Privacy notice

We understand that estate planning involves personal and confidential information. This notice explains how Birchwood Legal Ltd collects, uses, stores and shares personal information through PartnerDesk, our service for professional firms referring clients for estate planning.

It applies to clients, prospective clients, professional partners, portal users and other individuals whose information is reasonably needed for our work, including beneficiaries, executors, trustees and attorneys.

1. Who is responsible for your information?

PartnerDesk is a service provided by Birchwood Legal Ltd. Birchwood Legal Ltd is the controller responsible for the personal information we use to manage PartnerDesk and provide our estate planning services.

Privacy contact: Gary W Smith, Director
Email: info@birchwoodlegal.com
Postal address: Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln, LN6 3QN
Telephone: 0330 1333 101
ICO registration number: [ICO number: to be confirmed]

We handle personal information in accordance with applicable UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended.

2. Our relationship with referring firms and service providers

When a financial adviser, wealth manager, accountant, mortgage broker or other professional firm refers you to us, that firm will normally be a separate controller responsible for its own collection, use and disclosure of your information. Its privacy notice explains those activities.

Birchwood Legal is responsible for the information it uses to assess your needs, give advice, prepare documents and manage your matter. A referral does not automatically give the referring firm access to your full file.

We also use service providers that process information on our behalf, such as providers of portal hosting, document drafting, case management, email and secure storage. Where they act as processors, they must process information under our instructions and appropriate contractual safeguards.

If a particular arrangement involves different responsibilities, we will explain these in additional privacy information.

3. Information we collect

Depending on your relationship with us and the services required, we may collect:

• Your name, date of birth, address and contact details.
• Identification and verification information.
• Family relationships, dependants and details of people involved in your estate planning.
• Information about property, assets, liabilities, pensions, insurance, business interests and intended beneficiaries.
• Your instructions, wishes, advice records, draft and signed documents, correspondence and meeting notes.
• Relevant health, disability, capacity or accessibility information.
• Payment, billing and referral administration information.
• Professional partners' business contact details and portal account information.
• Technical information, including IP addresses, login records, device information and security logs.

We only seek information relevant to the purpose for which it is needed. Please avoid submitting unnecessary sensitive information about yourself or anyone else.

4. Where information comes from

We collect information directly from you, through the PartnerDesk portal, forms, meetings, telephone calls and correspondence.

We may also receive information from your referring firm, an authorised representative, a joint client, family members where appropriate, professional advisers, identity verification providers and public sources such as HM Land Registry or Companies House.

If someone provides information about you, we will provide appropriate privacy information within the timescales required by law, unless a lawful exception applies.

5. Why we use information and our lawful bases

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we assess whether our use is necessary and proportionate and consider its effect on your rights and interests.

Where information is needed to provide a service or meet a legal requirement, we will explain this. If you do not provide it, we may be unable to accept instructions or complete the relevant work.

6. Health and other sensitive information

Estate planning may involve information about health, capacity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other information given additional protection under data protection law.

We need both a lawful basis and an additional legal condition to use this information. Depending on the circumstances, this may be your explicit consent or processing necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. We will identify and explain the applicable condition rather than assume all sensitive information can be used on the same basis.

Where we rely on explicit consent, you can withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect earlier lawful processing, but it may affect the services we can provide.

If criminal offence information is required, we will only process it where an applicable legal authorisation and safeguards have been identified.

7. Who we share information with

Where necessary and lawful, we may share relevant information with:

• Your referring professional firm, within the agreed scope of the referral.
• People you authorise to assist with your matter.
• Professional advisers or specialists involved in delivering your instructions.
• The Office of the Public Guardian, HM Land Registry, HMRC, courts or other relevant public bodies.
• Providers of IT, hosting, document drafting, case management, verification, payment and storage services.
• Our insurers, legal advisers, accountants, auditors and professional bodies where reasonably necessary.
• Authorities or other recipients where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

We limit disclosures to what is needed for the relevant purpose. Progress updates to your referring firm do not automatically include copies of your Will, detailed wishes, health information or the contents of your advice.

We do not sell personal information.

8. Security and confidentiality

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure.

Access is limited to people who need information for their work, subject to appropriate confidentiality obligations. Please keep portal credentials confidential and contact us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access.

9. International transfers

PartnerDesk is hosted in the United Kingdom. [Confirm the locations and access arrangements of all providers, and the safeguards for any overseas recipients: to be confirmed]

You can contact us for further information about relevant transfer safeguards and how to obtain a copy, subject to appropriate redactions.

10. How long we keep information

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary for its purpose, taking account of our services, legal obligations, potential claims and the continuing relevance of estate planning records.

We may retain relevant records longer where necessary for an ongoing complaint, dispute, legal hold or legal requirement. When retention is no longer justified, information is securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised. Backup copies are removed through our backup retention cycle.

11. Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to obtain a copy of your personal information; correct inaccurate or incomplete information; request deletion of information; restrict how information is used; receive certain information in a portable format; and withdraw consent where we rely on it.

These rights are subject to legal conditions and exemptions, including protections for other people's information.

Your right to object: You can object to processing based on legitimate interests for reasons relating to your particular situation. You can object to the use of your information for direct marketing at any time.

Contact us using the details above to exercise your rights. Requests are normally free, and we usually respond within one month. If a lawful extension or other timing rule applies, we will explain this.

12. Cookies, marketing and automated decisions

PartnerDesk uses only the cookies needed to keep you signed in and to protect the service. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

You can unsubscribe from marketing communications or contact us to change your preferences. Service messages about an existing matter are separate from marketing.

We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. [Birchwood Legal to confirm before publication: to be confirmed]

13. Questions and complaints

Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about your personal information. You can make a data protection complaint using the contact details above.

We will acknowledge complaints within 30 days, investigate appropriately and explain the outcome without undue delay.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK data protection regulator: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

14. Changes to this notice

We review this notice when our services, systems or legal obligations change. The current version will appear on this page, with the date of its latest update. Where required, we will bring significant changes to your attention.