Privacy Policy

Last updated: February 2025

1. Introduction

Watermead Trust Planning Ltd ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. Data Controller

Watermead Trust Planning Ltd is the data controller responsible for your personal data. Our contact details are:

3. Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following types of personal data:

3.1 Information You Provide

• Identity data: Name, title, date of birth, marital status
• Contact data: Address, email address, telephone numbers
• Financial data: Information about your assets, income, and liabilities (for estate planning purposes)
• Family data: Details of family members, beneficiaries, and dependants
• Employment data: Occupation and employer details
• Health data: Where relevant to your estate planning needs

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device information
• Usage data: Pages visited, time spent on site, referring website
• Cookie data: See our Cookies section below

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

• To provide estate planning and trust services
• To prepare legal documents (wills, trusts, LPAs)
• To communicate with you about your planning needs
• To comply with legal and regulatory obligations
• To respond to enquiries submitted through our website
• To improve our services and website
• To send relevant updates about changes in law or our services (with your consent)

5. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data under the following legal bases:

• Contract: Processing necessary to perform our services for you
• Legal obligation: Processing required to comply with law
• Legitimate interests: Processing necessary for our business operations, provided it does not override your rights
• Consent: Where you have given specific consent for marketing communications or processing of special category data

6. Data Sharing

We may share your personal data with:

• Professional advisers: Solicitors, accountants, and financial advisers involved in your planning
• Regulatory bodies: Where required by law
• Service providers: Companies that provide services to us (e.g., secure document storage, IT support)
• SFA Independent Financial Advisers: Where regulated financial advice is required

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and treat it in accordance with the law. We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected. For estate planning documents:

• Active client files: Retained throughout your lifetime and for a period after to assist executors
• Completed matters: Retained for a minimum of 6 years after completion
• Wills held in storage: Retained until instructed otherwise or notification of death
• Enquiries that do not proceed: Deleted after 2 years

8. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

• Right of access: Request a copy of your personal data
• Right to rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data
• Right to erasure: Request deletion of your data (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Right to restrict processing: Request limitation of how we use your data
• Right to data portability: Request transfer of your data to another provider
• Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details above. We will respond within one month of receiving your request.

9. Data Security

We have implemented appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way. These include:

• Encrypted data transmission (SSL/TLS)
• Secure document storage facilities
• Access controls and authentication
• Regular security assessments
• Staff training on data protection

10. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device.

Types of cookies we use:

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function properly
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use our site (Google Analytics)
• Security cookies: Used by Cloudflare Turnstile to prevent spam

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.

11. International Transfers

Your data is primarily stored and processed within the UK. Where data is transferred outside the UK (e.g., cloud services), we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions.

12. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. Where estate planning involves minor beneficiaries, we collect only necessary information from their parents or guardians.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version will always be available on this page with the "last updated" date shown above.

14. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, please contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection:

15. Contact Us

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us: