Contacted By Heir Hunter

ScoobydooWhere

Hi My estranged brother died in July . He had me down as next of kin even though we had not spoken for 20 years long story no one spoke to him due to things he had done. As far as I know he died in a homeless shelter. The council paid for his funeral. We have now been contacted by an heir hunter who on first conversation I thought the council had past his case over to sort out the estate out as no will.  I am assuming he died penniless and would have no estate . He sent a form I signed it to let him sort it. Now been contacted by a solicitor to sign forms . I am worried I will get a bill at the end of it. I have now realised they are trying their luck and I have told them there will be no estate only debt. I find it strange as the Coroner knows how to contact me , the homeless shelter knew and the hospital.  I found it strange when the solicitor is in Leeds we are in Coventry . Is this all a con

Grumpelstiltskin

If you are not happy write back to the solicitor and say you are not prepared to sign anything as you think there will be no money involved ie. as far as you are aware he didn't have any assets.

MyRealNameToo

ScoobydooWhere said:

Hi My estranged brother died in July . He had me down as next of kin even though we had not spoken for 20 years long story no one spoke to him due to things he had done. As far as I know he died in a homeless shelter. The council paid for his funeral. We have now been contacted by an heir hunter who on first conversation I thought the council had past his case over to sort out the estate out as no will.  I am assuming he died penniless and would have no estate . He sent a form I signed it to let him sort it. Now been contacted by a solicitor to sign forms . I am worried I will get a bill at the end of it. I have now realised they are trying their luck and I have told them there will be no estate only debt. I find it strange as the Coroner knows how to contact me , the homeless shelter knew and the hospital.  I found it strange when the solicitor is in Leeds we are in Coventry . Is this all a con

Someone only appears on the Unclaimed Estates or Bona Vacantia list if they die with no will, no known relatives and at least a £500 estate

Maybe he's been added in error or maybe he did have some token savings? 

The list is public record, there are dedicated firms who get the list each time its published and try to find heirs, normally the agreement is that they take a percentage of the estate but they have no idea if the estate is £500 or £300,000 when they take a name off the list. Clearly the better ones will have their ways of trying to identify the better cases to chase but any can make a mistake. 

Make sure you read what you are signing up for, and reread what you already signed up for. Given you know who died there is little point using such a firm but you state you already signed stuff so it may be too late to back out now. Most the time the firms won't say who it is initially to avoid you cutting them out of the process. 

flaneurs_lobster

It's likely that you have signed an agreement with "Heir Hunter" making them your agent such that any monies paid to you from your late brother's estate (if any) will be subject to their % commission.

Who is the solicitor working on behalf of and what's the nature of the forms they have sent you?

elsien

“ He sent a form I signed it to let him sort it.”

Now might be a really good time to revisit that form, check exactly what you signed and any potential financial consequences. Which obviously you did at the time, so this would just be to refresh your memory. 

born_again

ScoobydooWhere said:

Hi My estranged brother died in July . He had me down as next of kin even though we had not spoken for 20 years long story no one spoke to him due to things he had done. As far as I know he died in a homeless shelter. The council paid for his funeral. We have now been contacted by an heir hunter who on first conversation I thought the council had past his case over to sort out the estate out as no will.  I am assuming he died penniless and would have no estate . He sent a form I signed it to let him sort it. Now been contacted by a solicitor to sign forms . I am worried I will get a bill at the end of it. I have now realised they are trying their luck and I have told them there will be no estate only debt. I find it strange as the Coroner knows how to contact me , the homeless shelter knew and the hospital.  I found it strange when the solicitor is in Leeds we are in Coventry . Is this all a con

How can you know what he did in the last 20 years?

Why would you get a bill? You can not be liable for any debts that he had. Only his estate can. But clearly if this is genuine, then you stand to gain.

MyRealNameToo

born_again said:

ScoobydooWhere said:

Hi My estranged brother died in July . He had me down as next of kin even though we had not spoken for 20 years long story no one spoke to him due to things he had done. As far as I know he died in a homeless shelter. The council paid for his funeral. We have now been contacted by an heir hunter who on first conversation I thought the council had past his case over to sort out the estate out as no will.  I am assuming he died penniless and would have no estate . He sent a form I signed it to let him sort it. Now been contacted by a solicitor to sign forms . I am worried I will get a bill at the end of it. I have now realised they are trying their luck and I have told them there will be no estate only debt. I find it strange as the Coroner knows how to contact me , the homeless shelter knew and the hospital.  I found it strange when the solicitor is in Leeds we are in Coventry . Is this all a con

How can you know what he did in the last 20 years?

Why would you get a bill? You can not be liable for any debts that he had. Only his estate can. But clearly if this is genuine, then you stand to gain.

Suspect they mean the bill from the heir hunters... dont know if any charge a minimum fee or disbursements separately to the fee. 

If its appeared on the list then there should be an estate of at least £500 but even if its a 50/50 agreement thats unlikely to cover the heir hunters costs assuming its at the minimum end

flaneurs_lobster

MyRealNameToo said:

born_again said:

ScoobydooWhere said:

Hi My estranged brother died in July . He had me down as next of kin even though we had not spoken for 20 years long story no one spoke to him due to things he had done. As far as I know he died in a homeless shelter. The council paid for his funeral. We have now been contacted by an heir hunter who on first conversation I thought the council had past his case over to sort out the estate out as no will.  I am assuming he died penniless and would have no estate . He sent a form I signed it to let him sort it. Now been contacted by a solicitor to sign forms . I am worried I will get a bill at the end of it. I have now realised they are trying their luck and I have told them there will be no estate only debt. I find it strange as the Coroner knows how to contact me , the homeless shelter knew and the hospital.  I found it strange when the solicitor is in Leeds we are in Coventry . Is this all a con

How can you know what he did in the last 20 years?

Why would you get a bill? You can not be liable for any debts that he had. Only his estate can. But clearly if this is genuine, then you stand to gain.

Suspect they mean the bill from the heir hunters... dont know if any charge a minimum fee or disbursements separately to the fee. 

If its appeared on the list then there should be an estate of at least £500 but even if its a 50/50 agreement thats unlikely to cover the heir hunters costs assuming its at the minimum end

Doesn't the Local Authority who have paid for the funeral have first dibs on any funds in the estate?

ScoobydooWhere

Thanks all for the helpfull comments . The council will have first dibs as they told me that when they arranged the funeral. 

Will have a read again but I am sure its just a waste of time

sheenas

An unclaimed estates register, such as the 

Bona Vacantia list in the UK, is a public list of estates where a person died without a valid will or known relatives. These estates pass to the Crown, but are published on the list to give potential heirs a chance to come forward and claim them. They most likely found you this way. You could try checking yourself. It  must be enough money to make it worthwhile for them. If you’re already signed up the make sure it’s on a no money no fee basis. 

Silvertabby

A heir hunter won't be interested in just a £s in a bank account.  More likely that there is property involved - perhaps originally bought with an ex partner?