Steve Hayes wrote on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 at 11:36:57 GMT >We have been approached by two different heir-hunting firms with the news that >my wife's first cousin once removed has died intestate, and they are looking >for heirs. > >I don't know if anyone else has experience of such things, but here in South >Africa if someone dies intestate the relevant authority, or the heirs or >crditors appoint an executor dative (as opposed to an executor testamentary) >to handle the estate. > >What is the equivalent procedure in England? > >We have not been in touch with her, because we did not know her address, and >it's rather sad to only discover where she lived after her death. > >So we don't know whether she lived in her own house, or was renting a place, >or what. > >But who would be responsible, and who would look after her things? > >We know she was a civil servant, and don't expect that she would have got rich >on a civil service pension, so we are not so much concerned about the monetary >value of the estate (which would need to be shared with a lot of other >relatives anyway) but rather things like family papers and photographs. > >In the absence of an executor, who would handle such things? Would a landlord >just toss them out to make room for a new tenant? Who would have the keys to >her home? You could have a browse of <https://www.thegazette.co.uk/wills-and-probate/notice> and <https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia>. The latter would be involved if there no known relatives who had been granted administration of the estate. -- Iain Archer

On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 11:00:13 +0000, Iain Archer <[email protected]> wrote: >Steve Hayes wrote on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 at 11:36:57 GMT >>We have been approached by two different heir-hunting firms with the news that >>my wife's first cousin once removed has died intestate, and they are looking >>for heirs. >> >>I don't know if anyone else has experience of such things, but here in South >>Africa if someone dies intestate the relevant authority, or the heirs or >>crditors appoint an executor dative (as opposed to an executor testamentary) >>to handle the estate. >> >>What is the equivalent procedure in England? >> >>We have not been in touch with her, because we did not know her address, and >>it's rather sad to only discover where she lived after her death. >> >>So we don't know whether she lived in her own house, or was renting a place, >>or what. >> >>But who would be responsible, and who would look after her things? >> >>We know she was a civil servant, and don't expect that she would have got rich >>on a civil service pension, so we are not so much concerned about the monetary >>value of the estate (which would need to be shared with a lot of other >>relatives anyway) but rather things like family papers and photographs. >> >>In the absence of an executor, who would handle such things? Would a landlord >>just toss them out to make room for a new tenant? Who would have the keys to >>her home? > >You could have a browse of ><https://www.thegazette.co.uk/wills-and-probate/notice> and ><https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia>. The latter >would be involved if there no known relatives > just "no persons", see below >who had been granted administration of the estate. > http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ihtmanual/ihtm12111.htm has a number of links regarding intestate estates. IIRC with an intestate estate the process has to be started by a person with a relevant interest in the estate (if there isn't one then an estate might remain in limbo for ages), the reason that you see people being "signed up" by heir hunters. Also IIRC, right at the end of that queue of such persons is anyone to whom the deceased owes a debt thus it is possible that an administrator could have no social or family connection at all with the deceased. As for the residence, if you can locate it then you can get the registration details via :- https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry (DO NOT use any other site not ending in "gov.uk", these will almost inevitably be bogus.) If she is shown as the sole proprietor, the title is held freehold and there is no mention of mortgages or other charges then it's all hers but otherwise watch the dates on the document carefully in case the current registration post dates her death in case the house has since been sold with the proceeds awaiting distribution.

On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 23:52:39 +0000, Charles Ellson <[email protected]> wrote: >On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 11:00:13 +0000, Iain Archer <[email protected]> >wrote: > >>Steve Hayes wrote on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 at 11:36:57 GMT >>>We have been approached by two different heir-hunting firms with the news that >>>my wife's first cousin once removed has died intestate, and they are looking >>>for heirs. >>> >>>I don't know if anyone else has experience of such things, but here in South >>>Africa if someone dies intestate the relevant authority, or the heirs or >>>crditors appoint an executor dative (as opposed to an executor testamentary) >>>to handle the estate. >>> >>>What is the equivalent procedure in England? >>> >>>We have not been in touch with her, because we did not know her address, and >>>it's rather sad to only discover where she lived after her death. >>> >>>So we don't know whether she lived in her own house, or was renting a place, >>>or what. >>> >>>But who would be responsible, and who would look after her things? >>> >>>We know she was a civil servant, and don't expect that she would have got rich >>>on a civil service pension, so we are not so much concerned about the monetary >>>value of the estate (which would need to be shared with a lot of other >>>relatives anyway) but rather things like family papers and photographs. >>> >>>In the absence of an executor, who would handle such things? Would a landlord >>>just toss them out to make room for a new tenant? Who would have the keys to >>>her home? >> >>You could have a browse of >><https://www.thegazette.co.uk/wills-and-probate/notice> and >><https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia>. The latter >>would be involved if there no known relatives >> >just "no persons", see below > >>who had been granted administration of the estate. >> >http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ihtmanual/ihtm12111.htm >has a number of links regarding intestate estates. > >IIRC with an intestate estate the process has to be started by a >person with a relevant interest in the estate (if there isn't one then >an estate might remain in limbo for ages), the reason that you see >people being "signed up" by heir hunters. Also IIRC, right at the end >of that queue of such persons is anyone to whom the deceased owes a >debt thus it is possible that an administrator could have no social or >family connection at all with the deceased. > >As for the residence, if you can locate it then you can get the >registration details via :- >https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry >(DO NOT use any other site not ending in "gov.uk", these will almost >inevitably be bogus.) >If she is shown as the sole proprietor, the title is held freehold and >there is no mention of mortgages or other charges then it's all hers >but otherwise watch the dates on the document carefully in case the >current registration post dates her death in case the house has since >been sold with the proceeds awaiting distribution. Thanks very much for the replies and links. I did find "bona vacantia" with a Google search, but all the sites that came up seemed to be heir hunters. And when I searched on "deceased estates" (plural) the relevant Gazette notice came up, giving the name of the executors. I thought Google would have found the plural if one entered the singular, but in this case it didn't. -- Steve Hayes Web: http://hayesgreene.wordpress.com/ http://hayesgreene.blogspot.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/afgen/

On 17/12/2014 23:52, Charles Ellson wrote: > As for the residence, if you can locate it then you can get the > registration details via :- > https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry The Land Registry is one of the governments better web sites. If you know the address of the property you can order copies of the title for just a few pounds and get them sent to you instantly by email (pdf).