Anglia Research Services - Intestate Wills

madbadrob

John,

We obtain Missing beneficiaries insurance for that very reason. It doesn't come cheap either.

It is something we are now coming across more and more with the fact many people now have children outside of marriage and whilst Dad may be named on cert the child is named with mothers surname

Rob

madbadrob

getmore4less wrote: »

Remember if you are a valid beneficiary you still get paid out if you don't sign, if and when the estate does get administered.

The risk by not signing is that that not enough of the others(if any) do for anyone to take on the estate.

since all at a level are entitled if you know of others through blood lines at your level then you could contact themcontact them.

http://www.familytreeservice.co.uk/sites/default/files/imported/Images/cousins.jpg


Bottom line is the heir hunters will be putting work, it is often up to you how much you reward them.


the main issue with finding heirs is you may have to go upto grandparents and down from there and a lot of the people that knew those generations are also dead.

This is true however we will always require you to prove to us that you are indeed entitled and to do that the person would be required to provide a family tree and all certificates to prove the descent which on some tree's could set them back 50 or 60 pounds and could well be worth more than their share of the estate. If they dont prove this and refuse to sign then their share will sit in a bank account for 12 years after which it will be distributed to the other heirs of the same line

Rob

John_Pierpoint

madbadrob wrote: »

John,

We obtain Missing beneficiaries insurance for that very reason. It doesn't come cheap either.

It is something we are now coming across more and more with the fact many people now have children outside of marriage and whilst Dad may be named on cert the child is named with mothers surname

Rob

Is there a time limit, such as the 12 years quoted for the window for someone to "prove" their entitlement to an heir hunting company?
How about a DNA test?

getmore4less

madbadrob wrote: »

This is true however we will always require you to prove to us that you are indeed entitled and to do that the person would be required to provide a family tree and all certificates to prove the descent which on some tree's could set them back 50 or 60 pounds and could well be worth more than their share of the estate. If they dont prove this and refuse to sign then their share will sit in a bank account for 12 years after which it will be distributed to the other heirs of the same line

Rob

By the time you are ready to distribute you will have that information.

Subject access request would funish the relative with usefull information

madbadrob

getmore4less wrote: »

By the time you are ready to distribute you will have that information.

Subject access request would funish the relative with usefull information

You lost me with the last paragraph?

Having the information is not acceptable. The law requires we have the proof to show that this person is entitled. Therefore if they dont sign they have to prove to us to the same extent that they would have to prove to a solicitor or the treasury. We will not spend the money to prove this if there was to be no return by doing so. It is therefore on the onus of the person who didnt sign to prove their entitlement. Yes its pedantic but thats the way the law stands.

madbadrob

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

Is there a time limit, such as the 12 years quoted for the window for someone to "prove" their entitlement to an heir hunting company?
How about a DNA test?

In short yes. After 12 years any monies not claimed is passed to the heirs that are proved to be entitled.

No DNA is not acceptable.

Rob

Savvy_Sue

getmore4less wrote: »

Subject access request would funish the relative with usefull information

madbadrob wrote: »

You lost me with the last paragraph?

I think what gm4l is suggesting is that you, as the potential heir, make a Subject Access Request to the HHC and ask for details of the information they hold on you.

Presumably the hope is that you get names to research for yourself.

However, I'm not sure that would work: I know when people are still alive a lot of redaction can go on: names can be crossed out before the information is passed on to you.

So potentially you could get a sheet of paper with your own name visible, and everything else crossed out ...

But I don't know for sure!

madbadrob

Sue,

I thought that was what he meant however a DPA request would also cost them £10 and would only cover any information they hold on you which could be as little as a name and nothing else. An SAR does not include any information about the deceased and cannot identify any living person.

Rob

John_Pierpoint

I am a bit lost by these TLA's,. please can someone decode, so I don't spend the next hour or so trying to identify the nuances.

I have been doing a little amateur genealogy, and extracted my great grandfather's
will created over 100 years ago and dated a week before his "early" death.
You can read between the lines and see a successful business man wanting to pass the torch to his son and heir rather than his two younger, one unmarried, daughters.

However the unmarried son had turned out to be an irresponsible "wrong un"; so rather than give up completely and cut out his son he created a trust for his not yet born descendants, leaving a modicum of power to his "capable" widow.
Now this black sheep of a great uncle, was never mentioned to me, it took my research then a conversation with an elderly family friend, to establish that he had died young supposedly unmarried and childless.
Well I have turned up a female killed in WW2, who was almost certainly his widow and from a genealogy site, a male pensioner who could well be my second cousin.

Well back circa 1970 the trust was broken up, as there were no under age beneficiaries and debts to be paid - so before rattling the bars of someone's cage, I wanted to make sure I was not creating a curse of genes reunited.:eek:

madbadrob

JOhn,

What are you asking exactly?

Based on what you have said I am assuming you want to know whether you would be entitled to the money from the trust that has been broken up. If so the answer is no. The monies in the said trust would be shared between the other legatee's in the will or their offspring if they have passed away.

With regards to the widow the only way to prove in fact she was his widow would be to obtain the marriage certificate. That said though this would not affect the legacy

Rob