Claiming inheritance YEARS after a death..
Comments
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BV only get estates that are referred to them
Where there are know relatives and/or a will with a living executor it is very unlikely anyone would have referred the estate.0 -
gemoreforless:
I'm not sure if it's 'bona vacantia' but I am sure that I read - on this site - that banks will make accounts dormant after some years, but will pay out if proof is produced.
Can the banks refer to 'bona vacantia'? It sounds as if OP's dad might well have ignored any post about hi mother's accounts.
Either way, i am sure that it is worth a few enquiries.0 -
BV wouldn't get involved in a case like this - there is a will and there are relatives to act upon it.
Probate is required to execute a will, but individual banks have their own rules and amounts that they will release without. If the amounts are not great, then you may not need to apply for probate - you would need to speak to each bank.0 -
notentirelysure wrote: »....I think banks etc can close dormant accounts after a certain amount of time and you just lose the money...?
From Money Advice Service websiteMoney in a lost account is always yours by law, even if you wait many years to claim it.0 -
buildersdaughter wrote: »gemoreforless:
I'm not sure if it's 'bona vacantia' but I am sure that I read - on this site - that banks will make accounts dormant after some years, but will pay out if proof is produced.
Can the banks refer to 'bona vacantia'? It sounds as if OP's dad might well have ignored any post about hi mother's accounts.
Either way, i am sure that it is worth a few enquiries.
Anyone can refer an estate. you need to know the person has died, so dormant account unlikely to trigger on their own
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/unclaimed-estates-list
the referrer is listed.
Most often hospital/care home/council/bank/...
Sometime it is years before they are referred today's additions have DOD as far back as 2010
If you follow the list for a few days you will get an idea of what goes on.
A lot get removed quite quickly because heir hunters get on the case and find relatives.0 -
Just to clarify bona vacantia is where there is money but no heirs have been found. Banks dormant accounts are often separate because nobody has cross referenced them to the BV list so the could be assets that the BV staff have records of AND money in dormant accounts as well. You might need to do a lot of digging to find things.buildersdaughter wrote: »gemoreforless:
I'm not sure if it's 'bona vacantia' but I am sure that I read - on this site - that banks will make accounts dormant after some years, but will pay out if proof is produced.
Can the banks refer to 'bona vacantia'? It sounds as if OP's dad might well have ignored any post about hi mother's accounts.
Either way, i am sure that it is worth a few enquiries.0 -
notentirelysure wrote: »
What I have that indicates what assets there were, is a slightly random collection of bank statements and letters about shares, plus some letters from companies offering to find assets for a commission (either letters written to my grandmother or my father - and these companies have gone out of business by now, too!). The most recent letters refer to assets of around £8000 so I think this may just be the amount I also found through mylostaccount, so we don't need to pay anyone to recover that.
Can you be more specific about what these "letters about shares" are?0 -
Just to update: I spoke to a woman in the probate office who was quite helpful (though a lot of my queries fall outside of their role) - she recommended writing to the banks as a first step, because the decision as to whether we need to go through probate depends on whether we can find and of the money and whether the banks themselves decide the amounts are big enough to require probate. She also suggested asking the banks about shares and/ or trying to find out who my grandmother used to purchase / manage them. All I!!!8217;ve got on the shares is some quite random letters saying there are going to be changes to the companies eg name change, and a list my father made with a financial adviser that I got him to go and see, so just a list of companies he thought she had shares in.
I!!!8217;ve written to the two banks where she had accounts - don!!!8217;t think (from the statements I have) that there!!!8217;s enough in either to require probate.
I!!!8217;d guess I!!!8217;ll have to chase this up at some point and see if I can speak to someone.
So no progress as yet but I!!!8217;m working on it!
Thanks all for your help and thoughts. It!!!8217;s been really helpful to talk it over - I felt absolutely in the dark about where to start /if there was any point trying!0 -
Have a look in the bank account yove tracked down, (and any others) get a statement and then see if there are any dividend payments going in. That would help tracking down shares. Though, if this was 15 years ago and there's onky £8k in the account it's unlikely the shares woudl be worth much.
You can also contract the share registrars for these companies and see if your grandmothers name is on the list of owners. At a guess if there are any shares would they be all the old privatisation schemes like gas, BT etc?0 -
Definitely write to the share registrars. I found a reference to a shareholding in my father's papers when I took over his affairs under POA. The shareholding went back perhaps 30 years. The registrars confirmed (as I suspected) that the shares had been sold about 15 years ago (there was a takeover) - however it put my mind at rest. They replied very promptly as well.0
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