PROBATE PORTAL – The risks of digitalisation of estates

8 Sept

1. Introduction:

A recent exposé by the BBC into a large-scale fraudulent activity by unknown parties with links to Hungarian criminal gangs has uncovered unanticipated outworkings of the digitilised Probate system in England and Wales, which has been in place from 2016 and could potentially impact Northern Ireland - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2390x51zqo

Criminals have been apparently accessing the public Bona Vacantia list of unclaimed estates and producing fake Wills, applying for Grants and administering estates before valid beneficiaries and the deceased’s lawyers were aware of their existence. As a result of this expose, the Bona Vacantia was taken off-line on 7th July 2025. However, it remains a grave concern that the online application process appears on the face of it to be incapable of ‘catching-out’ this fraud and the police in England and Wales have to date taken the stance that this is a civil matter.

The Northern Ireland Probate Portal is a much-welcomed development for all Private Client practitioners, but only time will tell if the level of fraud seen in England and Wales will creep in.

2. Digital Application for Grants:

Before the Portals were rolled out, an application for a Grant of Probate or Administration (where the deceased did not leave a Will) was a paper exercise and more often than not, was given over to estate solicitors to carry out on behalf of the Personal Representatives due to complexities. There was often a high number of applications returned for errors which impacted on efficiency and return dates and on occasion it could take months for a Grant to issue. On 14th June 2021, the Northern Ireland Probate Portal was launched and was aimed at simplifying and refining the application for application of Grants. Within a few short months of its launch, Grants were issuing within 10-14 working days and the Portal has been a great success amongst practitioners and eased the process for Personal Representatives to administer the estate themselves.

3. Fraud – “a dear friend”:

Before the online services were introduced, the original Will of the deceased, alongside a formal Oath of Executor, had to be filed with the application and these were reviewed and scrutinized by the Court staff. Frequently, issues with the Will would be picked up and raised. Under the new scheme, a copy of the Will is simply uploaded and the executors identified.

The fraudulent activity which is under investigation involves isolated, usually older people, dying without a Will or obvious beneficiaries. If beneficiaries cannot be identified, their estates are subject to Bona Vacantia – ownerless property which passes to the Crown. The Crown publishes lists of estates which passed to the Crown under this system, ostensibly to allow potential beneficiaries to come forward. The criminals are identifying potential unclaimed estates, producing ‘Wills’ naming a heretofore unknown Hungarian “dear friend” of the deceased as the sole beneficiary, applying for a Grant of Probate, on each occasion the value of every estate is declared as being below the IHT Nil Band Rate of £325’000 which expedites the granting of the Will and removes HMRC scrutiny. The property is sold, bank accounts emptied, and all assets realised before any potential beneficiaries are aware.

The BBC investigation has uncovered £millions being diverted to these criminals. This included a family solicitor of a wealthy financier who refused to make a Will. Following the financier’s death, the solicitor diligently went about identifying potential beneficiaries. By the time he did so and thus had authority to act on behalf of the estate, upon contacting various financial institutions holding the deceased’s assets, discovered that the Hungarian criminals had already applied for a Grant of Probate and cleaned out the accounts to the tune of £500’000, money which had already left the country.

These frauds have been reported to the Court Service and Police but, certainly by the end of July, no investigations had been opened. It would be very surprising however if the HMRC would not take an interest in a potential loss of revenue as every single estate is declared not subject to Inheritance Tax. The only option therefore for real beneficiaries would be to challenge these Wills in the civil courts. An expensive option, and by the time the matter came before the Court, the estate moneys would likely have disappeared in the wind.

4. Northern Ireland – are we at risk?

(a) A different Jurisdiction:

There are distinctions between England and Wales and the Northern Ireland jurisdictions which should mean that we should be less susceptible to this type of fraud:

(i) Northern Ireland anecdotally would have less estates going into Bona vacantia on the basis that it is a smaller, more provincial country and less people dying without any contact from their family, although no comparable statistics are available. However, it clearly still does occur.

(ii) Unlike in other UK jurisdictions, in Northern Ireland, the Crown Solicitor’s Office, who administer Crown property, have never published a list of unclaimed estates so this ought to prevent the opportunist Hungarian criminal gangs.

(b) Same process, same problems:

There are, however, similarities in the processes which could expose Northern Ireland estates to fraudulent activity:

(i) An opportunistic, criminally-minded person who knows of the deceased’s circumstances, could still proceed with their nefarious plan. A faked Will, a swift application for a Grant and cleaning out of bank accounts and selling property before a next-of-kin could be identified and lodge their own claim.

(ii) One feature uncovered by the BBC journalist in her investigations was that the Wills invariably named the same Hungarian national or members of the same family. The Probate Registry, when approached indicated that the system did not allow for catching out the “serial Executor/Beneficiary.” As in Northern Ireland, the original Will has to be submitted to the Probate Registry to check for any alterations or tampering, or problems with execution. This presumably, however, does not catch out the fake Will in either jurisdiction.

(iii) In Northern Ireland, any such incident of the faked Will would also be reported to UK-wide Action Fraud, as directed by the PSNI. It is noteworthy that victims of these frauds in England are reporting that Action Fraud have bewilderingly determined that they do not intend to investigate these activities.

5. What can you do to protect your estate or entitlement?

(a) Where there is a Will, there is a way to protect your estate:

If you have your own Will, kept with your solicitor and/or a copy with your appointed Executors, as soon as you pass, your Executors can take action to protect your estate for the benefit of your nominated beneficiaries, leaving very little scope for the fraudster to step in. Keep your Executors informed of any changes to your Will so that they can be certain they are following your wishes.

(b) Action to take if you suspect Estate fraud is occurring:

If you believe there is a potential fraud involving a loved-one, neighbour, or vulnerable person, you should report the matter immediately to the PSNI for further investigation. Any potential beneficiary can also lodge a Caveat with the High Court in Belfast which will put a stop on any Grant of Probate being issued on a specified estate pending resolution. This Caveat lasts 6 months and can be renewed until matters are resolved.

AUTHOR:
Rachael McKee
rachael.mckee@davidsonmcdonnell.com

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