Inheritance Vault Structure
The Digital Inheritance Vault facility is only available to members of The Society of Will Writers. Consequently the Society have proposed a structure that they believe will be of maximum benefit to your clients, and which will provide your clients with the necessary levels of security. This makes provision for sections of the Vault that will be private to the client, and which you as the will-writer will not be able to see.
Each provider account that is created will incorporate a “0 Sample Vault”, to act as a template for the rapid creation of new vaults. The structure of this is set out in such a way as to designate areas to address specific client needs – this is to give your clients the confidence that they can use the Vault to store information which may be very personal or confidential. This in turn will lead to greater uptake and use of the Vault by clients, and will therefore be of direct benefit to all Society members.
The structure of each Vault is based on folders and subfolders, very similar to Windows Explorer. At the highest level, your view as a will-writer will appear as follows:
This shows that folders numbered 1, 5, 8 and 9 are visible to you as the will-writer. You have the ability to upload information to any of these folders or their subfolders, and to view any information that is placed there, either by yourself or your client. Folders that are shown with a padlock icon have been allocated a security or permissions group. This applies to all of the folders and subfolders in the Digital Inheritance Vault.
Folder 9, Will Writer Private, will not be visible to your client. You may place files here that you do not wish the client to see – this may include research or background information that you choose to keep confidential.
The top-level structure that your client will be able to view allows access to a wider set of folders:
The orange expiry notification above indicates that this vault has been designated as temporary, and will expire in the time shown.
If each of these top-level folders is expanded in turn they will present a series of subfolders that are named to indicate the nature of the information that they contain. The “Inheritance Plan” folder has the following subfolders:
As the will-writer you will have full access to this folder and all of its subfolders, as will your client.
Folder 2, “Client Personal Information”, has the following internal structure:
The contents of this folder are clearly personal to your client. The third folder, “Executors”, is also available only to your client, and is intended to be made available to the executor after your client’s death.
If you are appointed by your client or their executor to carry out probate on their behalf, the contents of this folder will become available to you after the client’s death. A process has been agreed with the Society to grant access to the executor/s named in the will at the appropriate time, and to you – if you have been appointed to act in this capacity.
Folder 4, “Family Chronicle”, contains the following:
This folder again will be private to your client, but as you will note from the subfolders shown above it contains information that may be treasured by the client’s family, and could be of real importance after the client’s death.
Folder 5 is designated as “Will Writer”, and will be useful in helping to manage your relationship with your client:
You will clearly have full access to this folder.
Folder 6, “Professional”, contains the following, which will be essential information for whoever performs the probate process:
Folder 7, “Previous Marriage”, will not be relevant in all cases, but is clearly an area that could be appropriate in certian probate situations. Your client can use this to store any information that may prove to be helpful in dealing with potentially difficult matters.
Folder 8, “Executors’ Instructions” is intended to assist when the executor named in the will is being given access to the information necessary for probate. It will be analagous to the current process, managed by the Society, which grants the executor access to the testator’s will. The folder will contain a document describing exactly what the executor will need to do in order to gain access to the appropriate folders, as described above. Granting such authority to the executor will require production of the death certificate, and proof of identity.
As the will-writer, you will have access to this folder, and will thus be able to guide the executor through the necessary process.
As mentioned above, folder 9 is not visible to your clients, and does not have a recommended subfolder structure. You may create whatever structure you wish within this folder, and store information that is pertinent to your client.
The final folder in the structure is “Public Information”. This folder will be visible to all clients, and indeed all users of each Vault within your provider account. DO NOT place any confidential client information into this folder, as it will be visible to all of your clients.
It is recommended that this folder be used for holding information that all of your clients will find helpful: newsletters, budget updates, general advice on subjects such as taxation or inheritance law, and documents of this nature. It is possible to create subfolders underneath the Public Information folder if you wish.
