What ID Does Your Solicitor Need?
Timms Trainee Solicitor, Leonnie Watson discusses the frequently asked question “What ID Does Your Solicitor Need?” in her latest Timms blog…
ITV’s latest drama ‘Our House’ starring fan favourite Martin Compston has aired recently. For anyone who hasn’t seen it (without giving away too many spoilers) the storyline centres around a husband and wife who separate and the husband is blackmailed into selling their property, unbeknown to his wife, with one of the blackmailers pretending to be the wife to sign the appropriate completion papers for the property to be sold.
Now you would think that, as it’s an ITV drama series, this could never happen… but it did! Unfortunately, just last year (2021) a gentleman in Luton who had lived in his property for 30 years and returned home from a holiday to find someone else legally owning it because his identity had been stolen.
So, What ID Does Your Solicitor Need?
This is why one of the first stages in instructing a solicitor/conveyancer is to provide them with valid ID. This includes both photo (a passport that is in date or photo driving licence) and proof of address (driving licence but if you use the photo driving licence for your photo ID then you cannot use it for proof of address, utility bill or bank statement dated within the last 3 months) in person. If you do not live at the property being sold, you may also be asked for ID linking you to that property.
Why Is ID Required?
The other reason ID is required is because that is what the law requires! This law also applies to banks, building societies and mortgage brokers. We are required to obtain satisfactory evidence of clients to meet with Money Laundering Regulations.
Getting your ID verified at the earliest point is a requirement of the conveyancing process as your solicitor/conveyancer cannot start acting for you until they know who you are. Typically, in property transactions large sums of money are transferred between parties who may not have met, so it is key for us to know who the client is, where the money has come from and that clients really are who they say they are!
If you are instructing a firm that isn’t local to you, alternative arrangements for ID verification could be arranged but this would depend on the firm’s own policies.
How Can Timms Help?
If you have any questions regarding this blog, or any other conveyancing matters please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can contact me via email at l.watson@timms-law.com or by phone on 01283 214 231. Alternatively, you can visit the Conveyancing section of our website here.
March 2022