
