Discussion
A friend of mine has been approached by a company called "Estate Research" about her potentially being a beneficiary of an estate.
The letter names her parents and the deceased. She knows her (now deceased) father had a child before he married her mother but it's one of those family things that cannot be discussed.
We have searched the bona vacantia list and can't find anything relevant.
is their anything negative about signing up with this company?
The letter names her parents and the deceased. She knows her (now deceased) father had a child before he married her mother but it's one of those family things that cannot be discussed.
We have searched the bona vacantia list and can't find anything relevant.
is their anything negative about signing up with this company?
Mercdriver said:
Their fees?
This is true.Can't find the person named on the BV list so where does she go from there?
the letter names a person who is not on the BV llist, names her parents and is sent to her address.
She doesn't know the name of her half brother or where he lived. She just knows her father had a child before marriage,
Simpo Two said:
Is this them?
Had to delete the link
Some of their services are free, but where it doesn't say 'free' you can be sure of a fee, though I can't see a table of fees.
Their fees are clearly stated in their agreement.Had to delete the link
Some of their services are free, but where it doesn't say 'free' you can be sure of a fee, though I can't see a table of fees.
I thought I might be easy to DIY but with the family circumstances it's too complicated
I think she will sign the agreement and see what happens
Simpo Two said:
I would approach other companies first and see if they'd like to be more competitive.... why take the first price?
NB I wonder why my link couldn't be quoted? Never seen that before.
Yes I will suggest she looks for another quote,NB I wonder why my link couldn't be quoted? Never seen that before.
And I can't post a link as I am new user - think it said I had to wait 14 days.
Actual said:
How does heir hunter stuff work?
I am amazed that the heir hunters provided the name of the deceased as it helps you so much to track down the information yourself and avoid using their services?
In such cases there must be no executor so far and so someone would need to be appointed to administer the estate. Do the heir hunters take care of this?
If there are other claimants then an executor will eventually be appointed and all you would need to do is inform the executor of your status to be included in the settlement?
I am really not sure.I am amazed that the heir hunters provided the name of the deceased as it helps you so much to track down the information yourself and avoid using their services?
In such cases there must be no executor so far and so someone would need to be appointed to administer the estate. Do the heir hunters take care of this?
If there are other claimants then an executor will eventually be appointed and all you would need to do is inform the executor of your status to be included in the settlement?
The deceased named doesn't appear on the BV list so we are none the wise after a search around.
She will contact the company and take it from there. She's away for a couple of weeks but I'll update when I know more.
Just by way of an update for anyone interested
Managed to track down the person who died - from the records available his mother's maiden name is the same as her father's family name but she has no idea who he could have been. (The person is a similar age to her father, I think 8 years younger)
He died intestate in 2021 leaving a pretty substantial estate.
Administration was granted so that explains why it's not on the BV list and we think we know the solicitor handling it.
The idea is to call them when she's back in the country next week and see what they say.
Nearly three years to make contact seems a rather long time to me.
Managed to track down the person who died - from the records available his mother's maiden name is the same as her father's family name but she has no idea who he could have been. (The person is a similar age to her father, I think 8 years younger)
He died intestate in 2021 leaving a pretty substantial estate.
Administration was granted so that explains why it's not on the BV list and we think we know the solicitor handling it.
The idea is to call them when she's back in the country next week and see what they say.
Nearly three years to make contact seems a rather long time to me.
RamraiderVVC said:
My wife was contacted a few years completely out of the blue from one of these companies who similarly had highlighted her as potential to inherit from a deceased person. Of course we were cautious. They gave all the financial details up front including what they would receive from arranging all . My wife gave details to prove she was who they thought and then it was all dealt with by them really easily. It was not massive money, just over £1k as I recall but it was all legitimate.
Thanks for postingYes even though it's an estate well into iht territory we can't work out who this person is, and following intestate rules it's difficult to see how it gets to my friend, so she is preparing for some sort of family revelation rather than lottery win. (Initial thought was her dad's pre marriage child they no one knew about for 40 years but her father would have had to be 8 at birth so they seems unlikely)
Simpo Two said:
Without a tree I'm struggling to unravel that - but unlikely marriages and name changes can easily throw genealogists off the scent.
I am as well! I am peripheral to it all and can't really spend hours and hours working it out.Ok I'll admit it have already spent hours and it's been fascinating, but sorting out the family tree is really time consuming once you throw a couple of wild cards in there!
omniflow said:
If these people hadn't contacted your friend, would she (or you) have any clue about the possible inheritance?
If the answer is yes, then cutting them out is morally acceptable.
If the answer is no, then you're representing pretty much all that is wrong with the world today.
I'll ask my priest what he thinks.If the answer is yes, then cutting them out is morally acceptable.
If the answer is no, then you're representing pretty much all that is wrong with the world today.
Actual said:
It is not required to "claim" an inheritance and if the executor does their job properly then any inheritance will be distributed correctly regardless of external assistance. As the executor is personally liable they would be taking a big risk if they failed to find all possible beneficiaries. The executor themselves could employ a tracing company.
Without wanting to generate an argument my take is that the solicitors could have easily found her much quicker than 3 years.So whilst I take the point from the post, I'd say any displeasure should be aimed at the people milking the fees.
This is an intestate case with a solicitor appointed 3 years ago. I really don't think it would take much work to find the necessary people if you have all the facts to hand.
Potentially the best part of 200k in fees.
That's not equitable.
Just by way of a quick update.
The solicitor i found is the one who is dealing with the estate - she managed to speak to them on Friday and was told it would be far better to use the estate finding service. Very curt and borderline rude.
So they obviously have a nice cosy relationship, with the best part of 200 grand sliced off the estate.
Doubt she will have the time or the stomach for an argument so she will probably go down that route.
The deceased was her late father's cousin, so pretty tenuous and not someone she knew
The solicitor i found is the one who is dealing with the estate - she managed to speak to them on Friday and was told it would be far better to use the estate finding service. Very curt and borderline rude.
So they obviously have a nice cosy relationship, with the best part of 200 grand sliced off the estate.
Doubt she will have the time or the stomach for an argument so she will probably go down that route.
The deceased was her late father's cousin, so pretty tenuous and not someone she knew
Gareth79 said:
I was under the impression that if the solicitor instructed them then the beneficiary wouldn't have had to sign a contract, since their job was to find those eligible, and the job was completed? It sounds more likely it was done from published lists.
I guess if you want a lower fee the option is to instruct a genealogy company on a fixed-fee basis rather than a percentage? If you give them the details you have it should be straightforward for them to produce the documents required? Even if it's a week or two's work that's not going to add up to such a huge sum.
I think once you know the starting point piecing together the family tree is pretty easy.I guess if you want a lower fee the option is to instruct a genealogy company on a fixed-fee basis rather than a percentage? If you give them the details you have it should be straightforward for them to produce the documents required? Even if it's a week or two's work that's not going to add up to such a huge sum.
Effectively it up to the grandparents and then down via her father. However, there is a tetchy family history and this is out of the blue so no doubt she will go for the stress free option.
The attitude of the solicitor was a bit off and I can't help but think they could have done this in a way that was a lot cheaper for the estate. They have had 2 years so no doubt they have got some chunky fees in addition to the estate finder.
Rather than it be done on a (high) percentage I am sure they could have paid a fixed fee for someone to do the work or as they are a firm that specialises in estates do the work in house.
Seems a bit like profiteering to me, but such is the way of the world I suppose.
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