Final Duties tests the probate market leaders – In a recent mystery shopping exercise, Final Duties invited the probate market leaders to quote for a simple probate estate.
Both the CO-OP and Simplify (the chosen provider of Barclays Bank) insisted on meeting face to face as part of their sales process and so appointments lasting about an hour were booked with both.
We asked each representative to quote for identical estates with a value of £137,000 made up of one property and two bank accounts.
The CO-OP quoted £4631.62 and Simplify £3080.40. A fixed-rate quote for the same estate from Final Duties was £2143.00
All quotes were detailed as fully inclusive with the exception of 3rd party charges. Simplify’s 3rd party charges run into 8 pages listing various fees; whilst the CO-OP and Final Duties 3rd party charges seemed more transparent.
Chris Poulton from Final Duties commented:
“Shopping around for probate quotations is an important step and is a must for any responsible Executor. Finding the best level of service and price is an important part of the Executor’s role and the probate market is evolving every day. We feel there is no longer a need for the home visit even with the inconvenience aside it’s now perfectly possible to achieve grant of probate without it”
It’s important for executors to be mindful of the fact that they need to act within the best interests of the estate and its beneficiaries. Executors have a responsibility to deliver or seek out services that offer value for money. Ultimately the aim is to achieve probate and estate distribution. Providing this is done in a timely manner many professional services are often identical. Executors may be asked to provide proof they have explored the market.