No will - what if first-in-line beneficiary can't be found?

JanMary

Hi everyone.
I've tried googling this, but can't seem to find this exact scenario.  Could anyone please tell me what happens to an estate if someone dies without a will and their next-of-kin (a sibling, in this case) can't be traced, but there are first cousins who presumably would be next in line?
Many thanks.

xylophone

but there are first cousins who presumably would be next in line?

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

https://www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk/media-centre/articles-jan-apr-2017/what-happens-if-a-beneficiary-cant-be-found/#:~:text=Distribute%20the%20Estate%20and%20take,the%20missing%20beneficiary%20is%20traced.&text=If%20the%20beneficiary%20comes%20forward,protected%20by%20the%20Benjamin%20Order.

JanMary

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated.  It would be interesting to know at what point it's decided to stop looking for the 'true' beneficiary and  sort out the estate!

p00hsticks

JanMary said:

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated.  It would be interesting to know at what point it's decided to stop looking for the 'true' beneficiary and  sort out the estate!

I'm not sure there's ever a point where you can just 'stop looking'.

The estate effectively belongs to the sibling or, if they pre-deceased the person in question, is divided between their descendants.Until they can be found the estate is effectively in limbo.

getmore4less

There is no need to look unless someone wants to
First in line to inherit is also the first in line to administer.

Who has been looking?

The fall back could be the heir hunters, they can be given a chance to look for the rightful heir and negotiate a cut with them
They may not be interested if the estate is small..

What can happen is someone picks up the assets and manages them pending the sibling being found.

not unknown for someone to move into property or even rent it out.

JanMary

Thanks for your comments.  I'll give more detail!  My friend's cousin died 6 months ago.  She'd had no contact with the family for decades, but has been traced by various heir hunter companies asking if she knows where the deceased's sister is, as she's proving very hard to trace.  My friend was even invited to sign up as a possible beneficiary, but declined.  This got me thinking, hence the query!

Malthusian

She doesn't need to "sign up", if she's a beneficiary she's a beneficiary and legally entitled to her share. (If the deceased died intestate and has a living sister, albeit hard to find, she's not.) "Signing up" probably means agreeing to pay the heir hunter a cut of the estate.

The heir hunters will eventually either track down the sister, or come back to the cousin(s) (or aunts / uncles if they are ahead in the queue) having established that the sister is dead (assuming she's the only sibling) or impossible to trace. All of this will come at a high cost one way or another, but evidently the deceased wasn't too bothered.

Potentially your friend could apply to administer the estate herself, but she would then have to take on the hassle and liability of trying to trace the sister. The financial costs would be paid by the estate (including the costs of legal advice) but her time would not be.