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Overview
A key responsibility in financial advice is guiding clients through end-of-life planning. Unfortunately, this also includes the duty of managing their records when they pass away. Updating a client’s record in the event of their passing ensures automated communications do not inappropriately continue, prevents unnecessary distress, and maintains compliant, well-organized records.
Why Update Deceased Client Records?
Updating a client’s record in the case of death ensures:
Automated communications do not inappropriately continue to the client or their family.
System records remain compliant and well-organized.
To ensure deceased client records are handled correctly in AdviserLogic, there are two standard approaches available:
Single Client
If a client is single (with no associated partner in their record), you can manage their status by creating a 'Deceased Client' category and assigning them to it. It is important to note that status updates like 'Deceased' are reflected through assigning the appropriate category rather than directly changing a field labeled 'deceased.'
To do this, navigate to:
Client Profile > Fact Find 2.0 > Internal > Client and Adviser Details > Client Category, then create and assign Deceased Client category. Check the Hidden tick box to hide the client and save.
⚠️Warning
Marking the client as hidden will prevent them from showing up in the quick search. To find the client again follow the Find Hidden Clients Instructions.
You can also add notes to the client's record in Fact Find > Personal > Basic > Notes
This ensures the record is properly classified while maintaining compliance and data integrity.
Best Practices for Managing Deceased Client Records
Regularly audit records to confirm updates are accurately reflected.
Ensure access permissions are in place for handling sensitive updates.
Review client communication settings periodically to prevent errors.
📌 Note
While in the client record within Fact Find, navigate to:
Personal > Contact, then scroll down to Additional Preferences and select Do Not Contact.
This prevents any automated communications from being sent to the deceased client or their family, ensuring respectful and appropriate record management.
Partnered Client
Managing a Client and Partner Record When One Partner is Deceased
If a Client and Partner record exists where only one individual is deceased, follow these steps for proper record management:
Split the Records – Use the Split Client and Partner process to separate their profiles.
Once the client's records have been split you may follow the instructions above to Assign the Decasead category and hide the client from your day-to-day AdviserLogic operations.
📝 Important Considerations
Asset Ownership: Before proceeding, ensure that all assets are assigned to the correct owners to maintain accurate financial records.
Estate Management: If there are ongoing estate matters, it is advisable to wait until they are finalised before marking the deceased client as Hidden.
Preventing Unintended Communications: The deceased client can be marked as Do Not Contact (as outlined above) to prevent automated communications, avoiding unnecessary distress for the grieving partner.
🔍 Finding Hidden Clients – If needed, hidden clients can be located using the Finding Hidden Clients process.