Are you ‘sitting on a gold mine?’

UNCLAIMED ESTATES IN COV AND WARWICKSHIRE

LONG-LOST relatives of people who have died in Coventry and Warwickshire without making a will could be “sitting on a goldmine”.

Government data has revealed that more than 60 estates of people who died in Coventry are waiting to be claimed.

In addition more than two dozen estates of people who died in Warwickshire are waiting to be claimed.

When somebody with no written will, or any known family, dies, their estate is passed to the Crown.

Relations then have the right to make a claim for a share of the estate.

The time limit to make a claim is 30 years, so some of the unclaimed estates in Coventry date back decades.

If an estate is still unclaimed after 30 years, it becomes permanent property of the Crown and the Treasury.

There were 61 unclaimed estates belonging to people from Coventry as of October 15 this year - and seven have been added to the list kept by the Government so far this year.

Coventry unclaimed estates: David Guy, born on April 26, 1942, who died on July 14, 2020, in Coventry.

Gordon Denis Mckeachie, born on February 28, 1945, in Dumfries, Scotland, who died on July 21, 2012, in Coventry.

Brian James Chapman, born on September 8, 1945, in Oldham, who died on March 21, 2016, in Coventry.

Derek Holmes, born on January 28, 1931, in Liverpool, who died on February 24, 2019, in Coventry.

David Jones, born on June 11, 1940, who died on September 14, 2019, in Coventry.

William Lawrence Copp, born on September 21, 1946, who died on October 29, 2019, in Coventry.

John Hogan, born on September 27, 1944, in Scotland, who died on September 13, 2017, in Coventry.

There were 31 unclaimed estates belonging to people from Warwickshire as of October 15 - and five have been added to the list kept by the Government so far this year.

Warwickshire unclaimed estates:

Jolene Lucy Widdison, born on December 12, 1960, in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, who died on July 4, 2020, in Rugby.

Ema Fernandes, born on October 27, 1919, in Madeira, who died on March 15, 2001, in Warwick.

Ronald Freeman, born on January 6, 1946, in Germany, who died on July 1, 2005, in Leamington Spa.

John Delaney, born on February 21, 1966, who died on November 19, 2017, in Warwickshire.

Elsie Mary Pollard, born on November 26, 1918, who died on August 14, 1992, in Rugby.

The list of unclaimed estates is held by the government’s Bona Vacantia Division and updated daily.

As of October 15, there were 7,853 unclaimed estates in England and Wales on the list.

A person’s estate is usually made up of money, property, or personal effects.

Forbes Solicitors - specialists in wills and estates - analysed the list, and estimated that, with an average value of £150,000 per estate, £1.2 billion could be waiting to be claimed.

Tom Howcroft, Partner at Forbes Solicitors, said: “Some people might not know that they are sitting on a goldmine. These 8,000 people will have relatives, somewhere, they just need to be found.

“Wherever you are in the country, there are millions of pounds sitting unclaimed.

“A lot of potential beneficiaries don’t claim because they think it would be a difficult task, but we try and make the process as seamless as we possibly can.”

If the person has left no will, their spouse or children have the first claim on their estate. In the event of no spouse or children, any person who is directly descended from a grandparent of the deceased has the right to make a claim for a share of the estate. This includes siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Claim seekers who are related to the person via marriage are not entitled to claim for the estate.

Adopted relatives have the same rights and stake to a claim of an estate as blood relatives, and vice versa - only the adoptive family can make a claim on the estate if the person who died was adopted, and adopted people have no rights to the estate of any of their original birth family.

However, someone who is not a direct relative may still be able to put in a claim for a grant from the estate, for example, if they lived with or cared for the deceased.

To prove a claim on an estate, a claimant will have to show a family tree highlighting the relationship with the deceased and two pieces of identification. Birth, marriage, or death certificates may also be required.