Are you entitled to Unclaimed Inheritance

Are you entitled to an Unclaimed Inheritance? Most of us would like to answer a resounding “yes” to that question, especially if the sum is substantial, but how do you go about finding if you are the entitled relative to Unclaimed Inheritance?

A good starting place is the Bona Vacantia list, a government list of unclaimed estates for public use in England and Wales. The list is available for use here on this site, which details the estates of those who have died without a valid will in place and who appear to have no next of kin to claim the estate. If you recognise any of the names on that list, you might be in line to inherit all or part of that estate.

List updated regularly

Names that have been added to the list since the start of the year include Calvin Carington, Brian Burke, Marta Jamison and Frederick James. You can search the list by forename, surname, date of birth, death, place of marriage or death and maiden names to see if you can find unclaimed inheritance that might be yours. You can also search by areas, such as cities.

If the estate is not claimed, it is passed to the Crown.

Connections might be remote, but the rules of intestacy supply the order of inheritance—who is entitled to claim and in what order when someone dies without a will. Cousins or the children of cousins can end up inheriting in such circumstances.

There are cases where people have inherited money without knowledge of the relative who died. Or it might be that the deceased is a member of their family they knew of, but lost touch with some time ago.

Unclaimed Estates list

In addition, the Unclaimed Estates list goes back some years. Some of the deaths recorded on it date back to the early noughties, for example.

In order to stake a claim, you need to prove your relationship. The value of an unclaimed estate on the Bona Vacantia list isn’t known until it is claimed. Therefore, you risk finding yourself out of pocket if you pursue the claim yourself because you might need to buy expensive certificates to prove your relationship or you incur legal fees. Reputable heir hunting firms do not ask for fees upfront and will only take money once the value of the estate is realised.

If you think you might be entitled to one of the unclaimed estates listed contact us.