by Gauk
Mon, May 21, 2018 2:06 AM

The Treasury swallows £10bn every year from unclaimed estates and some of it could be yours. We investigate how teams of heir hunters track down the owners of this money...

Could you be in line to inherit a fortune from a long-lost or unknown relative? Specialist firms make their living attempting to reunite people with millions of pounds of unclaimed cash before the Treasury can claim the money.

GOVERNMENT GOODIES

Anyone who dies without making a will — known as dying intestate — has their financial affairs handled by a Government department called the Treasury Solicitor.

Intestacy rules lay down which relatives should receive an inheritance, but if noone can be found then the money goes to the Treasury. About 3,000 cases reached the Treasury Solicitor last year.

Over the last tax year the Treasury Solicitor took in £18m from those not making a will and paid out £8m to relatives coming forward - leaving it with a tidy £10m which goes into the Government's coffers.

Relatives have 12 years to come forward and claim their inheritance and will be paid interest on the money. The ultimate deadline is 30 years but this is at the discretion of the Treasury Solicitor and no interest will be paid for the final 18 years.

The Treasury Solicitor advertises in national and local newspapers when someone dies intestate and without known beneficiaries. It will give details of the person's name, where and when they died and the value of their estate.

About 20 are advertised each week and they cover estates valued at £5,000 or more. Adverts are issued on a Thursday which is a very busy time for the genealogists who operate in this field. These so-called heir hunters are in a race against time to piece together a family tree, find the relatives who are line for the inheritance and be the first to contact them.

There's money in it for both parties. The inheritor receives money they weren't expecting and the genealogist firm charges a fee of up to 25% of the money. A contract is signed before details of the deceased is given.

Fraser & Fraser is the biggest firm of genealogists in the UK and features in the BBC programme Heir Hunters showing how hard it can be to track down relatives who have inherited money from longlost family members. Researchers sift through millions of records of births, deaths and marriages along with censuses, electoral registers and other documents.

Fraser & Fraser also has staff throughout the UK on the road who speak to neighbours, social services and anyone who can shed some light on the deceased's family

Ironically, one of the hardest jobs is convincing beneficiaries they are not part of an elaborate hoax when an agent from turns up on their doorstep with the good news.

WELCOME WINDFALLS

The majority of cases Fraser & Fraser deals with are for estates of £100,000 or less, although a few have run into the millions.

With the recent strong growth in house prices, estates will start to get much bigger.

The value of the estate first publicised by the Treasury Solicitor can be considerably different to what is actually paid out. Sometimes huge debts are discovered or piles of cash hidden under the bed which alter the final value.

Neil Fraser, a partner at Fraser & Fraser, says: 'One common problem we find is that a local estate agent has already sold the property to a local developer for well below its value.

'Once we get involved and sell e property it normally goes for at least 10% more.' But from someone dying to a relative being paid out can take between a year and 18 months because of the deadlines set by law.

Taxes may have to be paid, properties need to be valued and there is a six-month period after a claim is made on the estate for other relatives to come forward.

There are usually about 20 beneficiaries of intestate cases but some run into more than 100.

published by Gauk

 

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