Inheritance Advance: FAQs from professional administrators answered 

We spoke to professional administrators about our award-winning Inheritance Advance product and this is what they asked…

What is Inheritance Advance?

Inheritance Advance is a unique product from Tower Street Finance that enables beneficiaries to get some of their inheritance earlier. It requires no credit checks, no charge over property and an advance can be up to 60 per cent of the net inheritance.

We’re proud it’s also an award-winning product having been named as the Innovation of the Year at the British Wills and Probate Awards in 2020.

Isn’t it risky encouraging beneficiaries to spend their inheritance before they receive it – what happens if they end up getting less than they expect?

We considered that when developing the Inheritance Advance product and made it risk free for the beneficiary.  If they do end up getting less inheritance than they thought, perhaps because another will or beneficiary is found, or other debts come to light, then we – not them – take that risk.

Isn’t this product encouraging beneficiaries who could be upset about the death of a loved one to take out a loan at a bad time for them?

Inheritance Advance is FCA regulated and, as such, we spend a lot of time understanding the customer and being sensitive to the situation. We also have a counselling partnership with Cruse Bereavement Care so we can signpost customers who need the charity’s support.

What makes this different to a ‘Probate Loan’?

Inheritance Advance doesn’t require a credit check on the individual or a charge over any property, so there is no personal liability unlike other loans.

What if there is no will?

We don’t need a will. If there is an intestacy situation we would work with the administrator to understand the distribution of the inheritance to the beneficiaries.

Most of my clients have large estates, I don’t think Inheritance Advance would be of interest to them because they don’t need the money.

We researched this and although executors may not need the money, we found that there are a lot of beneficiaries who do.

There are a lot of people who are in debt, and from our research when developing this product, we found that many are embarrassed and reluctant to admit it.

What happens if you value the assets and they end up selling for less?

That’s our risk.

What if there is a claim under the Inheritance (provision for the family and dependants) Act 1975 but the advance has already been paid?

That’s our risk.

Do they have to wait for the grant of probate?

No. We can make an advance as soon as the beneficiary’s expected inheritance is confirmed, which is likely to be when you are in a position to submit the IHT and probate forms. Once we have made an advance then any changes to that beneficiary’s inheritance are our risk.

What liability does that mean for my firm?

There is no liability to you. We take the information that you provide and do our own assessments to underwrite the loan.

Why would I want to introduce this product to my clients?

According to our research 79 per cent of UK adults would expect a professional who is involved in managing their loved one’s estate to inform them about risk free products, such as Inheritance Advance, which enables them to access their inheritance sooner.

It also gives you an extra service to offer clients and stops clients chasing you with questions about where their inheritance is.

And we offer to pay an introducer/administration fee.

Why do you need a firm to be involved – can’t you just deal with the executor/beneficiary?

We need there a professional firm involved – this ensures that we get supplied with all of the information on the estate rather than relying on others who may not have the full information.

If my client is the executor and yours is the beneficiary, then isn’t there a conflict of interest?

No. We understand that you need the executor’s permission to share any information with us so they are fully aware of the situation.

Should we wait until we have a client that this product is relevant to?

It can be difficult to know which clients would be interested so we’d recommend you make the brochure accessible for all clients, also the financial situation of the beneficiaries may not be readily apparent.