Old Share found after my mother passed away 16 February at 2:29PM in Savings & investments 2 replies 255 views

Spitfire23

I'm looking for help with trying to find out how to deal with share certificates I found after my mother passed away late last year, they belong to my mother and my father who passed away in 2009. The shares are for HBOS, Halifax, British Energy Group and Lattice. I can't find any evidence of them being sold, how do I check their current status? It all seems complicated!!! 

frugalmacdugal

Hi,

you would need to contact the registrars of each company.

Any evidence of dividends being paid into their bank accounts?

wmb194

Spitfire23 said:

I'm looking for help with trying to find out how to deal with share certificates I found after my mother passed away late last year, they belong to my mother and my father who passed away in 2009. The shares are for HBOS, Halifax, British Energy Group and Lattice. I can't find any evidence of them being sold, how do I check their current status? It all seems complicated!!! 

My guess is that these are all duds that were either superceded and replaced by later certificates/holdings or bought out for cash: what else did they own?

Halifax (Bank) became HBOS through an all-share merger with BoS which was then bought by Lloyds TSB (now just Lloyds) during the financial crisis. There were share consolidations so, if they hadn't been sold, they must have been sent new certificates at some point but calling Lloyds' share registrar to check should be easy enough.

Edit: it was apparently an all share deal so the HBOS shares will have been replaced by Lloyds TSB shares and a new certificate.

https://www.reuters.com/article/financial-britain-lloyds-text-idUKLNE49C08A20081013

Re the Halifax BoS merger:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2001/may/04/personalfinancenews

British Energy Group was bought for 774p per share in cash by EDF in 2009 so they should have received a cheque.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britishenergy-edfma-idUSTRE48N27920080924

Lattice Group merged with National Grid in 2002(!) in an all share deal so, if not sold, they should have been replaced with National Grid Lattice Group shares initially and then later National Grid shares after it changed its name and went through multiple share consolidations.

https://citywire.com/funds-insider/news/national-grid-and-lattice-merge/a237152