Thousands of pounds in limbo amid dozens of unclaimed estates in Cov
of thousands of pounds in inheritance is in limbo as part of nearly 50 unclaimed estates in Coventry.
According to the latest Treasury figures, millions of pounds nationwide is yet to be directed to the rightful heir among almost 6,500 unclaimed estates across the UK.
And Coventry, is something of a hotspot for unclaimed cash, ranking 11th out of all major cities in England for the number of large entitlements yet to be settled. The Treasury has revealed details of 47 unclaimed estates of people who died in Coventry.
One of the unclaimed estates in Coventry dates back to 1994. After 12 years, a dormant estate becomes the property of the Crown, though it is still possible for people legitimately entitled to make a claim. The absolute deadline for claims is 30 years.
The surnames of deceased people in Coventry where estates are unclaimed include O’rourke, Branch, Cook, Crumm, Downey, Fairburn, Foxwell, Halliwell, Hartmann, Khattab, Lavin, Mahon, O’grady, Ward, Wilson, Yates, Ahern, Bansi, Budavicius, Bury, Cooke and Darker.
Official figures from 2021 showed that a total of £77million in unclaimed inheritance was languishing in Treasury coffers.
Unclaimed estates, classed as ‘ownerless property,’ occur when there is no will - or the beneficiaries of the will cannot be traced - and the next family member, following the rules of intestacy, cannot be found.
The Treasury only advertises estates with a net value of £500 or above. Craig Ridge, head of contentious probate at leading law firm Higgs LLP, says claiming an estate is a straightforward process for those entitled to it.
“If you are aware of the death, there really is no need for the services of heir hunters, which typically charge between 10 and 15%,” he said. “Unclaimed estates generally come about when someone dies without a will and no one steps forward to deal with the estate. Should you believe you are entitled to an estate, and there is a will, it’s sometimes as simple as writing to the executors of the will and they will do everything for you from that point. If the executors do not respond, there are other things you can do but you may need some advice on how to go about it.”
In the absence of a valid will there is an order of priority as to who can apply to administer the estate, starting with any spouse of the deceased. Entitlement in these situations is then governed by the rules of intestacy which follow a strict order.
“If you know someone has died and you believe you might have been left something, then you can simply search the probate records, or set up an alert for yourself, so that you know who to contact when the estate is dealt with,” Mr Ridge added.
“If there is a will, for a nominal fee you can get a copy of that will together with the Grant of Probate which will give you contact details for the executors. If there is no will, you can similarly get a copy of the Grant of Letters of Administration, which will give you the administrators’ contact details, whilst separately checking the intestacy rules to see if you may be entitled to anything.
“If, after some time, no one deals with the estate then it may also be worth checking the Treasury List to see if the estate is unclaimed.”