Bringing their assets home

How we sold Canadian shares in just nine months after our solicitor client had been trying to sell them for eight years

Title Research were instructed to sell two Canadian shareholdings, on behalf of our solicitor client who was on the verge of retiring. The solicitor had been trying to sell the Canadian shares for eight years and hoped to do so before she retired.

The Canadian shareholdings were held in the joint names of three individuals, however two of these individuals had already died. Each deceased individual had appointed four Executors, additionally all of the share certificates were also missing.

Title Research worked closely with the client to explain the whole process and ensure instructions were included with all of the paperwork. We provided updates every two weeks whilst the client worked with the nine individuals who needed to sign the paperwork. Once the paperwork had been signed, the missing share certificates were reissued and the shares were sold.

Our solicitor client had been trying to sell the Canadian shareholdings for eight years and Title Research managed to complete the work in just nine months. The client was incredibly complimentary and grateful. She could also retire with peace of mind that the estate was now closed.

This case highlights how Title Research can navigate the often complex process of dealing with North American assets for you.

Administering US shares: Providing proof of the asset

We were approached to help deal with shares held by the late Mrs D, in the US company Marsh & McLennan Plc. As part of the requirements, the client was asked to provide proof of the asset.

Many months later after the initial enquiry, the client advised Title Research that they had been in touch with the Share Registrar in the USA on multiple occasions, and found it impossible to obtain a recent statement as proof of the asset.

The client was unimpressed with the service they had received in the USA, commenting that they had easily been able to obtain statements from UK Share Registrars regarding the UK assets.

Title Research agreed to obtain a statement on behalf of the estate, and upon investigations discovered that the asset was actually registered to the Deceased’s former work address – from 24 years ago.

Using this information, Title Research were able to liaise with the Share Registrar and obtain proof of the asset.

Mr H's shares in Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.

Title Research was instructed to transfer over 5000 shares in Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. for Mr Richard Hill, who had died some considerable time before in 2003.

Upon review of the file, a senior member of the overseas assets team pointed out to the client that Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. did not exist in 2003 and the only way these shares would have existed is if the Deceased actually had shares in Cadbury as of his date of death.

The client confirmed that this was the case, following which Title Research investigated further and identified that as a result of the former Cadbury shareholding, Mr Hill would also have shares in Mondelez Inc. and The Kraft Heinz Company. Furthermore, if he had over 5000 shares in Dr Pepper, it is likely that the share balances in the additional holdings could increase his US estate in excess of $800,000.