Regulation

You're in safe hands

At Kings Court Trust, the families who entrust us to take care of their estate administration are always in safe hands. We are regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), who are a licensing body for probate. Its role is to ensure client protection and the provision of a high-quality professional service to legal services customers. 

The ICAEW ensures the protection of customers by maintaining a code of conduct. They support us in offering a high-quality service, with a focus on client support and protection.  We believe that regulation is a positive force, and due to our relationship with the ICAEW, our clients have the benefits of working with a regulated legal services provider, including:

• Our business is subject to the regulator’s monitoring procedures and reviews
• We operate in accordance with the ICAEW probate regulations that promote best practice and client protection
• Our clients have access to the free Legal Ombudsman scheme

Whilst estate administration has traditionally been seen as the remit of private client lawyers (solicitors, conveyancers and other legal professionals), we believe that the transfer of wealth and assets from one generation to the next has a significant overlap with the services provided by the accountancy sector.  It is our belief that working with the ICAEW helps us to develop our service and continue to build on the experience had by our clients and families. 

Code of conduct

We act in accordance with ICAEW's probate regulations and code of conduct. We also comply with the following principles:

• Act with independence and integrity
• Maintain high standards of work
• Act in the best interests of our clients
• Comply with our duty to the court
• Deal with regulators and ombudsmen in an open and cooperative way
• Promote equality of access and service

The ICAEW's probate regulations can be found here: www.icaew.com/regulation

Professional Indemnity Insurance 

As required by ICAEWs probate regulations, we have Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) in place that provides further protection for our clients.  The maximum level of indemnity is £1.5 million per claim and full details of our insurers can be provided upon request. The geographical coverage is worldwide excluding North America.

ICAEW Probate Compensation Scheme

In the unlikely event that we cannot meet our liabilities to you, you may be able to seek a grant from ICAEW’s Probate Compensation Scheme. Generally, applications for a Grant must be made to ICAEW within 12 months of the time you became aware, or reasonably ought to have become aware, of the loss. Further information about the scheme and the circumstances in which Grants may be made is available on ICAEW’s website.

Complaints procedure

At Kings Court Trust, we pride ourselves on delivering the best service possible for our clients, so if our service falls short of your expectations and you would like to make a complaint about our service, please contact us in one of the following ways:
• by telephone on 0300 303 9000
• in writing to the Head of Legal Practice and Customer Relations Manager at Kings Court Trust Ltd, Spectrum House, Bond Street, Bristol, BS1 3LG
• via email complaints@kctrust.co.uk

We have a strict internal complaints process that we adhere to, whereby a comprehensive and impartial response to any complaint will be completed within 28 days from receipt. However, if you are still dissatisfied once we have concluded our final review, you may contact the Legal Ombudsman directly to ask that they consider the complaint further. The Legal Ombudsman regulates the service we provide to our customers and more information can be found on their website (www.legalombudsman.org.uk). A copy of our complaints procedure is available here. 

Kings Court Trust is regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). Our managers are Simon Hancox, Vicki Wheelhouse FCA, Charlotte Toogood (an Authorised Person) TEP, Phil Leach, and Lee Rossiter.