Unclaimed Estates and Probate Company Query

jazzythumper

Recently my father found out he had a half brother, who died in 2010, he didn't know of his existence untill after his death.

Even more recently he was contacted by a genealogoy company, to ask if he was the half brother as he may be a beneficiary of his estate.

This was confirmed by my father and recently we had a letter from a company who for the purposes of this I will call Probate Law who deal with probabte, confirming that they had received confrimation from a genealogy company that my father was indeed the half brother.

This letter states that they will also need to take out idemnity insurance, i assume that this will incase my father isn't the correct benificary, it also states that this will be of no cost to him (assuming they will try and charge costs/a percentage at a later date for any further work).

I have looked on the Bonavacantia lists and can find no mention of an unclaimed estate of my fathers half brother. I am assuming he made no will, his wife is deceased (as we know he married in the 60s) and either had no siblings or children or they are also deceased.

The other option from reading intestacty rules is that his wife is still alive and he made no will but his estate is over £450,00 in value, meaning anything above this would be split 50:50 between my father and his wife.

Which leads me to the question of how Probate Law cam to know of the details of my fathers half brothers unclaimed estate.

I am going to contact Probate Law tomorrow to find out more from their side, but assuming there is no executor (is this the correct expression) for his estate, do Probate Law have the righ to deal with this, and if his estate is not in the Bonavacantia lists how can we find out more about claiming this estate, without have to go through the company Probate Law and paying there fees.

I would assume that we would have to prove the genealogy and take out insurance against this aswell.

Any light shed on this would be very helpful!

Thanks

Jazzy

Crabapple

I don't know if I can offer a suggestion for getting around any fees that might be incurred, but certainly speak to the company and see if you can get more info from them.

The bona vacantia lists are for people where there are no known family as you know. However, it is usual for enquiries to be made before an estate gets anywhere near that list. There must be someone (and most probably a firm of Solicitors) dealing with the estate who have asked this firm to track down potentially entitled relatives.

There may in fact be a Will appointing Executors, but no living beneficiaries of it, or they are looking not only for a beneficiary but also someone who would be entitled to apply to be administrator of the estate as well, which would be one or more beneficiaries having looked through the intestacy rules for entitled relatives.

Speak to the company concerned and see what information you can get, and if possible who has instructed them and perhaps you can go straight to the source. If not, make very sure you get details of costs from them before your dad signs anything.

jazzythumper

Crabapple, thanks for your reply, really helpful.

I hadn't thought of the option that no one named in the will may now be deceased, I am curious as to why the company Probate Law would be employed, surely the solicitor would ploy the genealogy company directly?

I guess the only way of confirming is to talk to Probate Law, is there any legal reason if there is a solicitor that they can refuse to give me their details, without Probate Law that I can find out who the solicitor is?

Johnhowell

Watch Heir Hunters on BBC.

As long as your father does not pay any money to this company - should be OK. From watching the TV programme your father will have to sign a contract with the company for them to respresent him in the claim on the estate.

I do not understand the reference to indemnity insurances...

Before signing your father should received full details of cost to be deducted by the company - I suspect the percentage will be high.

However, your father should receive some money that he would not otherwise have received - so what would he lose? A collegue at work got such a letter, did not pay a penny and got a check for a few thousand.

Good luck,
John

jazzythumper

Yes, but is there a way to claim this money without someone taking 20 or 30%, i don't see why they should take such a large percentage??

NAR

Only if you know where the deceased lived and are able to make contact with the solicitor dealing with it. Or if he died intestate you could make a claim with the probate office.

Mojisola

jazzythumper wrote: »

Yes, but is there a way to claim this money without someone taking 20 or 30%, i don't see why they should take such a large percentage??

Without the company doing the work they've done, you wouldn't have got anything. Why do you object to paying people for their work?

jazzythumper

I have spoken to Probate Law and they have confirmed that my fathers half brother did leave a will but it was ineffective as he only left his estate to his wife who predeceased him.

Probate Law are a company who the Blue Bank (imaginatively tittled) outsource their probate work too, and Blue Bank are the executors of his will.

Is there anything stopping me going directly to Blue Bank now that I know they are the executors of the will?

Because no one is listed in the will as a beneficiary of the will, they have had to go down the intestacy route, they have confirmed that there is another beneficiary who is related by marriage (I fail to see how this follows the rules of intestacy as they would not be a blood relative?). I will get Probate Law to confirm how this works.

Originally they thought there were no assets to inherit, but later found there were, Blue Bank have fees of no more than £5,000 and Probate Law have fees of around £3,000 so hope at the end of it my father is not left with something like £500, I assume that they can not leave my father with a bill as these fees are deducted from anything he would inherit.

Probate Law are going to write to my father to confirm what he will inherit in about a months time when the indemnity insurance is in place.

Any further help would be greatly appreciated.

Mojisola

I would have thought that Probate Law will bill the Blue Bank because the bank must have appointed the firm to do the research as part of its executor duties. The bank will take all its costs from the estate before distributing what's left. I can't see any way that you can stop them being paid.

Your father will not be left a debt. If there isn't enough left in the estate to cover all the bills, the debt will go unpaid.

It sounds as if the original will wasn't well thought out. There should always be some "what if" clauses to cover issues like beneficiaries dying first.

YesWillMan

What I can not understand is how this Blue Bank can make a will which appoints them as Executors letting a person leave everything to their spouse but no thought as to who gets the estate if they die together or on 2nd death. I ALWAYS ask the "what if" Question and explain what happens IF they do not put a clause in that covers that eventuality. People then realise that such a clause is essential.

It could be that they did put a standard clause in that said to "all my brothers and sisters and brothers and sisters of my spouse" which I have put in myself as a last resort if the couple making the wills can not name anyone. It could even be a clause of "all my relatives and relatives of my spouse" which was used one that I myself would not use as it's a bit ambiguous. This clause would then explain why someone related by marriage is due to inherit i.e. the marriage of your father's half brother.The indemnity insurance needs to be in place to make sure that there are no other relatives that could inherit

floss2

Perhaps the Blue Bank were only appointed as executors, but had no involvement in the writing of the will.

I was always under the impression that the general "cost" of receiving an unknown inheritance via a probate company was around 10-15%, as they usually try to only expend time & money on large estates which are worth their while.