Method and system for secure sharing of information

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for managing documents associated with a deceased estate, the method being conducted at a service provider platform, comprising: receiving from an estate representative device, a request for creating a shared workspace for managing the deceased estate, wherein the request includes data associated with a deceased; extracting the data associated with the deceased from the workspace creating request; creating a shared workspace based on the extracted data and associating the shared workspace with the deceased estate; receiving a request to provide access to the shared workspace to at least one service-providing organisation; determining if the deceased of the deceased estate was a customer of the service providing organisation; and in response to determining that the deceased was a customer of the at least one service-providing organisation, providing access to the workspace to the service-providing organisation.

Description

[0001] METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SECURE SHARING OF INFORMATION

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present invention relates to a method and system for securely sharing information between two or more entities. More specifically, the invention relates to a method and system for securely sharing information for administering a deceased estate.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] When an individual passes away, their estate generally becomes subject to management and administration by an estate representative, such as an executor or administrator. This estate representative has a fiduciary duty to manage the assets of the estate and distribute them according to the deceased person’s wishes or legal requirements.

[0006] The methods and systems commonly associated with the management of deceased estates are well established and involves various entities / organisations, with each entity being associated with certain legal and / or administrative tasks. Generally, most of these legal and / or administrative tasks are paper based for various reasons.

[0007] However, as with many other paper-based systems, these systems are known to be inefficient and, as such, the overall management of estates using these well- established systems and methods are also inefficient. This inefficiency is exacerbated particularly by significant transaction volumes in large, involved organisations.

[0008] Numerous factors, such as regulatory pressure, evolving community expectations, a rise in identity takeover fraud, and the imperative to reduce operational costs makes deceased estate management an area of focus for the industry and all major participants (such as financial institutions, Government bodies, insurers) in the ecosystem. As alluded to above, administering a reasonably typical estate can require coordination across multiple organisations. All of these organisations undergo a process to finalise or close accounts / service held by the deceased across institutions such as banks (or other financial institutions), investment managing entities (including financial services organisations, registered superannuation funds and / or their administrators, or the like), share registries, government services, utilities, social media providers, to name a few.

[0009] Within, and across organisation types, each of these has its own nuances, for example, including the style of communication that they accept (email, registered post, in-person), the format of the documentation used and the information contained therein; and the level / style of validation, verification and certification expected over information provided by estate representatives.

[0010] In a world with increasing expectations of digital maturity and heightened security, a pervasive inconsistent and inefficient process that remains paper based, requires in- person attendance and, for example, continues to rely on cheques for wealth distribution is fast becoming unsustainable.

[0011] Accordingly, the applicant considers there to be scope for improvement.

[0012] The preceding discussion of the background to the invention is intended only to facilitate an understanding of the present invention. Any references to methods, apparatus or documents of the prior art are not to be taken as constituting any evidence or admission that they formed, or form part of the common general knowledge.

[0013] SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0014] In accordance with an aspect of the invention there is provided a computer- implemented method for managing documents associated with a deceased estate, the method being conducted at a service provider platform, comprising: receiving from an estate representative device, a request for creating a shared workspace for managing the deceased estate, wherein the request includes data associated with a deceased; extracting the data associated with the deceased from the workspace creating request; creating a shared workspace based on the extracted data and associating the shared workspace with the deceased estate; receiving a request to provide access to the shared workspace to at least one service-providing organisation; determining if the deceased of the deceased estate was a customer of the service providing organisation; and in response to determining that the deceased was a customer of the at least one service-providing organisation, providing access to the workspace to the serviceproviding organisation.

[0015] The step of extracting the data associated with the deceased from the request may include verifying the validity of the data associated with the deceased included in the request for creating the shared workspace.

[0016] The data associated with the deceased included in the request for creating the shared workspace may at least include a death certificate, and verifying the validity of the data may include consulting one or more third-party service providers to determine the authenticity of the death certificate.

[0017] The step of determining if the deceased was a customer of the service providing organisation may include sharing at least a portion of the extracted data of the deceased and requesting the service providing organisation to confirm if the deceased was a customer of theirs based on the shared data.

[0018] The method may include determining if the service providing organisation is a legitimate service provider. Determining if the service providing organisation is a legitimate service provider may include extracting service providing organisation information from the request to provide access to the shared workspace and comparing the information to publicly available information associated with the service providing organisation.

[0019] The method may include allowing parties with access to the workspace to upload documentation to the workspace.

[0020] The method may include determining when a new document is uploaded into the workspace and for at least some newly uploaded documents determine the validity thereof. Determining the validity of the newly uploaded documents may include: processing the relevant document; extracting information from the relevant document; and comparing the extracted information to information stored by one or more third- party service providers, wherein the information is accessible by the service provider platform.

[0021] The method may include indicating which documents in the shared workspace have been validated.

[0022] The method may include for at least some of the newly uploaded documents extracting information associated with the user from the documents, processing the documents into a pre-configured structure and storing the information in the workspace in the preconfigured structure.

[0023] The shared workspace may be a deceased record that may be associated with a representative record and stored in a representative database.

[0024] In accordance with a further aspect of the invention there is provided a system for managing documents associated with a deceased estate, the system comprising: a memory for storing computer-readable program code and a processor for executing the computer-readable program code a shared workspace request receiving component for receiving, from an estate representative device, a request for creating a shared workspace for managing the deceased estate, wherein the request includes data of a deceased associated with the deceased estate; a data extracting component for extracting data associated with the deceased from the workspace creating request; a workspace creating component for creating a shared workspace based on the extracted data and associating the shared workspace with the deceased estate; a shared workspace access request receiving component for receiving a request to provide access to the shared workspace to at least one service providing organisation; a customer determining component for determining if the deceased of the deceased estate was a customer of the service providing organisation; and a workspace access providing component for, in response to determining that the deceased was a customer of service providing organisation, providing access to the workspace to the service providing organisation.

[0025] In accordance with an even further aspect of the invention there is provided a computer program product for managing documents associated with a deceased estate, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having stored computer-readable program code for performing the steps of: receiving, from an estate representative device, a request for creating a shared workspace for managing the deceased estate, wherein the request includes data associated with a deceased of the deceased estate; extracting the data associated with the deceased from the workspace creating request; creating a shared workspace based on the extracted data and associating the shared workspace with the deceased estate; receiving a request to provide access to the shared workspace to at least one service providing organisation; determining if the deceased of the deceased estate was a customer of the service providing organisation; and in response to determining that the deceased was a customer of service providing organisation, providing access to the workspace to the service providing organisation. Further features provide for the computer-readable medium to be a non-transitory computer-readable medium and for the computer-readable program code to be executable by a processing circuit.

[0026] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows:

[0028] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram which illustrates an example embodiment of a system for secure sharing of documents in the management of a deceased estate according to aspects of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 2 is a swim lane flow diagram which shows an example embodiment of a method for secure sharing of documents in the management of a deceased estate; and

[0030] Figure 3 is a high-level block diagram which illustrates an exemplary computing device according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0031] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0032] A system and method for securely sharing documents and / or information with one or more organisations, is described. The described system and method may find particular application in the management of deceased estates. The term “representative” as used herein should be interpreted to be a solicitor, professional trustee organisation, or other professional engaged to act for or on behalf of the estate’s administrator(s) or executor(s), or a professional trustee or organisation acting themselves in the capacity of executor or administrator. Furthermore, the term “service providing organisation” as used herein should be interpreted to mean any entity or organisation providing a service and of which the deceased was a customer, client or any other such service consumer. This could be in the form of the deceased being the owner (or beneficiary) of any accounts, shares, contracts, or the like, maintained by the service providing organisation. For example, service providing organisations include, but are in no means limited to, financial institutions, mobile network operators, non-banking financial corporations, or the like.

[0033] In particular, the described system and method provide estate management functionalities that may be provided by an estate management platform to manage an estate while providing access to a central database to interested organisations. The estate management platform may be for a mobile computing device, or may alternatively be provided via a web application or for a non-mobile computing device.

[0034] The estate management platform may require a user, such as a representative, to sign up / register to use the platform. Signing up for the estate management platform may include creating a representative profile based on information input by the representative during a sign-up process. Each deceased estate managed by a representative may be stored in association with the representative.

[0035] The representative may, upon death of a customer, collect documents associated with the deceased which may be needed to manage the estate. This includes identification documents, any wills or codicils, bank statements, or the like, which may provide details on potential accounts, contracts or financial relationships associated with the deceased. Generally, these documents are collected by consulting family members or financial managers of the deceased.

[0036] The documents that are obtained by the estate representative may be uploaded onto the platform by the representative. The uploaded documents may be associated with a record of the deceased. This may include the representative or platform (on request of the representative) creating the record for the deceased estate and uploading the documents (for example by scanning the documents) into the created record. In some embodiments, the estate representative may be provided an option to create a new record, or to link the documents to a previously created record. Each record may be stored in a database maintained (or accessible) by the platform and be associated with a unique deceased estate.

[0037] Once the documents have been uploaded, the validity of some of the documents may be determined by the platform. This may include the platform automatically accessing the records of a Death Check service, such as the Australian Death Check (which is an official source of national death data for Australia), to establish that the individual is in fact deceased and that the death certificate is valid. In some embodiments, further methods may be performed to check the validity of the document, such as comparing the formatting, wording, or the like to expected formatting, wording, or the like, of a valid death certificate. In some cases, the entire process from uploading to verification of a document may be automated. For example, during the uploading of the documents (such as a death certificate or identification document), the estate representative may be required to indicate the type of document that is being uploaded. The platform may then automatically proceed to consult the relevant third party records to determine the validity of the documents. Additionally (or alternatively), in some embodiments, the platform may use one or more tools, such as text recognition software, or the like, to analyse the document to determine which type of document it is, extract information from the document, and use the extracted information to consult one or more third parties to verify the authenticity of the documents.

[0038] After the record has been created and, in some embodiments, the estate representative has received a notification that the documents have successfully been verified and associated with a deceased record, the estate representative may, via the platform, invite interested service providing organisations, such as banks, or other financial institutions, to access at least some of the documents stored in the record of the deceased.

[0039] This may include the estate representative requesting the platform to provide access to a particular document / s in the record to the record to the identified service providing organisations. In response to the request, access to the relevant record and / or documents may be provided. Each of the service providing organisations may be requested to validate that the deceased was a customer / customer of theirs. On confirmation, the relevant service providing organisation may be provided access to the remaining documents associated with the deceased record. This may enable the relevant service providing organisation to update their respective systems and records (such as customer relationship management systems) accordingly. The service providing organisations may then manually, or in response to a prompt by the platform, provide all information required to assist with the management of the estate. This may include, for example, uploading documents such as a statement of position letter, instruction forms that need to be completed to take action, official communications, or the like. In other words, the platform provides a secure space for participants to securely share any appropriate formal correspondence, such as forms to be completed, indemnities, instructions, or the like, that may be required to administer the relevant accounts, with the estate representative.

[0040] Once the documents have been uploaded onto the platform, or each time as a new document is shared, a notification to that effect may be transmitted from the platform to the estate representative (and / or service providing organisations).

[0041] The estate representative may access these documents as and when required. For example, in practice, the estate representative may require access to these documents to apply for a Grant of Representation from the relevant authorities. In most cases, when applying for a Grant of Representation, the estate representative (or executor / s) needs to provide a statement of the deceased’s assets and liabilities as of the date of their death.

[0042] Once a relevant Court / authority has issued a Grant of Representation, the estate representative may upload the detail of the probate onto the platform and link the probate to the relevant deceased record. In some embodiments, the probate may be automatically retrieved by the platform from the court records.

[0043] After all the required documents have been uploaded by the relevant parties, the estate representative may do the necessary to get the documents signed and completed by, for example, executors of the estate. Normally, this is a manual process, however, it should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the executors may also be provided access to the user record and complete and sign all forms digitally. The way in which the forms are completed and handled may be dictated by the relevant laws and regulations in force in a particular country. For example, in some countries, digital signatures may not be accepted and a beneficiary or other interested person, may be required to sign the relevant documents by hand.

[0044] All the documents may be shared as and when required by the relevant parties to enable the effective management of the estate. Once, for example, the tasks and obligations to and of the service providing organisations have been completed, the parties’ access to the record may be removed, restricted or the like.

[0045] The above description is provided to facilitate an understanding of the invention and how it may practically be implemented.

[0046] Example embodiments of the system and method will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying Figures.

[0047] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram which illustrates an exemplary system (100) for the secure sharing of information for management of a deceased estate. Various combinations of the described features and aspects may be used in a given implementation.

[0048] The system (100) may include a service provider platform (102), an estate representative device (104) and one or more service provider devices (106). In some embodiments, the system may also include one or more external service providers or authorities (not shown), which is discussed in more detail below.

[0049] The service provider platform (102), representative device (104) and one or more service provider devices (106) may be in data communication with each other via an appropriate communication network (108), such as the Internet or any other suitable public communication network. The representative device (104) may be in the possession and under the control of an estate representative (105). Each of the one or more service providing devices (106) may be in the possession and under the control of an agent (107) of a relevant service providing organisation. The term service providing organisation and / or service providing organisations, as used herein, may refer to any third parties with which the deceased may be associated and with whom the deceased party held an account, service, or other similar interest. In other words, each service provider device (106) may be associated with a particular service providing organisation, wherein the service providing organisation is a party in which a deceased held / holds a service account. This may be a bank, managed care provider, medical I policy scheme administrator, or the like.

[0050] It should be appreciated that even though only one representative device (and estate representative) and two service provider devices (and service providing organisations) are shown in the system, any number of these devices (and its respective users) may be present in a practical implementation.

[0051] The service provider platform (102) may be provided by a third-party service provider which provides and maintains a secure estate management platform for sharing and storing documents needed to administer a deceased estate. In some embodiments, the representative (105) and / or representative device (104) may be registered to interface with I or use the service provider platform (102) during an enrolment procedure. Likewise, each service providing organisation (107) and / or service provider device (106) may be registered to inface with I or use the service provider platform (102) during an enrolment and verification procedure. For the purposes of clarity, it should be appreciated that the terms representative and representative device and service providing organisation and service provider device may be used interchangeably, except where the context dictates otherwise. For example, “the representative is registered with the service provider platform during an enrolment procedure” should be interpreted to mean that the representative and / or the representative device is registered with the service provider platform during an enrolment procedure.

[0052] As mentioned above, the service provider platform (102) may be configured to interface with the representative device (104) and one or more service provider devices (106) (or any other devices, discussed below) via the communication network (108). The communication network (108) may be any network via which data and / or messages may be transmitted to and received from the respective devices (104, 106).

[0053] The service provider platform (102) may be provided by any suitable computing device or devices and may for example include a server (110). The server (110) may, for example, be any suitable computing device configured to perform the role of a server such as a server cluster, a distributed server, a cloud-based server or the like. The server (110) may be maintained by the third-party service provider. The server (110) may be configured to interface with other devices in the network via, for example, an appropriate application programming interface (API).

[0054] The service provider platform (102) may have access to and, in some embodiments, maintain a representative database (112) in which a representative record (114) associated with the representative (105) and / or representative device (104) is stored. Each representative record may be associated with one or more deceased records (115) which are also stored in the representative database (112). The representative record, may for example, be linked to a representative profile and include details associated with the representative and provided during a sign-up / registration process. In some embodiments, the representative record (114) may include a representative name (or identifier), a verification identifier (for verifying that the representative is a verified representative and not a nefarious party), and a list of deceased records (115) associated with the representative record. For example, in order to use the platform (102), the representative may need to be verified. Such verification may be facilitated by the service provider platform (102) consulting business registration records, collecting information on the representative, or the like. Each representative record may also be password protected and require a representative wishing to access the representative record or functionality of the service provider platform (102) to log in using a password and username / identifier combination.

[0055] In addition to the representative database (112), the service provider platform (102) will maintain a database (116) of approved service provider organisations / devices, in which one or more service providing organisation records (118) associated with a service providing organisation (107) may be stored. Each service providing organisation record (118) may include a verification identifier indicating that the relevant service providing organisation has been verified as a legitimate party. If a service providing organisation record (118) does not include a verification identifier, the service providing organisation may be subjected to a verification check (or the like). In addition to the verification identifier, each service providing organisation record (118) may include one or more of: a service providing organisation name and type; and, a service providing organisation identifier unique to, and associated with, the service providing organisation. These details may be obtained automatically by the platform consulting publicly available company registration registers, or the like, in response to a particular entity expressing an interest to access (or be provided access) the record of a deceased. In some embodiments, the service providing organisation may be required to provide details required to verify the service providing organisation. These details may manually or automatically be checked, as discussed in more detail below.

[0056] The importance of the data stored in the relevant databases will become more apparent with the discussion on the applicable methods.

[0057] In some embodiments, the service provider platform (102) and / or server (110) may be configured to interface and / or integrate with a platform provided by an independent verification entity, such as a Government or Regulatory body, to verify data / information provided by either the estate representative or one or more of the service providing organisations. For example, the server (110) may be configured to interface with an external death recording platform and / or identification verification platform, such as a Document Verification Service, or the like, via an appropriate API. Interfacing with the systems of the independent verification entities may enable the service provider platform to at least access data records, such as identification data, recorded by these entities and use the accessed data to determine the validity of data provided by the estate representative or service providing organisation during the management of a deceased estate. The estate representative device (104) and / or service provider device (106) may be any suitable electronic device with a communication functionality, such as a mobile handset (e.g., a feature phone, a smartphone, tablet computer, etc.), a desktop or laptop computer, a wearable computing device, a smart appliance or other internet- of-things (loT) device or the like. Each of the relevant devices (104, 106) may be uniquely identifiable by way of a device identifier.

[0058] In some cases, for example in a cloud computing implementation, software units arranged to manage and / or process data on behalf of the estate representative device (104) and / or service provider device (106) may be provided remotely. Some or all of the functionality of the devices may be provided by a software application downloadable onto and executable on the relevant device (104, 106). In other words, each of the devices (104, 106) may have a software application resident therein and installed thereon. The software application may be provided for download from a third- party software application repository, by the estate management service provider or a third-party service provider. The software application may be created and maintained by the estate management service provider and, in some embodiments, a particular software application resident on a particular device (104, 106) may be linked to a particular estate representative or service providing organisation, which ever the case may be. In some embodiments, the software application may be a web-based application accessible by the relevant device without requiring the respective user to have the application installed on the device. In other words, the software application does not need to be limited to a downloadable software application that is resident on the respective user device. And, it may, be a web-based application provided and maintained by the service provider platform. The software application may include built-in features or functionalities tailored to the needs of a specific user (105, 107) thereof.

[0059] The system (100) described above may facilitate a method for securely managing a deceased estate. An example embodiment of a method for securely managing a deceased estate, including creating a share workspace / record which may be used to manage an estate via a service provider platform (102) is described in greater detail below. The steps as shown to be performed by the service provider platform may be executed by the server (110) provided by the service provider platform (102).

[0060] As discussed briefly above, the representative database (112) and the service provider database (116) may include data which is provided by respective estate representatives and service providing organisations during an enrolment procedure. The enrolment procedure may be a standard enrolment procedure, in that the user (being an estate representative or agent of a service providing organisation) may select an option to create a new account and then follow prompts to provide a required user input. For example, an estate representative may be required to provide information such as a representative name (including a business name and / or representative name and surname), contact details, proof of mandate (from family of the deceased), company registration documents, or the like.

[0061] In some embodiments the provided information may be verified by consulting publicly available records or requesting consent from the estate representative to do so. For example, in order to prevent fraudulent estate representatives from signing up for the system, the estate representatives may need to be verified by providing tax information, proof of address, proof of incorporation, or the like, which may be validated by the service provider platform.

[0062] Once registered, the estate representative may interact with the service provider platform (102) to manage the estate.

[0063] Each service providing organisation (107) may be required to undergo a similar registration process to that of the estate representative (105), discussed above. The service providing organisation (107) may, for example, be required to provide similar information to that required from the estate representative in order to validate that the party is in fact a legitimate organisation. The relevant service providing organisation may need to be approved before that party is verified and access is given to the relevant records. It should be appreciated that the preceding paragraphs discuss non-limiting enrolment procedures providing context to the workings of the present invention.

[0064] An example method for managing documents associated with a deceased estate is illustrated in the swim-lane flow diagram of Figure 2, in which respective swim-lanes delineate steps, operations or procedures performed by respective entities or devices. The delineation illustrates one example embodiment and in other embodiments other delineations may be applied.

[0065] In this exemplary embodiment, the estate representative (105) may be registered with the platform (102) and use the platform to manage documents associated with dissolving of a deceased estate. Accordingly, in example embodiment, the estate representative (105) is a pre-approved estate representative which is already logged into the service provider platform (102) and can use the platform for its intended purpose.

[0066] In some embodiments (not shown), as briefly discussed above, an estate representative (105) may be required to register to use the service provider platform (102). This may include the estate representative (105), via the estate representative device (104), initiating a registration process, during which the estate representative may be prompted, via a software application provided by the service provider platform (102), to provide data associated with the estate representative and, if the estate representative is an organisation, the relevant agent of the estate representative. The service provider platform (102) may receive the input to the prompts, from the estate representative device (104), and verify the information provided. This may, for example, include verifying the legitimacy of contact details provided, whether the estate representative (105) is a registered estate representative (with the appropriate authorities) or the like. The service provider platform (102) may therefore be required to interface with external entities in order to validate the information provided during the registration process. Once the information has been validated, the estate representative (105) may be verified as a registered user and a representative record (114) may be created and stored in an estate representative database (112). The above steps may assist in mitigating any fraud risk with corrupt / nefarious parties acting as estate representatives from joining the system and managing the deceased estates of the parties involved. In some embodiments, the service provider platform (102) may be configured to, periodically, search public records or interface with authorities to check on the practising details of the estate representative, where applicable. For example, in some cases, the estate representative may be suspended from practising as an estate representative. In such cases, the registered user may also be suspended from using the platform, at least temporarily.

[0067] Turning to the method of Figure 2, in a preferred embodiment, the method is initiated by a representative (105), via the representative device (104), initiating a deceased estate management process. Initiating the estate management process may include the representative (105) accessing a software application, provided by the service provider platform (102), and selecting an option to create a workspace (shared session) associated with the deceased estate customer of the estate representative. This may include the estate representative device (104) transmitting (202) a request to create a shared workspace associated with a deceased of a deceased estate to the service provider platform (102). Transmitting the request to create a workspace may include the estate representative providing details associated with a deceased customer. For example, during use of the software application, the estate representative (105) may be prompted to provide information associated with a deceased customer, via the estate representative device (104). The required information may, for example, include an estate representative name and / or identifier, the name and surname of the deceased (or a deceased identifier), and a date of death of the deceased, or the like. In some embodiments, the request may include further details such as a death certificate associated with the deceased, proof of identification of the deceased, or the like.

[0068] The service provider platform (102) may receive (204) the request and process the request by extracting (206) data associated with the deceased from the request. Once the data has been extracted, the service provider platform may create (208) a deceased record (115) (being a workspace) and link the deceased record to that of the estate representative. Each deceased record may provide a workspace to which data and / or information may be uploaded by parties with uploading permissions to the estate record, such as the estate representative associated with the estate record that is associated with the deceased record (115). Once the deceased record (115) has been created, the service provider platform (102) may generate and transmit (210) a notification that the deceased record (and workspace) has been created to the estate representative device (104).

[0069] In some embodiments, the estate representative may be in possession of one or more documents associated with the deceased. These documents are normally manually obtained by the estate representative from the family of the deceased upon the deceased’s death. For example, this may include a death certificate of the deceased, identification documents, bank statements, policy information, or the like.

[0070] The estate representative (105) may upload (214) the death certificate, or another acceptable document, indicating that the deceased is in fact, deceased. In some embodiments, the request to create the shared workspace, or deceased record (115), may include the death certificate. In such an embodiment, the death certificate may automatically be uploaded or extracted from the request and stored in the deceased record. The service provider platform (102) may, at least in response to the death certificate being uploaded, access the deceased record and verify (216) the validity of the death certificate. Validating the death certificate may include the service provider platform (102) interacting with one or more external third-party service providers or authorities, such as a Death Check service, to validate that the death certificate is legitimate / authentic. This may be done by the service provider platform accessing systems of the one or more service provider platforms via an appropriate API. In some embodiments, the service provider platform (102) may validate additional documents uploaded to the deceased record (115) by the estate representative (105). For example, the service provider platform (102) may validate that the identification documents of the deceased are the legitimate identification documents. This may be done by accessing identify verification services, or the like.

[0071] Once verified, the service provider platform (102) may mark (218) the verified documents as “verified”. As such, when the estate representative, or any other party (as discussed below) accesses the deceased record, they will be able to identify that the authenticity of some of the uploaded documents have been approved / verified. It should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, a list of required documents may be provided to the estate representative indicating which documents may be needed (and if a particular document needs to be verified) in order to be able to share the record with any third party. These documents may be required by legislation or internal processes to mitigate fraud risks.

[0072] For example, as the platform aims to improve security associated with the management of a deceased estate, it may be a requirement of the system that at least the death certificate and identification of the deceased should be verified. This may be done to ensure that no falsified documents are provided in a fraudulent attempt to gain access to any benefits under the estate prematurely or fraudulently.

[0073] In some embodiments, the estate representative device (104) may receive (220) a notification as soon as all the needed documents have been verified. In some embodiments this may include the service provider platform (102) generating and transmitting the notification to the estate representative device (104). Additionally, or alternatively, the estate representative device (104) may be configured to, via the software application (102), monitor the deceased record (115) and generate a push notification once the deceased record shows that the relevant documents are marked as “verified”.

[0074] The estate representative may (105) identify one or more service providing organisations (107), such as financial institutions, superannuation funds and / or their administrators, share registries, or the like, with whom the deceased held an account, based on the documents provided by the deceased’s family. In some embodiments, these organisations may be identified by consulting with the family, former employer, etc. of the deceased. Once the parties have been identified, the estate representative (105) may, via the estate representative device (104), invite one or more of the identified service providing organisations to access the deceased record (115) and provide documentation that may be needed to dissolve the estate. In some embodiments, this may include the estate representative, via the estate representative device (104), selecting (222) one or more service providing organisations (from a list of service providing organisations displayed to the estate representative) to send an invitation message to and submitting (224) the selection to the service provider platform (102). The selection may include data, such as an identifier, associated with one or both of the selected service providing organisation or deceased record to which the invitation message relates.

[0075] The service provider platform (102) may receive (226) the selection and identify (228), by extracting the relevant data from the submitted selection, the service providing organisations that an invitation message should be sent to. In some embodiments, the service provider platform may verify (230) the authenticity of each of the service providing organisations before generating and forwarding an invitation message to the respective parties. This may include the service provider platform (102) accessing publicly available records, consulting with external verification service providing systems, or the like, to determine that each service providing organisation is a legitimate organisation, based on the extracted data from the invitation message. To this end, the service provider platform (102) may maintain, or at least have access to, a database (116) of approved service providing organisations, in which one or more service providing organisation records (118) associated with a service providing organisation (107) may be stored. As such, once a service providing organisation is verified as a legitimate organisation, a service providing organisation record may be created for the service providing organisation (107).

[0076] In some embodiments, more information on a particular service providing organisation (107), invited by the estate representative (105) to participate in the shared workspace, may be required. The service provider platform (102) may first request such further information from the service providing organisation (107), before providing access to the deceased record (workspace) to the service providing organisation. For example, the service provider platform (102) may transmit a verification request to the service providing organisation indicating that an estate representative is inviting the service providing organisation to join the workspace, however, the service providing organisation needs to be verified before access to the workspace may be provided. The service providing organisation may then approve the request and compete a series of steps (prompts). The feedback to these prompts may be transmitted to, and collected by, the service provider platform (102). The service provider platform (102) may then verify these details by consulting the relevant external and / or internal records. For example, the service provider platform may determine whether the service providing organisation is a legitimately registered institution and that the contact details match the details registered and commonly associated with the business.

[0077] To this end, it should be appreciated that various artificial intelligence algorithms or systems may be implemented by the service provider platform to assist with the verification of these parties, preferably at the point of registration (although, as illustrated above, in some embodiments verification may be performed at a point where an invitation is sent to service provider organisation). For example, these verification checks may be completed automatically without any substantial input from a user at the service provider platform.

[0078] Once the service providing organisation has been verified, the service provider platform (102) may create (232) a service providing organisation record and store the service providing organisation record (118). The record may be used for future reference so that if a service providing organisation has been verified previously, the verification process does not need to be repeated for future cases / matters in which the service providing organisation may be involved.

[0079] If the service providing organisation cannot be approved, the service provider platform (102) may inform the estate representative that the service providing organisation could not be approved and that the party may not be invited to access the workspace (record). In such an event, the estate representative may be required to manually verify the service providing organisation. If any proof can be provided that the service providing organisation is indeed legitimate, the service providing organisation may be verified and the process invitation message may be forwarded to the service providing organisation. Once verified, the service provider platform (102) may then generate and transmit (234) the invitation message to the one or more service providing organisations. The invitation message may include a verification notification and a request to verify that the deceased is indeed a customer of the relevant service providing organisation (107).

[0080] Accordingly, the service provider platform (102) may request via the invitation message request the service providing organisation to confirm that the deceased was indeed a customer of theirs. The request may be received (235) and include access to at least a portion of the deceased record, such as the extracted deceased name and surname or other identifier. The service providing organisation may process (236) the request by consulting their internal records and either confirm or deny that the deceased was a customer of theirs. In some embodiments, the invitation message may include details associated with the deceased estate that may be viewed by the service providing organisation to establish if the deceased was / is a customer of theirs.

[0081] If the service providing organisation confirms that the deceased is / was a customer of theirs, they will accept the invitation and a notification to this effect may be transmitted (237) to the service provider platform (102), and the service provider platform (102) may receive the notification and provide (238) access to the deceased record (115) to the relevant service providing organisation.

[0082] The service provider platform (102) may update the service providing organisation record (118) accordingly.

[0083] The service provider platform (102) may inform the estate representative (107) that the service providing organisation has confirmed that the deceased was / is a customer of theirs and that the service providing organisation has been provided with access to the deceased record (i.e. , that the service providing organisation has accepted the invitation).

[0084] If the service providing organisation rejects / denies that the deceased is a customer of theirs, the service provider platform (102) may receive a notification to that effect and generate and transmit a rejection notification to the estate representative device. In a preferred embodiment, the rejection notification may include a reason for the rejection provided by the service providing organisation. In some embodiments, the estate representative may be required to manually approach the service providing organisation to understand reasons for this rejection / denial and reach a resolution. This process falls outside of the scope of this disclosure and is therefore not discussed in detail.

[0085] It should be appreciated that each invitation message may include a brief, indicating what is needed from the service providing organisation, and why the party has been invited to join / access the deceased record.

[0086] If the invitation has been accepted, the service providing organisation (107) may access and review (240) the deceased record and documents associated therewith. This may be done in order for the service providing organisation (107) to, for example, update their customer relationship management records to indicate the death of their customer (being the deceased). The relevant service providing organisation (107) may then commence with the necessary internal processes to validate the authenticity of the deceased record (115), for example, and prepare the necessary documents for beneficiaries indicated in the will of the deceased (when applicable). Once these processes are completed, the service providing organisation (107) may upload (242) any relevant documents, such as a Statement of Position Letter, and confirm (244) that the documents contained in the deceased record are sufficient to process the request / mandate as per the invitation message.

[0087] If more information is needed or any of the documents are in dispute, the service providing organisation (107) may, via the software application executing on the service provider device (106), submit a dispute notification to the service provider platform. The service provider platform (102) may receive the notification and forward the notification to the estate representative device (104). The estate representative may then upload an amended version of the document or contact the service providing organisation (107) to resolve the matter. The service provider platform may be configured to inform all of the parties with access to the deceased record when the deceased record has been updated, for example when a new document has been added, or the like. This will enable near-real time monitoring of the deceased record and interested parties may use the record / workspace to manage the estate of the deceased.

[0088] The service provider platform (102) may be configured to, for each new document that is uploaded to the shared workspace, determine the validity of the document. This may include the service provider platform (102), for each / selected uploaded documents, processing the uploaded document by extracting information from the document and comparing the extracted information to information stored by one or more third party service providers.

[0089] The service provider platform may therefore, once the relevant parties have been verified and the documents authenticated, enable the secure exchange and / or sharing and / or transfer / transmission of information and / or documents and / or assets (such as money, share ownership, property ownership, or the like. The platform may, for example, enable the relevant parties to share and / or exchange information and / or documents to facilitate / effect the transfer of assets from the deceased to a beneficiary (by, for example, enabling a formal change of ownership).

[0090] In some embodiments, it should be appreciated that specific third parties may only access parts of the deceased record. For example, a financial institution such as the bank, may only access the information uploaded by the bank itself and the estate representative. In that way, the interest of the bank may be kept private to another service providing organisation, such as a superannuation fund and / or fund administrator, for example. Similarly, in instances where one or more parties may need the information of another, access may be provided to said other party as needed.

[0091] Once the deceased estate has been successfully dissolved, or no further input is needed from any of the parties, the estate representative (105) may generate and submit (246) a request to close the workspace to the service provider platform. The service provider platform (102) may receive (248) the request and close (250) the workspace. This may include the service provider platform (102) simply removing access to the deceased record to any of the service providing organisations and marking the deceased record as “closed”. In some embodiments, all of the service providing organisations may be informed that the deceased record has been closed and they can no longer access the record.

[0092] It should be appreciated that the above steps only show the flow up to a certain point in the process to successfully manage and dissolve an estate. Various external processes and further steps between the devices shown may be required. For example, some of the service providing organisations may require a Grant of Representation to be issued before the relevant forms may be provided to the estate representative to successfully manage accounts (or whatever the case may be) on behalf of the deceased and the beneficiaries of the will.

[0093] The steps and processes that are normally required in the management of an estate, are briefly outlined in the discussion below. It should be appreciated that the steps (and the order thereof) are provided for the sake of clarity only, and in practise, variations may be present without moving away from the core of the disclosure.

[0094] All participating parties (including the estate representative) in the management of an estate require some combination of the same information, which includes:

[0095] • proof of death,

[0096] • proof of authority in respect of the estate,

[0097] • proof of identity of those with authority and / or beneficiaries, and

[0098] • formal instructions to act.

[0099] In order to facilitate the sharing of this information, while mitigating friction and duplication of processes, a shared workspace is provided by the service provider platform.

[0100] The service provider platform is configured to enable the exchange and / or sharing and / or transfer / transmission of information, documents and / or assets between estate representatives and interested / invited third parties via the workspace, being a deceased record, in this case. In addition, the service provider platform may be configured to automatically validate information uploaded to the shared workspace, by identifying the types of documents that are uploaded, for example using recognition algorithms or based on a description provided by the uploading party. For example, the service provider platform may be configured to determine when a document is uploaded to the workspace (deceased record), identify the type of document using one or more recognition algorithms, such as character recognition, extract the necessary information from the identified document, and, via a suitable API, consult the records of a third party service provider / authority to validate the authenticity of the document.

[0101] In particular, the disclosed system provides a common workspace for estate management, wherein:

[0102] - Involved parties (financial institutions, superannuation funds and / or their administrators, etc.) are validated and invited into the workspace.

[0103] - Proof point documentation is uploaded via the estate representatives and validated from official sources and then shared to all relevant workspace participants. Proof point documentation and validation methods may include: o A death certificate that may be validated via a Death Check service. o Proof of authority of the estate representative, as included in the will and / or a grant of representation from the relevant Supreme Court, which may be validated by validating the will and consulting court records; o Proof of identity of the deceased and beneficiaries, that may be validated via electronic verification of identity (IDVerse) or via a government document verification service.

[0104] - All verification tools may, in some embodiments, be made available to the one or more participating user devices via the software application provided by the service provider platform. For example, the software application may be configured to provide the relevant user access to such verification tools via a suitable API.

[0105] - In some embodiments, the system may include pre-loading forms that may be required to be completed throughout the process, thereby improving accessibility and reducing time associated with the completion of forms at later points in the process. - The service provider platform may be configured to utilise Al-tools (or other suitable algorithms) to extract information from one or more uploaded documents, such as a will, and process the information into a format which is easily readable and focusses on information which is integral to estate management practices.

[0106] - In some embodiments, the service provider platform may be configured to implement Al-tools (algorithms) to reduce fraud risk by identifying “red flags” for fraud, potential disputes, or potential for a better claim to be made. For example, the service provider platform may be configured to cross-check information provided in one or more of the uploaded documents and to highlight these for interested parties to see (to allow parties to focus on these features or to make corrections if accidental mistakes are made). Some examples may include, if the death certificate refers to 3 children of the deceased but the will refers to 5 children, if the executor is deceased, discrepancies in signatures, or the like.

[0107] In some embodiments, the system may further be configured to enable communication between parties associated with a particular workspace. For example, the platform may be configured to enable an estate representative to send messages and / or notes to one or more service providing organisations. This communication functionality may enable secure communication between one or more parties.

[0108] Various components may be provided for implementing the methods described above. Figure 3 is a block diagram which illustrates exemplary components of a server in a system for managing a deceased estate. The system includes a server (110), which may form part of a service provider platform (102).

[0109] The server (110) may include a processor (302) for executing the functions of components described below, which may be provided by hardware or by software units executing on the server (110). The software units may be stored in a memory component (304) and instructions may be provided to the processor (302) to carry out the functionality of the described components. In some cases, for example in a cloud computing implementation, software units arranged to manage and / or process data on behalf of the server (110) may be provided remotely.

[0110] The server (110) may include a shared workspace request receiving component (308) arranged to receive a request for creating a shared workspace for managing the deceased estate. The request may be received from an estate representative device (104) and include data of a deceased that is associated with the deceased estate. In other words, the request may include data of the deceased person who’s deceased estate needs to be managed.

[0111] The server (110) may include a data extracting component (310) arranged to extract data associated with the deceased from the workspace creating request. The data extracting component (310) may, for example, be configured to identify the name, surname, identifier or the like associated with the deceased. In some embodiments, the data extracting component (310) may be configured to run an algorithm on the received request to identify the type of data included in the request, and extract the required data from the request. This may include, for example, utilising text or image recognition techniques to identify data that may be associated with the deceased and the death of the deceased.

[0112] The server (110) may include a death verification component (312) arranged to verify the validity of the death certificate of the deceased. In other words, the death verification component may be arranged to verify that the deceased, as per the share workspace creation request, is indeed deceased. The death verification component (312) may be configured to interface with one or more third party service providers and to determine if the data extracted from the workspace creation request matches the data in the records maintained by the third-party service providers. For example, death record maintaining services may be consulted via the death verification component (312).

[0113] The server (110) may further include a workspace creating component (314) arranged to create a shared workspace based on the extracted data and associate the shared workspace with the deceased estate. In other words, the extracted data may be utilised by the workspace creating component (314) to create a shared workspace.

[0114] The server (110) may further include a shared workspace access request receiving component (316) arranged to provide access to the shared workspace to at least one service providing organisation (107). The access request receiving component (316) may be configured to receive the access request from the representative device (104) in response to the estate representative (105) identifying one or more service providing organisations that need to be provided access to the shared workspace.

[0115] The server (110) may further include a customer determining component (318) arranged to determine if the deceased associated with the deceased estate was a customer of the service providing organisation (107). This may include the customer determining component (318) providing access to at least a portion of the shared workspace (deceased record) to the one or more service providing organisations, and requesting the one or more service providing organisations to confirm whether a deceased was a customer of theirs, based on the information in the shared workspace.

[0116] The server (110) may further include a workspace access providing component (320) arranged to, in response to determining that the deceased was a customer of a particular service providing organisation (107), provide access to the workspace to the relevant service providing organisation.

[0117] The server (110) may further include a workspace closing component (322) arranged to, in response to receiving a notification from the estate representative device (104) that the estate management process has been completed, cause closure of the shared workspace. The workspace closing component (322) may therefore be arranged to restrict access to the shared workspace upon completion of the estate management process associated with a particular deceased estate.

[0118] It should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the service provider platform (102) may provide (unilateral) access to an estate representative, or a service provider organisation, to one or more of the verification tools, discussed above. For example, in some embodiments, the service provider platform may verify the death certificate even though the estate representative may have already done so. The service provider platform may therefore be configured to interface with external verification services, for example, via a suitable API (or be provided access to data maintained by an external party), and enable users of the service provider platform to access these verification services as and when needed.

[0119] An advantage of the methods and system disclosed herein is that it provides a largely paperless, frictionless alternative to current estate management practices. Not only does the proposed system and method limit the duplication of common performed tasks, it also provides a more secure alternative to current existing methods and limits the risk for fraud in the management of deceased estates. By vetting / authenticating all parties with access to the shared workspace, the service providing organisations can find peace of mind that only legitimate representatives, with a legitimate interest in the management of the estate may gain access to sensitive information associated with the deceased estate. In other words, the service providing organisations can be sure that assets under their control are being released to legitimate parties.

[0120] The foregoing description has been presented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure.

[0121] Any of the steps, operations, components or processes described herein may be performed or implemented with one or more hardware or software units, alone or in combination with other devices. Components or devices configured or arranged to perform described functions or operations may be so arranged or configured through computer-implemented instructions which implement or carry out the described functions, algorithms, or methods. The computer-implemented instructions may be provided by hardware or software units. In one embodiment, a software unit is implemented with a computer program product comprising a non-transient or non- transitory computer-readable medium containing computer program code, which can be executed by a processor for performing any or all of the steps, operations, or processes described. Software units or functions described in this application may be implemented as computer program code using any suitable computer language such as, for example, Java™, C++, or Perl™ using, for example, conventional or object- oriented techniques. The computer program code may be stored as a series of instructions, or commands on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as a hard-drive, or an optical medium such as a CD-ROM. Any such computer- readable medium may also reside on or within a single computational apparatus, and may be present on or within different computational apparatuses within a system or network.

[0122] Flowchart illustrations and block diagrams of methods, systems, and computer program products according to embodiments are used herein. Each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, may provide functions which may be implemented by computer readable program instructions. In some alternative implementations, the functions identified by the blocks may take place in a different order to that shown in the flowchart illustrations.

[0123] In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. The term “comprises” and its variations, such as “comprising” and “comprised of” is used throughout in an inclusive sense and not to the exclusion of any additional features.

[0124] It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect.

[0125] The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A computer-implemented method for managing documents associated with a deceased estate, the method being conducted at a service provider platform, comprising: receiving from an estate representative device, a request for creating a shared workspace for managing the deceased estate, wherein the request includes data associated with a deceased; extracting the data associated with the deceased from the workspace creating request; creating a shared workspace based on the extracted data and associating the shared workspace with the deceased estate; receiving a request to provide access to the shared workspace to at least one service-providing organisation; determining if the deceased of the deceased estate was a customer of the service providing organisation; and in response to determining that the deceased was a customer of the at least one service-providing organisation, providing access to the workspace to the serviceproviding organisation.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of extracting the data associated with the deceased from the request includes verifying the validity of the data associated with the deceased included in the request for creating the shared workspace.

3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the data associated with the deceased included in the request for creating the shared workspace includes a death certificate, and verifying the validity of the data includes consulting one or more third- party service providers to determine the authenticity of the death certificate.

4. The method of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the step of determining if the deceased was a customer of the service providing organisation includes sharing at least a portion of the extracted data of the deceased and requesting the service providing organisation to confirm if the deceased was a customer of theirs based onthe shared data.

5. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the method includes determining if the service providing organisation is a legitimate service provider.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining if the service providing organisation is a legitimate service provider includes extracting service providing organisation information from the request to provide access to the shared workspace and comparing the information to publicly available information associated with the service providing organisation.

7. The method of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the method includes allowing parties with access to the workspace to upload documentation to the workspace.

8. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the method includes determining when a new document is uploaded into the workspace and for at least some newly uploaded documents determine the validity thereof.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the validity of the newly uploaded documents includes: processing the relevant document; extracting information from the relevant document; and comparing the extracted information to information stored by one or more third-party service providers, wherein the information is accessible by the service provider platform.

10. The method of any one of claims 1-9 wherein the method includes indicating which documents in the shared workspace have been validated.

11. The method of any one of claims 1-10 wherein the method includes for at least some of the newly uploaded documents: extracting information associated with the user from the documents, processing the documents into a pre-configured structure andstoring the information in the workspace in the pre-configured structure.

12. The method of any one of claims 1-11 wherein the shared workspace is a deceased record that is associated with a representative record and stored in a representative database.

13. A system for managing documents associated with a deceased estate, the system comprising: a memory for storing computer-readable program code and a processor for executing the computer-readable program code, a shared workspace request receiving component for receiving, from an estate representative device, a request for creating a shared workspace for managing the deceased estate, wherein the request includes data of a deceased associated with the deceased estate; a data extracting component for extracting data associated with the deceased from the workspace creating request; a workspace creating component for creating a shared workspace based on the extracted data and associating the shared workspace with the deceased estate; a shared workspace access request receiving component for receiving a request to provide access to the shared workspace to at least one service providing organisation; a customer determining component for determining if the deceased of the deceased estate was a customer of the service providing organisation; and a workspace access providing component for, in response to determining that the deceased was a customer of service providing organisation, providing access to the workspace to the service providing organisation.

14. A computer program product for managing documents associated with a deceased estate, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having stored computer-readable program code for performing the steps of: receiving, from an estate representative device, a request for creating a shared workspace for managing the deceased estate, wherein the request includes data associated with a deceased of the deceased estate;extracting the data associated with the deceased from the workspace creating request; creating a shared workspace based on the extracted data and associating the shared workspace with the deceased estate; receiving a request to provide access to the shared workspace to at least one service providing organisation; determining if the deceased of the deceased estate was a customer of the service providing organisation; and in response to determining that the deceased was a customer of service providing organisation, providing access to the workspace to the service providing organisation.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer-readable medium is a non-transitory computer-readable medium and the computer-readable program code is executable by a processing circuit.

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