Privacy Notice

Who is responsible.

Carter Collins & Myer Ltd, trading as CCM Estate Planning, is responsible for personal information used in its instruction-taking and client-management service. Contact enquiries@uk-ccm.com or write to Chichester House, 2 Chichester Street, Rochdale OL16 2AX. This notice covers will writing, LPAs, document storage and estate administration enquiries.

This notice supplements the information provided with your engagement and explains how we use information for this service.

Information and purposes.

We may collect identity and contact details; family relationships; beneficiaries, executors and attorneys; information about assets, liabilities, gifts and tax; instructions and attendance notes; and correspondence, payment and storage records. Relevant health or capacity information may be needed to provide an appropriate service.

We use information to respond to enquiries, establish identity, understand your wishes, arrange drafting and signing, manage fees, store and release documents, maintain register entries, meet legal obligations and handle complaints or claims. Please tell us if information changes. Only send sensitive material through the method agreed with us.

Legal bases and sensitive information.

Our usual legal bases are taking steps at your request before a contract, performing the contract, meeting legal obligations and legitimate interests such as managing the practice, protecting records and establishing or defending legal rights. Information about other people is used only where relevant and with an appropriate lawful basis.

Where special-category information, including health details, is necessary, we identify an additional lawful condition, such as explicit consent or the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, as applicable. We explain this when collecting that information. We do not treat ordinary acceptance of service terms as blanket consent to every use.

Who receives information.

Where necessary to deliver your instructions, information is shared with Trust Wills & Probate Limited trading as WillPack for specialist drafting and related support. Its own privacy information explains its processing responsibilities. We also share the information necessary for an LPA application with the Office of the Public Guardian.

For wills stored with CCM, the National Will Register receives information needed to log the will’s location. This does not publish the will’s contents. Appropriate information may also be shared with authorised representatives, professional advisers, secure service suppliers, insurers, SWW or public authorities where necessary and lawful.

We explain any separate referral or estate administration provider before transferring the relevant case information. We do not sell your personal information. Access is restricted to those who need it for the agreed purpose.

Retention and security.

Original documents are held for the agreed storage period and released under the storage terms and authority checks. Associated client files may need to be kept beyond completion or death to explain instructions, support administration and deal with potential claims. A storage cancellation does not automatically require deletion of every record.

Retention is assessed by the document’s purpose, the continuing effect of the arrangements, legal duties and the need to establish or defend claims. Original wills are held under the agreed storage arrangements. We review whether associated records remain necessary and securely dispose of them when no longer required. Contact us for the retention arrangements applicable to your matter.

We use appropriate access controls and secure handling arrangements. Before using a supplier or transferring information outside the UK, we must assess the applicable safeguards. Details of relevant suppliers and transfer arrangements can be requested.

This website and your rights.

The enquiry form prepares an email in your email application. Its contents are not submitted to CCM until you send the email. This website does not add advertising or analytics scripts. Hosting services process technical information needed to deliver and protect the site, such as IP addresses and request logs. Booking links take you to Zoom’s service, which has its own privacy information.

Subject to the applicable legal conditions, you may request access, correction, erasure, restriction, portability or object to processing. Where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw it, without affecting prior lawful processing. Some rights are limited where records must be retained for legal purposes.