Long lost family member has died & there is no will.

Cheeky_Monkey

L.S.D. wrote: »

We have been contacted by one of the missing persons firms. We are main & almost certainly only family members. Is there a firm of solicitors that do a fixed rate to undertake all the work. We have been told to become administrators, how do we go about that?

Any advice would be welcomed.

First of all, who are 'we'?

If your relative is 'long lost', how do you know that you are almost certainly their only family members?

Who told you to become administrators?

Yorkshireman99

TonyMMM wrote: »

I never said it was easy ...just that doing themselves is an option.

It is a lot of work and could be complicated to do .... which is why many heir hunters (and I know quite a few) charge 30% of the estate value or more for their work.

For most people DIY ing it really is not an option. The percentage charged by heir hunters varies on the value of the estate and the number of beneficiaries. 30% is at the top of the range.

GwylimT

Sevennotemode wrote: »

As Yorkshireman says find out if there is any money in the estate before you get involved.

If there is no money you will end up paying for funeral costs.

You don't have to become administrators - it is your choice.

No they won't, the only person liable for funeral costs is the person who arranged the funeral.

TonyMMM

30% is nowhere near the top of the range for the heir hunters I work with (and VAT on top of that)

L.S.D.

Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »

First of all, who are 'we'?

If your relative is 'long lost', how do you know that you are almost certainly their only family members?

Who told you to become administrators?

Without a will 'we' are definately the closest living relative. It is not me though, & of course we have to find out if other people also have a right to the estate. The people on this forum have given us an idea what to do. We have contacted specialist solicitors. In spite of that we are open to any information that could help us, for instance is there a solicitor with a 'reasonable' fixed fee?

Yorkshireman99

L.S.D. wrote: »

Without a will 'we' are definately the closest living relative. It is not me though, & of course we have to find out if other people also have a right to the estate. The people on this forum have given us an idea what to do. We have contacted specialist solicitors. In spite of that we are open to any information that could help us, for instance is there a solicitor with a 'reasonable' fixed fee?

You don't need a solicitor. The first step is to talk to the firm you have been contatced by. They are likely to be your best bet as they have much, if not all, of the information already

TonyMMM

Who exactly have you been contacted by ? An heir hunting business ?

If it is an intestate estate, any solicitor you instruct may offer a price to administer the estate, but they won't do any family tracing themselves and but may also end up employing one of the heir hunters/probate researcher (at a cost to the estate) to establish who the beneficiaries are.

PasturesNew

Right now, if you have a claim, then doing nothing at all will not remove that right to it....

Do you know who died?
Do you know who in your family is most interested in family history - and do they have any possible candidates/loose ends?

It could be straight forward - few are, but it could be. e.g. "it's Aunt Marg's boy, after the Uncle Bob died in the accident in 1965 she moved away and we lost touch after she remarried and moved to Australia"

Or even, that scenario except nobody in the family KNEW Uncle Bob had married/had a child and died because he moved to Aus first after falling out with his parents....

Jenniefour

I'm not certain that doing nothing in this particular situation would be wise although it doesn't alter the claim. But, if any other long lost relative has been contacted by the folks who informed OP then there is a risk someone else involves themselves who might not know what to do and then leaves the door open to a future legitimate claim, or, worse, decides they aren't going to do the proper investigations.