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How long do these things take?

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  • Arrrgh! Two flies have appeared in the ointment! I was chatting to a friend about the situation, and he seems to think that because there were originally five cousins, then the inheritance should be split into fifths.

    Each cousin who is still alive will get a fifth, and two cousins who are no longer with us would have got a fifth each, but their children will share the fifth.

    Does that make sense?

    So if the inheritance is £500, instead of splitting this between the three remaining cousins, it will be split into 5. So the three cousins will each get £100, and the remaining £200 will be distributed amongst the children of the two cousins who have died (I worked out there are nine altogether).

    Does this sound correct?
  • Yorkshireman99
    Yorkshireman99 Posts: 5,470 Forumite
    Take a look here.

    https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

    If you go through it the information you want will be given.
  • Cousins aren't mentioned. We'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for all your help, I'll come back and let you know what happens :-)
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,571 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    A flowchart can make it easier -
    https://www.nicheadvice.co.uk/uk-intestacy-rules-flow-chart-2015/

    AIUI, cousins can inherit if their parents (the deceased's uncles and aunts) have already died. The estate is divided between the number of uncles and aunts and each person's share is divided between their children.

    So - if a deceased uncle had one child, that person receives all of their parent's share; if he had three children, those people receive one-third of their parent's share.
  • dunroving
    dunroving Posts: 1,903 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I'd say very strongly that unless you know there was no will, you should not count your chickens. Fate has a way of working strangely in these situations.
    (Nearly) dunroving
  • myrnahaz
    myrnahaz Posts: 1,117 Forumite
    It certainly isn't a quick nor an easy process. My father's 1st cousin died intestate 14 months ago. The old man had no children, his siblings had died without having children, so we've had to go back two generations to the cousin's parents and grandparents to trace THEIR siblings and offspring! And yes, if a beneficiary has died but had produced children, then the deceased person's share will be passed to their offspring.
    If this search isn't done accurately, any potential benefactors who appear after the funds have been distributed would have the right to demand their share. If the original beneficiaries have spent their inheritance, the new beneficiaries can sue them or the estate administrator.
    In our case, we had to hire Heir Hunters (who found two more beneficiaries that none of the family had ever heard of - one of whom was illegitimate but eligible); then, on the basis of the heir hunters' search results, we had to buy an insurance policy to cover any potential 'hidden' beneficiaries - all of which cost about £20k!
    We still have no idea as to when the funds will be distributed (and there's still a chance that a will might appear), but the whole process has been really fascinating! The best way to deal with it is to assume that you'll receive nothing, and just try to put it to the back of your minds until you know for absolute sure.
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