heir chasers

Lezanne26

I've just been contacted by a firm of genealogists called Estate Research. Apparently an aunt of mine has died recently (we lost touch years ago) and has left a small estate of approx £6000 to be shared 4 ways with her brother, her sister, my brother and me - she left no will.

Estate Research have sent me a letter asking me to pass on address details of the other beneficiaries together with an agreement to sign which would allow them to claim 25% of the Estate. I think this a ridiculous amount, especially as they want me to supply them with all details so they are not exactly doing much for their money.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Are they trying to pull a fast one do you think? I know £750 is still a nice sum of money especially coming out of the blue like this but it still doesn't seem right.

never_enough

I saw a programme about this a while back. I'm surprised they told you how much the estate was worth as I understood (from the BBC prog possibly called Heir Hunters?) that they didn't know. There is a list published every so often (maybe weekly?) from a govt department that lists details of those people who have died intestate. These companies then rush around like mad trying to find the family. The one who fits it all together earns the commission. I'm pretty sure that you could contact the govt dept yourself & give them your details to claim the money (if it really exists :rolleyes: ) Sorry, but I'm cynical...
That's why I'm surprised that they told you anything in the letter, kind of shooting themselves in the foot! I imagine that you'd need to provide lots of details if you were doing it directly & not through the company. Another thing (& I could be wrong so you'll need to check) but I seem to remember that estates were not necessarily split equally. I think the brother & sister of the deceased would get larger chunks than you & your brother. The episode I saw showed a man getting all excited, only to find out that the deceased had someone closer up the chain to inherit. I felt so sorry for him, as he looked like he needed the money!

never_enough

I just googled 'heir hunters' & BBC. It came up with the name of the firm of researchers that the tv series is based around. They have some useful information on their website under 'Information for Heirs',

http://www.fraserandfraser.com/uk/heirs/index.html

There is also a FAQ section which may be useful.

Susan_Frost

I only saw the BBC programme a few times. It was really interesting.

I thought the heir hunters accessed a list of all who had died without a will and had to do some research as to who MAY have an estate worth inheriting. (possibly owned their own home or savings, etc.) Then have to find someone related to make a start on finding the beneficieries. Do quite a bit of digging to get that far. Tracing family trees. They then sign a contract with the family to secure the work for their agency and to take it further. On the programme they also gave the families a copy of the 'family tree' they had compiled, which many found interesting.

The thing is, they charge a commission to cover all this work, which may come to nothing in the end for them. And, yes, make a profit. Why would they work for nothing? You are not doing all the work, you are giving three addresses. You also pay for knowledge and expertise, and well as the practical stuff.

You would probably not even know you had an inheritance if they did not do this. Did you know someone had died? You lost touch years ago.

I dont know why people often resent paying commission, fees, or whatever for services they get. I work, and actually expect to get paid for it, dont you? You know the cost in advance, so, if you dont want to pay then just say no. Simple. They can abandon the case and work on someone else's, or maybe try to contact your brother, aunt and uncle. How do they feel about it? I would ask their permission first anyway before giving their contact details.

I doubt they are trying to pull a fast one, check they are a registered company.

You can access the inheritance yourself, if you know who's died. But that's the problem, you probably dont know, and if you did you would have to investigate yourself (knowledge/expertise) or pay someone else to do it for you.

If it is not claimed, I think it goes to the "crown" which means the government, which hopefully means it helps pay for something and keeps our taxes from being even higher than they are.

As posted, your share is unlikely to be a full quarter. Need to check the way probate divides up such money.

Hope I get a letter like this one day. But doubtful. Oh well, back to work !!

Hintza

If they hadn't contacted you it would have all gone to the state so £750 is better than nothing.

Lezanne26

I wouldn't expect them to do the work for nothing - it's just that 25% seemed high to me. I think 10% is a more reasonable amount, especially as they would have to do very little legwork in this case as all the information is readily available.

I do know who has died because the man from Estate Research told me - but I do not know exactly where she lived or who is administering her estate. Also I believe I would get £1000 as this is my share of my dad's entitlement (it was his sister who died).

spirit

this is interesting. I went over to my neighbour's yesterday and they have had such a letter. I think it is a distant cousin of his who died with no wife or children of his own. This company then started looking for direct decendents to share the estate out to. They did tell him who had died and since this neighbour is into family history anyway, is going to research who this man was.

The letter also said that they would take a third of the estate in commission and also asked my neighbour if he knew of any other living relatives and their addresses. Since he does this family history anyway, he gave them the other family members' names and addresses.

I will now keep an eye on what happens next!

Susan_Frost

Gosh, a third commission does seem high.

Could ring round a few of these places and see what the other firms charge !

Paparika

You need to think about how much chasing around they have already done to find you.

Ok do it all yourself and then that's no wages for the guy doing you a favour.

shirlgirl2004

I watched the BBc programme a few times and on one occassion someone did say they wouldn't sign and they would claim themselves so it does happen. I did feel sorry for the firm though because they do have to put in a lot of legwork.

Susan_Frost

Shirlgirl2004 Yeah I saw that one too, seemed like a very nice lady and I think was given a bit more info that they normally would. Then, yes, she perhaps wasn't quite as trustworthy as they thought and her and the family did it themselves.

Hope they do re-runs of these programmes cos I'd like to watch more of them.

Repeats have their uses !!!