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Monika Hill Legal Sevices for wills and probate

Privacy Policy

This notice explains when and why we collect personal information about you; how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and how we keep it secure.

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Who we are

Monika Hill Legal Services Ltd is a limited company, and Monika Hill herself is authorised and regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers and Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, membership numbers 3054 (CLC) and 50089197 (FCilex).  

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Our Data Protection Officer is Monika Hill who can be contacted by email – enquiries@mhlegalservices.co.uk

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What we need

There are two types of personal data (personal information) that you may provide to us:

  • Personal data: is the general information that you supply about yourself – such as your name, address, gender, date of birth, contact details, financial information etc. 

  • Sensitive personal data: is, by its nature, more sensitive information and may include your racial or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, political opinions, health data, trade union membership, philosophical views, biometric and genetic data.

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In the majority of cases personal data will be restricted to basic information and information needed to complete ID checks. However some of the work we do may require us to ask for more sensitive information.

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Why we need it 

The primary reason for asking you to provide us with your personal data, is to allow us to carry out your requests – which will ordinarily be to represent you and carry out your legal work.

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The following are some examples, although not exhaustive, of what we may use your information for:

  • Verifying your identity

  • Communicating with you

  • Processing your legal transaction including:

  • Providing you with advice; carrying out litigation on your behalf; attending hearings on your behalf; preparing documents or to complete transactions

  • Keeping financial records of your transactions and the transactions we make on your behalf

  • Seeking advice from third parties; such as legal and non-legal experts

  • Responding to any complaint or allegation of negligence against us


Generally, we will only use your information within Monika Hill Legal Services Ltd. However there may be circumstances, in carrying out your legal work, where we may need to disclose some information to third parties; for example:

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  • HM Revenue & Customs; 

  • Court or Tribunal

  • Asking an independent Barrister or Counsel for advice; or to represent you

  • Non legal experts to obtain advice or assistance

  • Translation Agencies

  • External auditors or our Regulator

  • Bank or Building Society; or other financial institutions

  • Insurance Companies

  • Providers of identity verification

  • Any disclosure required by law or regulation; such as the prevention of financial crime and terrorism

  • If there is an emergency and we think you or others are at risk

  • In the event any of your information is shared with the aforementioned third parties, we ensure that they comply, strictly and confidentially, with our instructions and they do not use your personal information for their own purposes unless you have explicitly consented to them doing so.

 

There may be some uses of personal data that may require your specific consent. If this is the case we will contact you separately to ask for your consent which you are free to withdraw at any time.

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How long will we keep it for

Your personal information will be retained, usually in computer or manual files, only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected; or as required by law; or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you may hold with us. For example:

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  • As long as necessary to carry out your legal work

  • For a minimum of 7 years from the conclusion or closure of your legal work

  • For the duration of a trust

  • Some information or matters may be kept for 16 years 

  • Probate matters where there is a surviving spouse or civil partner may be retained until the survivor has died in order to deal with the transferable Inheritance Tax allowance

  • Wills and related documents are be kept indefinitely


What are your rights?

Under GDPR, you are entitled to access your personal data (otherwise known as a 'right to access'). If you wish to make a request, please do so in writing addressed to our Data Protection Officer Monika Hill.

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A request for access to your personal data means you are entitled to a copy of the data we hold on you – such as your name, address, contact details, date of birth, information regarding your health etc.- but it does not mean you are entitled to the documents that contain this data. 


If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer who will investigate further. Our Data Protection Officer is Monika Hill and you can contact them at enquiries@mhlegalservices.co.uk

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If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are not processing your personal data in accordance with the law, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

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Last reviewed April 2024.

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