Probate Risk
Probate Risk refers to the AML risks specific to law firms acting in the administration of estates. The key risk vectors are: high-value estates passing through the firm's client account; assets in jurisdictions with weak AML regimes; multiple beneficiaries unknown to the firm; beneficiaries who are PEPs or sanctioned individuals; estates including cash, cryptocurrency, or assets of unclear provenance; and contested estates where suspicion of source-of-wealth manipulation may arise.
standard CDD on the executor or administrator is required at instruction. Where the estate includes overseas assets, high-value items, or where any beneficiary triggers EDD (PEP, sanctions match, high-risk third country), the firm must extend due diligence accordingly — not assume that probate work is automatically lower risk than conveyancing.
Other terms that go with Probate Risk
Customer Due Diligence is the core legal obligation under MLR 2017 to identify clients, verify their identity using reliable independent sources, and understand the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship. Standard CDD applies to most clients. Where risk is elevated, Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) is required instead.
Source of wealth refers to the origin of a client's total net worth or assets — for example, built through a business, inheritance, investments, or professional career. Source of wealth is a broader concept than source of funds and is typically assessed for PEPs and other higher-risk clients as part of Enhanced Due Diligence.
Enhanced Due Diligence is a more thorough level of client verification required when a relationship presents a higher risk of money laundering or terrorist financing. EDD steps typically include verifying the source of funds, establishing source of wealth, obtaining senior management approval before onboarding, and applying more frequent ongoing monitoring.
Put Probate Risk into practice with Certivus
Knowing the term is the first step. Certivus gives you the workflows — client intake, CDD, EDD, PEP and sanctions screening, audit-ready records — to apply it across every client.
Back to the full glossary