The Safe4 Digital Inheritance Vault

Safe4 have created a facility for the secure online storage and management of all of the information that comprises an inheritance plan, to be offered to the members of The Society of Will Writers on behalf of their clients, with provision for the rapid and efficient completion of the probate process

Offer clients a completely safe and secure inheritance vault

Your clients will need to feel that the information relating to their inheritance plan is held in the most secure way possible. All Safe4 data is held in “the cloud”, in UK-based data centres accredited to the ISO 27001 standard. Regular penetration tests, carried out by UK government accredited agencies, have shown that the security standards maintained by Safe4 are among the highest in the industry. In fact, independent tests indicate that Safe4 is among the most secure 1% of sites on the internet, out of more than 1.2 million tested.

Establish an interactive long-term relationship with clients

One of the objectives of the Digital Inheritance Vault is to give your clients access to a facility that they can use to manage the information that they regard as critical to their life, as well as the vital documents that comprise their inheritance plan, such as their will and any trusts or lasting powers of attorney that you have provided for them. The standard vault structure approved by the Society of Will Writers includes a private section that only the client can see, in which they can store the passwords and PINs that are needed to access the online aspects of their life.

Your clients should be aware that if they do not hold details of all of their online accounts in a secure place where they can be accessed by their executor, the value of their estate could be diminished. Such accounts will include PayPal, eBay, and even gambling accounts, where significant sums of money can be held.

Because the vault can be used to hold such a wide variety of information, it will allow the SWW members to forge a different type of relationship with their clients, one which can yield value to all parties.

Secure an incremental annuity revenue stream

The charging structure for the Digital Inheritance Vault has been agreed with the Society of Will Writers, and makes provision for a generous margin for the members. Depending on how will-writing and other advisory services are offered, it is possible for all new clients to be provided with a vault as part of a standard service. Whilst not all members’ clients may wish to manage their inheritance plan online, it will be of great value for their executors and families if all of the information needed for probate is available immediately in one place. The Society estimates that the time required for probate will be shortened by 3 to 4 months if the digital vault is used.

Setting up a vault for new clients will obviously provide an incremental revenue stream, as the fees are chargeable annually. It may also prove to be very worthwhile for members to offer the vault to existing clients, and for previously-provided documents to be uploaded.

Enhance the value of your business

In the event that a member of the Society of Will Writers wishes to sell their business, perhaps on retirement, its value will be considerably enhanced if there are annual revenue streams associated with the process of providing digital vaults for clients. Many members offer storage services for physical documents at present, but these are typically confined to wills, trusts and LPAs. If the Digital Inheritance Vault is used in a wider sense, clients will have a greater degree of dependence on the service and will be more likely to retain the use of it after the will-writer has ceased to trade.

Improve the efficiency of your client communications

The Digital Inheritance Vault provides a completely secure space in which you and your clients can store critical information. When a document is uploaded to the vault, your client will receive an email automatically informing them of the document’s arrival. They can then click on a link and view the document, after authenticating themselves. Similarly, if they upload a file into a section of the vault that you have access to, or update a record in the asset register, an email notifying authorised users of the new information will be sent automatically.

This means that your clients will receive regular communication from you, with no effort on your part. The Safe4 system also includes a section into which documents for public consumption can be placed, so that all clients will be notified through a single action. This can be useful for newsletters, budget updates, advice on taxation or issues associated with trusts, for example. Each SWW member will have their own provider account, so that such general notifications are only sent to your own clients.

Extend your client base to include your clients’ executors and families

The Digital Inheritance Vault makes provision for users other than your clients themselves to be invited to register, and to gain access to specified parts of the vault. For example, the executor can be granted read-only access to designated sections of the vault during the life of the testator, according to your client’s wishes. Similarly, family members can be granted access to those parts of the vault that hold personal information, for example treasured family photographs, family trees, or important records such as children’s education certificates. All of these users will receive notifications of any new document uploads, all of which are seen to be sent by the will-writer. This process of regular communication should allow them to potentially become clients in their own right.

Upon the death of the testator, the permission settings of the vault can be changed to allow the executor to obtain access to all of the information required for probate. If you are appointed to perform probate on the executor’s behalf, you will thus have access to all of the documents and records you need to carry out the task quickly and efficiently.

Approved and endorsed by the Society of Will Writers

Safe4 have worked closely with the Society of Will Writers to set up a template for the structure of the Digital Inheritance Vault. This represents a suggested starting point – it can be modified by each member to reflect their own preferences, however. The commercial terms, including pricing and contractual details, have also been agreed with the Society. In essence the vault facility will enable all members to offer a service to their clients which is unique in the market, but which represents a best-practice approach to managing confidential information on behalf of clients. It is anticipated that this facility will allow each member to offer a service that clients will value, and will thus help with client retention. This in turn should help to secure a strong annuity revenue stream and an interactive engagement with all clients.

For more information on getting started with the Safe4 Digital Inheritance Vault and the special offer for members of the Society of Will Writers, please click here …

SWW Members Offer