Here we present an introduction to dealing with estates and executries in Scotland: an interview with Mike Davis who is the founder of My Probate Partner.
This is a Scottish company which helps first-time executors to successfully apply to the courts and then deal with the estates of their deceased relatives themselves.
The company has adopted the English legal term of probate which it thinks is better understood by people without a legal background. In Scotland the terms are that the deceased person leaves behind an estate, which is administered by executors who obtain Confirmation which is the legal document listing all assets. This is then their title to distribute the assets in terms of any will or in terms of succession legislation.
- How long have you been working in the probate/legal sector?
In 2014, I joined forces with my father in his small legal auditing firm. Our primary offering was setting fees for solicitors by reviewing their work. It was during this time that I saw thousands of cases related to dealing with a deceased person’s estate. After experiencing the extreme difficulty of navigating the Scottish legal system first-hand, together with the expensive (and often poor) level of service offered by solicitors, I officially launched My Probate Partner in 2019.
- What was the inspiration behind My Probate Partner?
As a legal auditor, I witnessed thousands of cases where solicitors would deal with someone’s estate after they die. The majority of these cases were relatively straightforward, but people were still paying thousands of pounds for a solicitor to complete a lot of admin work that they could do themselves. Because of this, I knew I could help people navigate the probate process without the use of a solicitor, whilst saving a small fortune as a result. - Tell us a bit more about your company and services?
My Probate Partner provides an alternative, cost-effective way to do probate that allows individuals to stay in control of the process, without needing to spend time learning about how it works – whilst also saving money. We help people navigate the administrative process after someone dies, without using expensive solicitors. Our paid-for services help people with the court application which is required in around 50% of deaths and is almost impossible to do without professional help. - What is the difference between probate in the UK and Scotland?
In Scotland, probate is referred to as ‘Confirmation’ and is processed by the local Sheriff Court. There are a few technical differences, but in reality, they have the same function: to give the person named in a Will the authority to deal with certain assets. The English process was updated in 2019 to include a new and relatively easy to use online platform, however, the Scottish process remains paper-based and requires antiquated language and specific formatting that is not made clear to the applicant.
- What is the difference between the service provided by My Probate Partner against appointing a solicitor?
Before My Probate Partner, the options available to bereaved people were to either ‘go it alone’, scraping together information from the internet that has an English focus, or to hand everything over to a solicitor to deal with – which comes with a hefty price tag and long delays. My Probate Partner offers a middle ground solution that provides the best of both worlds – empowering people to navigate the process themselves with expert guidance, but without the cost and delay associated with using a solicitor.
- What makes My Probate Partner different from other probate services?
All other probate service suppliers in Scotland are solicitors, and most solicitors offer a wide variety of services, with no motivation to change or improve the experience of bereaved people. My Probate Partner is a consumer-focused probate specialist company that works hard to make the process more accessible to bereaved people. We are able to help in over 90% of cases – our unique online qualification tool advises people if they will need to use a solicitor in less than 2 minutes.
- What message do you want to tell the Scottish public about probate?
Shop around for services that are required after someone dies. Funeral directors and solicitors have had a captive market for hundreds of years, which shows in their uncompetitive and old-fashioned business models, often with eye-watering prices and poor service. There are a host of newer companies out there trying to do things differently that offer more choice to consumers to deal with the aftermath of someone’s death. My Probate Partner is currently the leading alternative probate service provider in Scotland.
- If you could choose three words to describe your business, what would they be?
Innovative, helpful and effective.
- What are your plans/ambitions for the next 3-5 years? What do you hope to achieve?
We want to become the go-to provider for probate information and services in Scotland. Our aim is to position My Probate Partner as a ‘Money Saving Expert’ type platform specifically for probate in Scotland, making the process as transparent as possible and allowing people to make informed decisions about what is best for them and their families at one of the most difficult times in their lives.
