Heir Hunters

System

pimento wrote: »

They will search the Land Registry for the deceased address and see if they owned their own home. A house is worth having a cut of.

But we don't know if there was a house or not?

troyster_2

goater78 wrote: »

Yes but before they contacted you, you had no knowledge of this money. You've basically got the situation where someone you have never met before in your life has died (alone with no family) and because you are very distantly related to the person and nobody else is left you are entitled to his estate.

Its hardly like you have done anything to deserve this money really so for the ease of it I would be tempted to pay the share.

I suppose you're right, I just don't like the way they've approached my Mum giving her no info etc.

System

cte1111 wrote: »

From watching the Heir Hunters programme, I think they said that the most distant relative that can inherit is a first cousin (removed is possible). That would fit with your suspicion - your Grandfather's niece or nephew would be your Mum's first cousin.

Do any of your Aunts and Uncles remember more about the family background? If they knew possible surnames it might be easier.

However it does seem simpler and arguably fairer just to sign up with the company that have written. They have already spent time and energy doing the research and without them your relatives wouldn't have known about the inheritance in the first place. I can understand the instinct to money save though!

I think its a bit more random than first cousin. It seems to be any blood relative of the deceased Grandparent is eligiable. So that could actually be quite far away from the OP's mother.

System

troyster wrote: »

I suppose you're right, I just don't like the way they've approached my Mum giving her no info etc.

Theres no hurry to sign up. Wait a few weeks and see if anyone else contacts you and offers a better deal. if its a good estate they will all be sniffing around and you can play 2 against each other.

In fact just lie and tell them another firm has contacted you and only want 20% so you will be going with them. See if they cave!

They can't really give you any details as they don't want you to find out who it is and cut them out!

PasturesNew

There are about 30 firms like this - one lot are on the telly every morning, Fraser and Fraser. Find/contact all the firms you can find and get them to quote a price. You should be able to get it less than 30%, but there is a LOT of work and cost to get everybody traced and proven.

It's not as easy as a simple lookup.... start by getting in touch with everybody in your family and see how much of a tree you can put together yourselves. This could be, say, your great-great-grandmother's illegitimate last daughter's (who married 3 times) grandchild .... for example. And to get "your cut" you'd have to find/prove every other person in the whole family tree up to and across and down from the bloodline of probably your own great-great-grandmother as the heir hunters go up to the grandparents of the deceased and the deceased might be 80-90 themselves.

System

As another point the chances are its quite a recent estate thats only just been released so I would import the list to a spreadsheet and then sort it on date. You can then concentrate on the newest ones

Goldiegirl

maninthestreet wrote: »

So you have to pay some third party to get an inheritance you are legally entitled to ???

If you can't find out for yourself any likely deceased relatives, then you wouldn't be getting anything at all !

I would do some research myself, and if I couldn't trace any likely candidates I'd sign up if I was contacted by an heirhunting firm

Two thirds of something is better than 100% of nothing

pollypenny

pauletruth wrote: »

THE ONLY RELATIVES THAT CAN RECEIVE MONEY FROM THE BONA VACANTIA LIST ARE THOSE DESCENDANTS FROM THE PERSON LEAVING THE MONEY GRANDPARENTS. SO NOT DISTANT RELATIVES.

QUOTE]


I'm not sure about that. On 'Heir Hunters' the researchers build a family tree going both sideways and back as well as down.


I might be on my own here, but I'd prefer my estate to go to the general good, than to some obscure offspring of a an obscure offspring of a relation who did not bother with me, or vice versa.

SnowBelle_2

A heir hunter contacted my mother and her cousin about ten years ago,it was my great grandmothers nephew.
They wanted the usual cut but then said that the money could not be released overseas( he was from Manitoba) so they did'nt bother.
I am still intrigued as to what happened to the money.

pimento

goater78 wrote: »

But we don't know if there was a house or not?

The deceased will likely be on the electoral roll. The address will therefore be known. A Land Registry search will show who the owner is.

If an heir hunter can see the deceased owned their own home, it's worth going for it.