Unclaimed Estates in London
There are over 100 unclaimed estates in London alone according to a Government list. These estates could be passed to the Crown if nobody comes forward to claim them.
We have already reported that there are 83 unclaimed estates in Croydon, in addition to those, there are 113 estates where the owner died while living at an address in London.
Croydon is listed separately to London. The 133 estates in London were held under 107 different surnames, as six surnames appear twice.
It’s a little-known secret that the details of thousands of unclaimed estates are available online – and you could make a claim to one of them if you’ve got the right surname and can prove you are related to the last owner.
The Government is currently taking care of the estates because the deceased passed away without making a will or with no next of kin.
Several of the estates have been listed by the Government for decades and will revert to the Crown permanently if they remain unidentified. According to Finders International – a specialist probate genealogist team – family members and heirs have just 12 years to claim an estate once it has been reported unclaimed to the Crown.
Any individual can check the Central Probate Registry to see if any next of kin are on the unclaimed estates list. If you think that you might be the rightful heir to one of the estates listed you can find out how to make a claim for that estate here.
This article has been first published in Croydon Advertiser