Capital Life Legal Services Limited (registered in England and Wales with company number 13257860) whose registered office is Brooke Court, Lower Meadow Road , Handforth, Wilmslow SK9 3ND provides pre-paid probate plans in accordance with the terms and conditions as set out below.
1 DEFINITIONS
1.1 Where used in these Terms and Conditions (“the Terms”) the following words shall unless otherwise stated have the following meaning:
“Additional Services” means any services which are not included within the Plan but which have been requested/selected by You, the details of which are set out in the Plan Documents.
“Agreement” means the contract between You and Capital Life comprising the Application, the Plan Documents and the Terms.
“Allocated Probate Administrator” means the third party appointed by Capital Life once the Plan has been taken out by the Plan Holder or at the time of death to carry out the required works. This is likely to be a Solicitor, where required and they shall be chosen at the absolute discretion of Capital Life Legal Services Ltd.
“Application” means the form You have completed or has been completed for You upon Your instructions for the purpose of purchasing a Plan.
“Cancellation Charge” means an amount equal to 20% (twenty per cent) of the Total Plan Value (subject to a minimum charge of £595) in accordance with section 9 of these Terms if You cancel the Plan more than 21 days after the Plan Start Date
“Disbursements” (also referred to as third party fees) means third party costs and services associated with the administration of Probate at the time of need which are not part of the guaranteed items listed within the plan, there may be occasions where additional fees (such as, but not limited to, land registry search fees, charges made for information from your Bank or other business whereby you have an account which requires closing or amending.
“Full Disclosure” It is vitally important for You that You understand and not the importance of full disclosure when it comes to purchasing a Plan. We are acting within Our rights to cancel Your Plan and issue no refund if We find out that, when applying, You did not disclose all of the relevant material facts that may directly or indirectly affect Your Plan. Your Pre Paid Probate Plan is designed, and costed, based on the size of your estate at the time of purchase.
“Payment Method” means the way You have selected to pay for the Plan either by way of a one-off payment or by way of instalments.
“Plan” means the particular level of probate plan which You have selected from the plans available as may be varied from time to time together with any Additional Services.
“Plan Certificate” means the document setting out the details of the Plan Holder together with a certificate number which is required for the purpose of identifying the Plan which has been purchased and which must be produced at the time of death.
“Plan Documents” means all documents and papers Capital Life shall provide to You including the Application, Plan Certificate, the Terms and any additional documents issued to You within 14 working days of the Plan Start Date, together with any further
documents which may be sent to You at any time thereafter (and which will be identified as part of the Plan Documents).
“Plan Holder” means the person for whom the Plan has been purchased (who may also be the Plan Purchaser).
“Plan Price” means the price You will pay for the Plan together with any Additional Services You have selected as set out in the Plan Documents.
“Plan Purchaser” means the person who is paying for the Plan and is entering into the contract with Capital Life (who may also be the Plan Holder).
“Plan Start Date” means the date on which the Plan becomes effective in accordance with section 9.
“Representative(s)” means any person who has been legally appointed and authorised to act on behalf of the Plan Holder whether before or after the death of the Plan Holder, such as an attorney (appointed under a Power of Attorney), executor or trustee.
“Supplementary Fee” means a 5.9% annual charge added to Plans where You purchase by instalments for a period longer than 12 months in accordance with clause 7.1.1
“Total Plan Value” means the Plan Price when paying for a plan “in full” at the time of purchase, or the Plan Price plus any Supplementary Fee for the period of the Plan Term, where applicable
“Us/We/Capital Life” means Capital Life Legal Services Limited.
“You/Your” means the Plan Purchaser (who may also be the Plan Holder).
2. THE PLAN
2.1 Capital Life Pre Paid Probate Plans are provided by Us
2.2. The Plan is intended to give You peace of mind so that You have put arrangements in place prior to Your death (at an agreed cost) without the concern of having to put in place arrangements at the time of death.
2.3. Should You or Your Representative(s) need to speak to anyone concerning Your Plan
You should contact:
Post:
Capital Life Legal Services Limited
Customer Services
Brooke Court,
Lower Meadow Road,
Handforth,
Wilmslow
SK9 3ND
Email:
For information: customerservices@capitallife.com
For complaints: complaints@capitallife.com
Telephone: 0800 411 8690
2.4. The postal addresses in section 2.3 should be used in the event of cancellation pursuant to section 9.1 or if You wish to raise any complaint (see section 12).
3. THE APPLICATION
3.1. By completing the Application You agree to purchase the Plan subject to these Terms and will be responsible for meeting all Payments due under this Agreement.
3.2. If You are the Plan Purchaser (but not the Plan Holder) You will have the benefit of these Terms.
3.3. If You are both the Plan Purchaser and Plan Holder You have the rights and benefits to the Terms, which will pass to Your Representative(s) upon Your death.
3.4. At the time of the Application the Plan Holder must be more than 18 years old in order to have the ability to pay for the plan over a maximum of 25 years, subject to all payment plans being completed by your 85th birthday. Anyone aged 85 or above, may still purchase the plan, but must do so by either paying in full at the time of application or by spreading the plan over a maximum of three years. Any person over the age of 18, has the ability to pay for a Plan by making full payment at the time of purchase.
3.5 Should You opt to take the Plan by monthly installments and pass away before all instalments are made, You or Your Representatives will be required to pay the balance of amount due, calculated as the total amount due, less the amount already paid.. If payment is not possible, We reserve the right at Our discretion to either retain monies owed, from Your estate at the time of completing the Probate work, including any additional disbursements which may arise or not to commence work until such time that the balance has been paid.
3.6 All monthly payment options of 12 months or more are subject to a 5.9% annual supplementary charge. This will be calculated at the point of sale and included within any monthly payment(s).
4. WHAT THE PLAN COVERS
4.1. The Plan is designed to cover the main costs of Your Probate administration and includes:
Solicitor’s fees and services: these cover the services provided by the Allocated Probate Administrator only and are specifically set out in the Plan Documents.
4.2. Allocated Probate Administrator’s fees and services shall be paid under Your Plan, only if Your Probate is carried out by an Allocated Probate Administrator, appointed solely at the discretion of Capital Life
4.3. If you currently have a valid Will and no other amendments are required, We will update your Will at no additional cost. Should any changes or updates be required to your existing Will, or if you do not have a Will, We will write a new Will and the cost of such Will shall be agreed before work commences and must be in place prior to the Plan becoming active.
4.4. The Plan cannot be exchanged at any time for a cash payment but can be cancelled in accordance with section 9.
5. WHAT THE PLAN DOES NOT COVER
5.1. The Plan covers everything which is set out in the Plan Documents, subject to these Terms. If You or Your Representative(s) are unclear as to what cover You have purchased, please contact Us (see section 2).
5.2. For the avoidance of doubt You should note that:-
5.3. The Plan does not cover any any Disbursements. A separate “Additional Considerations Sheet” has been provided within your welcome pack that You need to read and understand. There may be additional costs for services that could be required, other than those provided by Your Probate Plan in order to complete Your estate administration. A copy of this can be made available upon request.
5.4. The Plan only covers assets within the United Kingdom. Should You have assets outside of the United Kingdom, please speak with Us first. Any charges to administer assets abroad will be separate to the pre-paid Probate Plan and We are under no obligation to administer those assets.
5.6. If You require Services which are not included within the Plan these may be added to the Plan as Additional Services when the Application is completed or at any time during the Term of the Plan at the cost applicable at that time.
5.7 Should, at the point of need, Your estate value be more than the package you had purchased, a levy will be charged to your estate based of the difference in value between the two. By way of example, a levy will apply to all estates valued above that of the purchased Plan and charged at a rate of 1.95% over and above the value selected in Your Plan. If You selected a Plan with an estate value of upto £650,000 and Your Estate at the point of death was valued at £1,000,000, you would be charged and additional 1.95% of the £350,000 difference.
6. PLAN DOCUMENTS AND CHANGES
6.1. The Plan Documents shall be sent to You within 14 working days of the Plan Start Date. These Plan Documents are important and should be always kept safe and Your Representative(s) notified as to where these are held or otherwise a copy provided to
them.
6.2. You are required to advise Us of any change of home address so We can update Our records. In the event that You do not do so and You should die at a different home address to that provided to Us, this may incur You in additional costs.
6.3. In the event You lose the Plan Certificate or wish to make any changes to the Plan please contact Us and We will provide a replacement Certificate and/or make such changes as you may request (where possible), but reserve the right to make an administrative charge of a minimum £25 plus any applicable VAT at the time.
7. PAYMENT METHOD
7.1. Payment for the Plan (and any Additional Services) may be made either by way of a one-off payment or by monthly instalments.
7.1.1 Any terms longer than 12 months are subject to an annual supplementary fee of 5.9% of the plan value. This will be calculated from month 1 and continue to apply until the Plan payments are completed. The total Amount Payable will be detailed in your Plan Documents.
7.1.2. For all Plan payment methods, the Allocated Probate Administrator must complete the Probate work, or contract it to an approved third party. If Your Representatives make their own arrangements with a Solicitor who has not been approved and contracted by Us, there will be no refund.
Instalments
7.2. If made by instalments the following conditions shall apply:
7.2.1. If the Plan Holder dies before the completion of the Payment Term, there will be no refund due.
7.2.2. All instalments shall be paid by direct debit, or such other payment method agreed with You which shall be confirmed when the Application is completed and payable each month. If You are paying by direct debit but it is not in place to meet Your first payment or a payment is not made or cannot be taken by Us under the original payment arrangements for any reason whatsoever during the term of the Plan, We reserve the right to take such a payment(s) from Your credit card/debit card, details of which You provided at the time of completion of the Application or payment of any deposit or otherwise, We shall agree with You an alternative means of payment for the purpose of You meeting Your payment obligations under the Plan.
7.2.3. All instalments must be paid in accordance with the payment terms agreed unless otherwise agreed in writing by Us
7.2.4 The Plan Purchaser shall continue to pay the monthly instalments under the Plan until the date of the final payment in accordance with the Agreement. If there are any missed payments or arrears, the payments must continue until the deficit is cleared for the Plan to become active.
7.2.5. If You fail to pay any monthly instalment due and You do not cancel the Plan (in accordance with section 9) then after a period of two calendar months plus an additional 14 days from the date of the missed instalment, We reserve the right to cancel Your Plan with immediate effect and no further monies paid by You will be due to Us nor will any refund be due to the Plan Holder.
7.3. At this time the Plan does not include VAT, which is not charged on reserved activities in the UK (there may be some Additional Services which are provided which attract VAT). If at the time of the Plan Holder’s death VAT is payable on any part of the work involved (either at the time or retrospectively), then any increased costs associated with the requirement to pay VAT will be payable by the Plan Purchaser or the Representative(s) to Us.
7.4 In the event of late payment We will charge an administration fee of £25 on each occasion where the payment is made more than 28 days after the due date for payment.
8. GENERAL PROCEDURES ON THE DEATH OF PLAN HOLDER
8.1. When the Plan Holder dies We must, in accordance with the guidance included with the Plan Documents, be informed of the death as soon as practicably possible.
8.2. We or an approved contracted third party nominated by Us must conduct all of the elements within Your Plan. Any work contracted by a third party nominated by Your Representatives, must be paid for separately to the Plan.
8.3. Your Representatives, where practicable, will be required to provide any and all relevant documentation in order to assist Us in the administration of Your estate.
9. CANCELLATION RIGHTS
9.1. You shall in all circumstances be entitled to cancel the Plan within 21 days of entering into this Agreement and receive a full refund of any monies paid by You.
9.2. Any cancellation of the Plan must be made in writing by way of a letter sent by recorded post to the postal address as set out in section 2. The notice of cancellation shall be accepted when received by Us. We shall confirm receipt of any cancellation within 14 days of receipt of the notice.
9.3. If You do not cancel the Plan within the first 21 days in accordance with sections 9.1 and 9.2 We shall deem that You are happy to proceed with the Plan and the Agreement shall be treated as having started as from the Plan Start Date.
9.4 Cancellation if payment by instalments (under section 7.2)
9.4.1 If You should terminate the Plan at any time after the end of your cancellation period (set out in section 9.1), We will provide you with written confirmation of your cancellation. A Cancellation Fee will be charged on any plan whereby there has been less than 50% of the Total Plan Payable made towards the Plan, however in all cases any and all payments which have been made by You into the Plan will be retained by Us and no refund will become due.
9.4.2. The following conditions shall apply to the ability of You or Your Representative(s) to cancel the Plan
(a). no refunds of any monies paid for the Plan will be given after the death of the Plan Holder, subject to clause 9.1.
(b). no refunds will be given if the Plan Price has been paid in full, subject to section 9.1.
(c) only You or one of Your Representative(s) may cancel the Plan;
(d) if the Plan is purchased with the use of any form of Voucher (including any benefit/incentive) (“Voucher”) an amount equal to such Voucher will be deducted from the amount refunded in the event the Plan is cancelled in accordance with section 9.1.
(e) if, in conjunction with Your Plan, you receive any discounted or complementary additional product(s) and or service(s), such as, but not limited to, a Will or Lasting Power of Attorney and subsequently cancel Your Plan, We reserve the right to charge You for the product(s) and or service(s) provided at Our standard rates at the time of Cancellation. This charge would be in addition to any applicable Cancellation Charge which may be payable.
10. PROTECTION OF FUNDS
10.1. All monies received by Us are a pre-payment towards the costs of the Plan under these Terms and neither You nor the Representative(s) are entitled to any interest on or any income derived from any part of the monies paid to Us relating in any way to the Plan and any right of refund under section 9 is in accordance with these Terms.
10.2. The amount that You pay for the Plan less such amounts retained by Us for administration, marketing and other reasonable costs, will for the duration of the Plan Holder’s lifetime either be held and invested securely in Our Independent Protection Trust (“the Trust”) or used to acquire a contract for whole life insurance (“Whole Life Contract”) for You in accordance with the relevant legislation currently set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 of the Regulated Activities Order 2001. Such decision as to how the monies are dealt with shall be at Our discretion.
10.3. We shall retain an amount from the amount paid by the Plan Holder to cover Our reasonable administrative overheads and expenses including marketing and other related costs and expenses of running the business for each Plan. In addition the Trust is authorised from time to time to make such further payments to Us towards Our reasonable overheads and expenses subject to professional advice that the Trust retains sufficient funds to meet its obligations to the Plan Holder.
11. CAPITAL LIFE’S LIABILITY
11.1. We shall have no further obligations to You or to the Representative(s) whether financial or otherwise save as otherwise set out in these Terms. We exclude all liability for damages and losses, including consequential losses, to the fullest extent permitted by law in the event of any claim made by the Plan Holder and/or the Representative(s). Capital Life’s liability shall not exceed lower of the price paid for the plan at the time of purchase or the cost of the included scope of works.
11.2. Under this Agreement Our liability shall not in any circumstances exceed such amounts being the lower of the amount paid towards the Plan or the cost of the fulfilment of Your Plan by Us or pre-approved third party provider.
12. COMPLAINTS
12.1. If You should have any complaint about the way Your Plan has been dealt with or administered the complaint should be made by contacting Us, using any available methods, laid out in this document in section 2.
12.2. Your complaint will be acknowledged within 7 days and We will make all reasonable efforts to respond to Your complaint within 30 days and resolve the complaint to Your satisfaction.
13. GENERAL
13.1. We reserve the right to amend these Terms from time to time and will give written notice to You of any material amendments which have been made within 30 days of making the change(s).
13.2. We shall ensure all personal data or sensitive personal data We retain relating to the Plan Holder and/or Plan Purchaser shall be dealt with in accordance with Data Protection legislation (as amended from time to time).
13.3. You give your consent to Us contacting your next of kin or power of attorney (as named on the Application) if We are unable to contact You or take any instructions from You only in connection with dealing with the Plan. We are also obliged to periodically provide information regarding Your Plan to Your nominated Next of Kin. If You wish for that not to happen, You are required to inform Us in the first instance. We cannot be liable for any issues arising from this, should You fail to inform Us of such a requirement.
13.4. We may at any time assign the Agreement to another provider, or third party with appropriate experience in dealing with Probate plans and arrangements.
13.5. This Agreement is to be interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and any dispute not resolved under Our complaints procedure and/or by an attempt on the parties to resolve any dispute by way of mediation shall be dealt with by
the courts in England and Wales.
IMPORTANT NOTICE(S)
We highly recommend that You should make Your Representative(s) and any members of Your family aware that You have purchased a Probate Plan with Us and, where necessary, take Your own legal advice before entering into any contractual agreement with Capital Life, any company within the group and/or any other third party, contracted by Us to carry out any works on Our behalf.
When purchasing a Pre Paid Probate Plan from Capital Life, You are doing so with the full expectations that Probate will be required on Your estate when you die. If Probate is not required at the point of need, You understand that Your Plan will become invalid an no refund will become due to You, Your Estate or any other third party.