Probate and estate files For private client and probate teams
Every estate.
Administered with care, from death to distribution.
FilePlan 365 gives every estate your team administers its own secure file inside SharePoint. The will, grant of probate, valuations and accounts are filed to the right estate, with the right protection, automatically.
Works inside SharePoint
Estate details from your practice system
30-day free trial
1
Estate details
Matter number, deceased, executors and fee earner, taken from your practice management system.
2
Document types
The same labelled folders for every estate, down the left.
3
The estate’s documents
Everything filed to that estate, in the wider panel on the right.
What is FilePlan 365?
A digital filing cabinet, built into SharePoint
Think of a filing cabinet with a drawer for every estate, and the same labelled folders inside each drawer. FilePlan 365 does exactly that inside SharePoint, the place your organisation already keeps its documents.
No new system to learn
Your team works in SharePoint and Microsoft 365, just as they do today. There is nothing extra to install on anyone’s computer.
Filed once, found in seconds
Every document goes into the right estate file and folder, so anyone with access can find it straight away.
Kept as long as it should be
Each document is protected and kept for the right length of time, without anyone having to remember the rules.
Connected to your practice management system
Estate details arrive automatically
You never retype a matter number, deceased’s name or executor. FilePlan 365 picks up each estate’s details from your practice management system, so every new estate has a file ready from the first instruction.
When an estate changes
A new executor, a valuation update or a change of fee earner is picked up automatically, so every file stays accurate.
When the estate is distributed
The final distribution date flows across too, and the clock for how long the file is kept starts by itself.
For your IT team
A Power Automate flow keeps a SharePoint list of estates up to date from your practice management system. FilePlan 365 reads that list. No custom code, and it stays inside your Microsoft 365 tenant.
The estate file plan
Every estate organised the same way
Each estate file has the same six folders, so everyone knows where a document belongs and where to find it.
1
Will and instructions
Will, codicils, client care letter, ID
Kept for: 15 years after distribution
2
Grant of probate
Probate application, grant, IHT forms
Kept for: 15 years after distribution
3
Assets and liabilities
Valuations, bank letters, property, debts
Kept for: 15 years after distribution
4
Inheritance tax
IHT400, schedules, HMRC correspondence
Kept for: 15 years after distribution
5
Beneficiaries
Beneficiary letters, ID checks, receipts
Kept for: 15 years after distribution
6
Estate accounts and distribution
Estate accounts, final distribution, closure
Kept for: 15 years after distribution
Retention periods are examples. You can match them to your own retention schedule.
Templates
Start with our Probate and estate files template. Make it your own.
You don’t have to design a filing system from scratch. The ready-made Probate and estate files template gives you the folders, document types and protection settings above in a few clicks. Then change anything you like.
1
Choose the Probate and estate files template
Pick “Probate and estate files” from the template gallery when you set up FilePlan 365.
2
Use it straight away
Your estate files, folders and document types are created for you, ready to start filing.
3
Make it your own
Rename folders, add your own document types, and set how long each is kept, to match your firm’s file retention policy.
Find an estate
Any estate file in seconds
Start typing and FilePlan 365 shows matching estates straight away. No more hunting through folders or asking a colleague where something was saved.
1
Type a few letters
Search by matter number, deceased’s name or executor.
2
Narrow it down
Filter by stage, fee earner, value band or status if you need to.
3
Open the file
Click an estate to see everything filed to it.
People only ever see the estates and documents they are allowed to see.
Advanced search
Answer questions across every estate file
Tick a few options and FilePlan 365 finds every matching document across all your estates. Perfect for file reviews, HMRC enquiries and beneficiary questions.
File reviewEvery grant of probate issued this year
HMRC enquiryAll IHT forms and valuations for one estate
Beneficiary queryEverything sent to one beneficiary, in one list
Compliance, without the jargon
Protected and kept for the right time, automatically
FilePlan 365 uses the security and retention tools already in your Microsoft 365, known as Microsoft Purview. You decide the rules once, and they’re applied to every document.
Kept for the right time
Estate files are kept for fifteen years after final distribution. Distribution starts the clock automatically.
Only the right people can see it
Estate documents are marked Confidential. Wills and family correspondence are marked Highly confidential.
Privilege stays protected
Documents marked Legally privileged can’t be shared outside the firm.
These are example settings. You choose the labels and timescales that match your own policies.
Why teams choose FilePlan 365
Less time on admin. More time with families.
One file per estate
Will, grant, assets and accounts, in one place.
Ready on instruction
New estates arrive from your practice system with their file set up.
HMRC without the scramble
Find every valuation and IHT form in seconds.
Closure handled for you
Retention starts automatically when an estate is distributed.
Every estate file.
Always in order.
Try the Probate and estate files template free for 30 days, in your own Microsoft 365 tenant.
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