Terms and Conditions Digilegal Trustees

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Part 1

Digilegal Trustees Limited (“we” or “us”) conduct business on the basis of these terms which the customer “you” will be deemed to have accepted if instructions are subsequently given to us. These terms will normally be read in conjunction with a separate engagement letter setting out the job to be done, the personnel handling it and the basis of charging. These terms will apply to any future business as well as the current assignment.

Digilegal Trustees Limited are a registered company, company registration number 12779759, and its registered office is 364 – 366, Cemetery Road, Sheffield, England, S11 8FT.

The contract under which services are provided to you is with Digilegal Trustees Limited and not with any individual director of Digilegal Trustees Limited or any of our employees, consultants or agents.

It is a condition of Digilegal Trustees Limited acting for you that you agree that any claims that you may have in respect of loss or damage suffered by you arising in any way out of or in connection with our engagement will be made against Digilegal Trustees Limited and not against any of our members, our consultants, our service companies or its or their employees, consultants or agents.

These are our general terms of business and arrangements. We shall notify you in writing of any change to these terms and arrangements. These terms should be read subject to the terms of our engagement letter which is sent to you and which will prevail if it conflicts with these general terms of business.

1. Receipt of instructions from you

1.1. When you first instruct us, we shall confirm in writing:

1. The instructions which you have given
2. Details of the work which we shall carry out
3. Any advice which we have given
4. The action which we shall be taking
5. Any information which we need from you and any action which we would like you to take
6. The name and job title of the person employed by Digilegal Trustees Limited who will deal with your work
7. The best information which we can give you about the likely fees and expenses

2. Conclusion of our work

2.1 When a matter has been completed, we shall:

1. Confirm that this has happened
2. Explain whether you will need to take any further action in the future
3. Account for any money due to you
4. Send our invoice promptly
5. Let you have your documents and papers which you request from your file when our invoice has been paid

3. Our service

3.1 As a matter progresses, we shall:

1. Deal with it promptly
2. Keep you informed of developments
3. Tell you about any delays and explain the reasons
4. Explain the meaning of important documents and, if appropriate, provide copies
5. Let you know if there is, or is likely to be, any change to our fees or expenses
6. Tell you if somebody else is to deal with your work

4. How you can help us

1. Let us have clear instructions and tell us promptly if anything changes
2. Tell us if you have any important time limits
3. Keep in touch regularly, particularly if there is something which is worrying you
4. Deal promptly with any questions which we ask
5. Where there is more than one beneficiary, all beneficiaries must agree and act together. Where a conflict arises, the overall responsibility for making a decision regarding the administration of the estate will be with Digilegal Trustees Limited as executor.

5. Timescale

1. It is not possible at this stage to provide an accurate timescale of how long it will take to deal with the estate administration. This usually takes anywhere between a couple of months and a couple of years depending on the complexity of the estate. We aim to obtain the Grant of Probate within 6 months from the date of instruction, and to have administered the estate within 12-18 months from the date of instruction.
2. We will update you on the likely timescales once we are in a position to apply for a Grant of Probate, as timescales are often affected by changing Court timescales and the length of the conveyancing process if there is any property to be sold.

6. Key dates and deadlines

1. If Inheritance Tax is payable by the estate, this must be paid within 6 months following the end of the month in which the deceased passed away. E.g. if the person passed away in January, then inheritance tax must be paid by the end of July.
2. If it is necessary to claim for the transfer of any unused IHT allowances of a late spouse or civil partner, these must be claimed within 2 years of the date of death of the person who has died now. Similarly, any variation to the Will must be done within two years of the date of death.
3. We will discuss with you whether any of these deadlines are likely to apply to your matter.

7. Money laundering

The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 require us to ensure that we have conducted “due diligence” in relation to our customers and, in particular, have satisfactory evidence of the identity and, where appropriate, beneficial ownership, of our clients. We may therefore require you to provide that evidence to us. We shall tell you what we need. You should be aware that these Regulations and the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 may require us to take further steps such as ceasing to act for you in the relevant matter or at all.

8. Electronic communication

1. We use electronic communication both with our clients and with other advisers but this is not completely secure and communications can be lost or mis-directed. Please ensure that you give us your full and correct communication details.
2. We take all reasonable steps to ensure that:
   • Our mail is addressed correctly and we rely on our clients and their other advisers to do the same when they contact us
   • All electronic communications leaving our offices are tested for software viruses but we recommend that you use up to date virus checking software to check all incoming communications before they are opened.
3. You and we recognise that the security of such communications cannot be guaranteed. Email will be treated as written correspondence and we are entitled to assume that the purported sender of an email is the actual sender and that any express or implied authority or approval referred to in an email has been validly given. Please tell us if you do not wish us to use electronic communication and if there are special arrangements which you would like us to make when we contact you.

9. Data protection

1. We may hold personal data about you and your employees in our paper and electronic client files and our internal databases. We will use and retain any such information to perform our services in accordance with your instructions and as further set out in our Privacy Notice at the end of these Terms and Conditions. Please ask us if you have any queries about the manner in which we process personal data about you or your employees.
2. If you disclose any personal data to us about any individual, you warrant and represent to us that:
   • you are entitled to disclose such personal data to us and, where appropriate, you have provided a privacy notice to that individual in compliance with applicable data protection legislation;
   • such personal data shall be limited to the minimum extent necessary for us to perform our services in accordance with your instructions; and
   • our use of such personal data as instructed by you will comply with applicable data protection legislation.
3. If the services we have agreed to provide involve us processing any personal data on your behalf, the subject-matter, duration, nature and purpose of the processing, type of personal data and categories of data subject, will each be as set out in our engagement letter or as otherwise instructed by you. With regard to such personal data, we agree that:
   • we will only use such personal data for the purpose of performing the services requested by you and not for any other purpose unless:
     • otherwise required by law (in which case we will promptly notify you before doing so unless we are not legally permitted to notify you); or
     • otherwise instructed by you in writing
     • we will put in place appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect against unauthorised or unlawful processing of such personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, such personal data (having regard to the sensitivity of the personal data and the potential harm that could be caused should any such issue arise)
     • we will ensure that all of our personnel who handle such personal data are obliged to keep it confidential
     • we will not transfer any such personal data outside of the European Economic Area without your permission
     • we will assist you in responding to any request from any person in respect of any personal data which is processed by us on your behalf, and (where you reasonably require) in ensuring your own compliance with data protection legislation with respect to security, breach notifications, impact assessments and consultations with the Information Commissioner’s Office
     • we will maintain complete and accurate records and information to demonstrate our compliance with our obligations under this Data Protection section and allow for audits by you or your auditor
     • we will not appoint any third party to fulfil on our behalf the services you have asked us to provide unless you agree otherwise; and
     • on request and at your choice, we will delete or return such personal data (and any copies held by us) to you upon termination of our instructions with you (unless otherwise required or permitted by law).

10. Storage of deeds and documents

1. We keep clients’ files, which are left with us, on the understanding that we have authority to destroy them at the end of six years from delivery of our final invoice. Please let us know before your matter is completed if you wish us to retain your file for a longer period. If you do, we shall agree suitable arrangements with you. When deeds or documents are taken out of storage in connection with a current matter, no charge is made. In other circumstances, a charge may be made to cover the costs of obtaining the deeds or documents from storage and of any time which we spend in looking through them. A charge may also be made for any copying and postage expenses which may be incurred. Your file will be held by us during this time in electronic format only.
2. On completion of your matter, subject to any rights of retention that we may have, upon your written request we will return to you any documents you provided to us for the purposes of acting for you. Those documents which belong to us will remain our property.
3. We are entitled to retain any deeds, documents, money and other property which belong to you and which properly come into our possession, until our fees and expenses, including VAT, have been paid. This is known as a lien and applies whether or not the deeds, documents, money and other property relate to the matter for which the outstanding fees and expenses have been incurred. We are not entitled to sell property held under a lien but we are entitled to retain the property even if its value exceeds the amounts due to us in respect of fees and expenses.

11. Limitation of liability

1. It is our practice to include a limitation of our liability in the engagement letter for an individual matter. This limitation is currently limited to one million pounds, and we shall put forward an appropriate figure when each new matter is referred to us. The advice which we give is personal to our clients and may not be used or relied on by anybody else without our written consent.

12. Termination of instructions

1. We expect to continue to act in any matter on which we have accepted instructions from you until the matter is completed. However, you may terminate your instructions to us at any time for any reason by giving us written notice. We shall not stop acting for you except for good reason and upon giving you reasonable notice where this is practicable. Good reasons include actions which may result in our being in breach of the law or in breach of the principles of good professional practice, our inability to obtain clear instructions from you, where there is a breakdown in confidence between you and us, where we consider there to be a conflict of interests or your failure to pay one of our invoices or to make a payment which we have requested on account of fees or expenses. We may also stop acting for you where we are unable to agree a revised fee arrangement with you where the circumstances and/or your requirements change and additional unforeseen work becomes necessary
2. If we do stop acting for you, for whatever reason, you will be liable for all fees and disbursements incurred up to the date of termination of the instructions plus any fees and expenses for work necessary in connection with the transfer of your matter to another adviser of your choice.
3. We may only stop acting for you where Digilegal Trustees Limited as executors have not intermeddled in the estate. Intermeddling includes actions such as collecting in an asset, paying a liability, or distributing funds to a beneficiary.

13. Fees information and invoicing

1. All information about our fees and expenses in these terms and any engagement letter is given on a VAT exclusive basis. General details are set out below and further particulars are contained in our engagement letter. Please feel free to discuss with us any query which you may have. When a new matter is referred to us we shall inform you how our fees will be calculated and about the expenses we expect will be incurred on your behalf. In some cases it will be possible to agree a fixed fee and this will not be altered without your agreement.
2. With some types of work it is not possible to agree a fixed fee but as a matter of guidance we shall usually be able to give an estimate, either for the entire matter or to take the work to an agreed stage. An estimate is not a fixed price nor is it binding.
3. Our fees include the time spent on:
   • Dealing with your matter, including meetings and telephone calls to and from you and others
   • Considering, preparing and working on papers
   • Correspondence
   • Travelling and waiting time
4. We may take into account a number of factors, in addition to the time spent, when we calculate our fees. These include the complexity of the work, the speed at which it has to be done, the expertise or specialist knowledge that is required and, when appropriate, the value of the property or subject matter.
5. On receipt of instructions we may ask you to make a deposit against fees and/or expenses to be incurred before any work is done, known as a payment on account. If a matter is not completed, we shall charge a fee to cover the work which we have actually done for you and the expenses which have been incurred on your behalf.
6. It is our practice to deliver interim invoices in respect of both fees and expenses as a matter progresses. We shall normally pay small expenses on your behalf and include them in the next invoice which is sent to you. However, in all other cases we will require you to put us in funds to meet any expenses before these are incurred, because we accept the obligation to pay those expenses when they are incurred on your behalf.
7. We shall include in our invoices any charges relating to your matter which are passed on to us by third parties.
8. Our invoices are payable on delivery, and if we ask you for a payment on account this will be due upon our request. We are entitled to charge interest on invoices which are paid late.
9. Where our instructions are to act on behalf of more than one person all the persons for whom we are acting are jointly and severally liable for our costs and disbursements. This means each person is liable for the full amount of our invoice.
10. If you are dissatisfied with any invoice received from us, you are entitled to complain about your bill. In these circumstances, please follow our complains procedure set out in our engagement letter

14. Investment services

1. We are not authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and are unable to offer investment services. Where this is required, we may refer you to someone who is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”).

15. Limitation of services and advice

1. We are not authorised to undertake reserved legal activities under the Legal Services Act 2007.
2. We do not provide tax advice, other than to the extent which we will specifically agree with you regarding inheritance tax. If you require tax, financial or insurance advice, you will need to seek the services of an appropriate professional.

16. Complaints

1. In the first instance, please discuss your concerns with the person who is handling your matter, who will do their best to resolve any issues.
2. If a satisfactory outcome is not achieved, or you do not feel able to discuss your concerns with this person, please e-mail the Directors of Digilegal Trustees Limited at hello@digilegal.co.uk with your full name, the matter it is concerning, the nature of your complaint and how you wish this to be resolved.
3. Your concerns will be investigated promptly and thoroughly and we shall contact you so that the results of our investigation may be discussed with you. There is no charge for this initial investigation.
4. If we are still unable to resolve your complaint, please contact the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) by telephone 020 3752 3711 or by e-mail at standards@step.org who will let you know your options for making a complaint about a STEP member.

17. Governing law

1. Our engagement and its performance will be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and we and you submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts. Each provision of these terms of business and our letter of engagement is severable and distinct from every other provision.

Part 2

1. Our services

1. When Digilegal Trustees Limited are named as an executor in a Will, we offer two types of service to administer the estate.
2. Where the beneficiaries of a Will wish to carry out majority of the estate administration themselves, but need some assistance in making sure that these steps are carried out correctly, they may wish to instruct us to carry out our Simple Executorship Service. This is preferable where an estate is fairly straightforward and all the beneficiaries are in agreement.
3. For more complex matters, or where the beneficiaries do not wish to deal with the estate administration, they may wish to use our Full Executorship Service. This involves us dealing with the estate administration from start to finish.
4. Details of what is included with each service is set out below.

Simple Executorship Service We will:	Full Executorship Service We will:
Provide you with our guide to registering a death	Register the death and obtain originals of the Death Certificate if required
Provide you with our funeral arrangements guide	Arrange the funeral if required
Arrange an initial meeting with you to discuss the estate and to provide you with our costs estimate	Arrange an initial meeting with you to discuss the estate and to provide you with our costs estimate
Obtain three quotes from Solicitors for them to obtain the Grant of Probate (if required)	Obtain three quotes from Solicitors for them to obtain the Grant of Probate (if required)
Arrange property and other insurances on your behalf for you to pay from the estate	Arrange property and other insurances which will be paid from the estate
Guide you so that you can obtain date of death valuations of all assets and liabilities of the estate	Contact all asset and liability providers to obtain date of death valuations of all assets and liabilities
Provide you with contact information for valuers/stockbrokers/estate agents where appropriate	Carry out a financial asset search with EstateSearch to check for any unknown assets and liabilities
Carry out a financial asset search with EstateSearch to check for any unknown assets and liabilities	Place notices in the local paper and London Gazette (s27 Notices) advertising for unknown beneficiaries and/or creditors to come forward
Place notices in the local paper and London Gazette (s27 Notices) advertising for unknown beneficiaries and/or creditors to come forward	Calculate whether any inheritance tax will be payable by the estate. Where tax is payable, we will arrange payment of this to HMRC and/or will agree how this is to be paid to them
Instruct a firm of Solicitors to prepare an application for a Grant of Probate and submit the same, and deal with the payment of any inheritance tax due	Instruct a firm of Solicitors to prepare an application for a Grant of Probate and submit the same
Guide you so that you can close any bank accounts and deal with any other assets and liabilities once the Grant of Probate has been issued	Arrange for all bank accounts to be closed, and other assets such as property/shares/investments to be sold
Provide guidance on the distribution of the estate and how to settle any tax liability for the administration period	Collect in all monies belonging to the estate
	Settle all outstanding liabilities of the estate
	Prepare estate accounts for approval by the executors and residuary beneficiaries
	Distribute assets of the estate to the beneficiaries named in the Will
	Settle any income tax liability for the administration period

2. What is excluded from our services

Our costs estimate does not take into account the following:

1. Overseas assets
2. Disputes in the estate
3. If the Will is not valid
4. Assets held in trust, or which do not form part of the estate, e.g. pension funds
5. A trust which has been created during the deceased’s lifetime
6. Any information about the estate provided to us once the quote has been accepted and work has commenced
7. Claims against the estate
8. Detailed inheritance tax advice
9. Income tax / capital gains tax advice
10. Assets of a pre-deceased spouse or civil partner which have not yet been dealt with
11. Legal costs of transferring or selling property
12. Any variation to the Will required

This list is not exhaustive and our costs estimate may exclude other factors which we will discuss with you where possible.

3. Expenses

3.1 We have set out below a list of the likely expenses which will be incurred when using either our Simple Executorship Service or our Full Executorship Service.

(a) Simple Executorship Service

1. Probate Court fee payable to the Probate Registry £300.00 plus £1.50 for each sealed copy Grant.
2. Solicitors’ fees for applying for and obtaining the Grant of Probate – Price to be confirmed
3. Advertisements under Section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 – notice to creditors in the local paper and London Gazette – Approximately £260 including VAT
4. EstateSearch Financial Profile Premium asset and liability search (35 working day turnaround) – £234 including VAT
5. Special delivery for lodging the probate application with the Probate Registry – £9 including VAT
6. Property insurance premium – Price to be confirmed

(b) Full Executorship Service:

1. Probate Court fee payable to the Probate Registry £300.00 plus £1.50 for each sealed copy Grant.
2. Solicitors’ fees for applying for and obtaining the Grant of Probate – Price to be confirmed
3. Advertisements under Section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 – notice to creditors in the local paper and London Gazette – Approximately £260 including VAT
4. EstateSearch Financial Profile Premium asset and liability search – £234 including VAT
5. Special delivery for lodging the probate application with the Probate Registry – £9 including VAT
6. Estate Agents fees for preparing probate valuations – Price to be confirmed
7. Will Search with Certainty – £126 including VAT
8. UK Beneficiary bankruptcy searches £2 per beneficiary
9. Overseas beneficiary bankruptcy searches – Price to be confirmed
10. House clearance fees – Price to be confirmed
11. Valuers fees for valuing personal items, vehicles, jewellery etc – Price to be confirmed
12. Land Registry documents £3 each
13. Property insurance premium – Price to be confirmed

Part 3

Privacy Notice

Personal representatives (executors or administrators) acting in the administration of an estate are “data controllers”. When we are instructed to act on their behalf we are therefore responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal information about you. We are sending you this notice to make you aware of how and why your personal data will be used and how long it will usually be retained for. It provides you with certain information that must be provided by us under data protection legislation (including but not limited to the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU 2016/679) (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018).

Digilegal Trustees Limited are a registered company, company registration number 12779759, and its registered office is 364 – 366, Cemetery Road, Sheffield, England, S11 8FT. We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and our registration number is ZA522189.

1. Data protection principles

1.1 We will comply with data protection law and principles, which means that your personal data will be:

1. Used lawfully, fairly and in a transparent way.
2. Collected only for valid purposes that we have clearly explained to you and not used in any      way that is incompatible with those purposes.
3. So far as possible, accurate and kept up to date.
4. Kept only as long as necessary for the purposes we have told you about.
5. Kept securely.

2. The kind of information we hold about you

2.1 In connection with the administration of an estate of an individual, the categories of personal data we may collect, use, store and transfer about you includes the following:

1. Information set out in the will or letter of wishes.
2. Information obtained from the testator, a bankruptcy search provider and/or credit reference      agency.
3. Any information you provide to us during the administration.

3. How we will use information about you

3.1 We will use the personal data (which may include sensitive information) to:

1. Confirm your identity.
2. Communicate with you.
3. Assess your beneficial entitlement.
4. Carry out bankruptcy searches before making distributions to you.
5. Comply with legal or regulatory requirements.

3.2 We will process your personal data in accordance with the above where it is necessary for us to comply with a legal obligation or where it is necessary for our legitimate interests e.g. to provide our services.

4. Third Parties

4.1. We may share personal data about you:

1. with third parties who are directly involved in dealing with any request or enquiry made by you;
2. with third parties involved in the administration of the estate (such as financial and professional services firms acting for the trust or estate, insurance companies, a bankruptcy search company, a money laundering verification company and/or a beneficiary tracing agency);
3. where such disclosure is required by law;
4. with third parties who are providing us with professional advice;
5. where the disclosure is in connection with any criminal investigation, legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings where permitted by law;
6. where the disclosure is in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk);
7. where we are required to enforce our Terms of Business and/or Terms of Use; or
8. where we have stated or informed you otherwise than as set out above.

4.2. We will not pass on your information to any third party for the purpose of marketing.

4.3. We may also disclose your personal data to third parties in the event that we sell or buy any business or assets (in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets) or if we or substantially all of our assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by us about our clients and subscribers will be one of the transferred assets.

5. Data Security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

6. How long do we retain your personal data?

6.1. We will only retain your personal data for as long as we need it for the purpose for which it was collected.

6.2. Whilst taking into consideration our legal obligations, we will on an ongoing basis:

1. Review the length of time we retain your personal data;
2. Consider the purpose or purposes for which we hold your personal data for deciding whether (and for how long) to retain it;
3. Update, archive or securely delete your personal data if it is no longer needed for such purpose or purposes.

6.3. For further information on how long we retain your personal data please contact the Directors at hello@digilegal.co.uk.

7. Your rights

7.1. You have a legal right to see a copy of the personal data that we keep about you, subject to certain exemptions (a “subject access request”). In some circumstances you may also have the right to:

1. Rectify or erase any personal data we hold about you;
2. Restrict our processing of your personal data;
3. Object to us processing your personal data;
4. Data portability in respect of your personal data.

7.2 If you wish to exercise any of these rights or wish to receive further information in relation to how we hold and use your personal data, please contact the Directors at hello@digilegal.co.uk. You may lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you have any concerns with regard to the way in which we process your personal data.