Unaware heirs in line for a fortune

IT'S the stuff of romantic novels and black and white films. A tall dark stranger knocks at your door and tells you a long-lost relative has died and left you a fortune.

It doesn't have to be a dream. Around 20,000 unclaimed estates are waiting to distribute hundreds of millions of pounds to rightful heirs. Last year alone, 21 million was paid out to the not so nearest and dearest.

So great expectations could be heading in your direction. But first you have to do your homework thoroughly to see if you can beat the state to the money.

When a person dies intestate in Scotland, that is without leaving a will, and either has no blood relative or none that can be easily traced, the estate is claimed for the Crown by the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer (QLTR) as ultimus haeres (ultimate heir).

The National Ultimus Haeres Unit makes preliminary enquiries to establish that there are no obvious heirs, and will then advertise in the local and national press.

In England and Wales, a Treasury department called Bona Vacantia, which literally means "vacant property", takes control of the assets. It publishes details of the latest unclaimed estates every Wednesday at midnight, with typically 2,000 joining the register each year.

Scotland's lists are published on a more ad hoc basis, perhaps every couple of months, although unclaimed estates fallen to the Crown, as well as those being investigated by the Ultimus Haeres Unit, can be checked on the Crown Office's website at www.copfs.gov.uk, back to 2003.

Another difference, compared with south of the Border, is that the Scottish lists include the size of the estate.

Bona Vacantia stopped publishing how much an estate was worth some years ago, after fraudsters were caught faking wills to claim a windfall and rob rightful heirs of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

A clutch of professional heir-hunting firms, like those featured on the BBC's Heir Hunters series, have sprung up to cash in on this lucrative new business, although established firms have long worked hand-in-glove with solicitors tracing beneficiaries.

However, some have been criticised for charging high commissions, reportedly paying themselves 40 per cent of the estate to cover their research costs, slashing what is left for beneficiaries.

So it makes financial sense for relatives to do the legwork themselves to ensure family money stays where it belongs: in the family.How to track down a windfall

It helps to have an interest in genealogy, as you will need to compile an extensive family tree going back to the last century, and following all branches as far as you can.That way you can trace every name and geographical location which your blood relatives may have links with. Do not restrict your searches to Scotland, as many families have relatives elsewhere in the UK, as well as in many far-flung outposts of the empire.

Be prepared for your investigations to take you to the other side of the world, and even uncover family feuds, estrangements and a whole range of scandals.

For example, a recent case researched by the company Finders involved an Italian airman who had worked on a farm in England while a prisoner of war.

He fell in love, married and had a daughter. When his wife died young, he returned to Italy, married again and had three children without ever mentioning his earlier family. The daughter of his first marriage died without a will or heirs, leaving a sizeable estate, including the farm where the airman had been held captive. The three children of the second marriage in Italy were in for two big shocks when Finders knocked at their door.

Once you have compiled the family tree, you can search the backlog of estates to see if it contains any distant blood relatives.

If you make a connection, you can make a claim, but it will have to be supported by documentation, including all relevant birth, death and marriage certificates.

In Scotland you will need to apply for confirmation to the Commissary Department of the Sheriff Court in the area in which the person lived.Confirmation is the document appointing the blood relative as "executor dative" after proof of his or her relationship to the deceased. When this document is presented to the QLTR Office, it enables the relative to have the assets released to them.

In doing so, however, they will effectively be appointed estate administrator, giving them a legal responsibility to track down any other living relatives with a potential claim to the cash.

Similarly, if your ancestor lived elsewhere in the UK, you will have to apply to Bona Vacantia. If your claim is accepted, you will be appointed administrator, with a responsibility for tracking down any other beneficiaries.If you do not do so, then there is always the chance that someone might one day knock at your door, claiming their share of the cash.

Money always follows the blood line, so after spouse and children, brothers and sisters have the next call, and if they have predeceased their sibling, their money is shared between their own sons and daughters, as the cash cascades down the blood line. If there are no brothers and sisters, then half-brothers and sisters and their descendants may have a claim.

If you still haven't found anyone, then you can throw the net wider to grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles and aunts and their descendants, followed by half-blood uncles and aunts and their descendants. After that, the Crown takes the cash.

In Scotland, the QLTR's policy is to accept claims only within ten years of the death or two years of first advertisement, whichever is the later.

South of the Border, money can be claimed going back 12 years, with claims possible up to 30 years later in some circumstances.

You could employ professional heir hunters to track other beneficiaries, but their services come at a price. If they can unlock the beneficiaries before their competitors they can charge commission of up to 40 per cent of the estate plus VAT, according to the consumer lobby group Which?. It points out that this equates to 120,000 out of a 250,000 estate.

Which? also claims that in some cases individuals have been pressured into signing contracts before they are given any information about the size of the estate or what might be involved. Only afterwards do they realise what they have signed away.

If you are approached by an heir hunter, do not sign anything until you are in possession of the full facts about the size of the estate, the number of beneficiaries and the size of the commission.

Latest unclaimed wills advertised in Scotland

Henry Donaldson Andrew, d.o.b: 15/8/1923, place of birth: Clackmannanshire, who resided at 7 Campie Lane, Musselburgh, EH21 6QQ and who died at Edenhall Hospital, Edenhall Bank, Musselburgh, EH21 7TZ on 12/5/2010. (157,810.67)

James Ewing, d.o.b: 3/1/1943, place of birth: Glasgow, who resided at Flat 2F, 2 Claythorn Park, Glasgow, G40 2HY and who died at Ashgill Nursing Home, 33 Liddesdale Square, Glasgow, G22 7BU on 7/10/2009. (190,075.50)

Ronald Ewing, d.o.b: 18/4/1947, place of birth: Glasgow, who resided at, Flat 18, 5 Dirleton Drive, Glasgow, G41 3BE and who died there on 7/7/2009. (96,223.41)

Peter Fyfe, d.o.b: 13/6/1934, place of birth: Glasgow, who resided at Four Hills Care Home, 8 Hazlitt Street, Glasgow, G20 9NU and who died at Western Infirmary Glasgow, Dumbarton Road, Glasgow, G11 6NT on 30/3/2010. (136,945.05)

Charles Callender Davidson, d.o.b: 10/12/1925, place of birth: unknown, who resided at, Flat 0/1, 50 Napiershall Street, Glasgow, G20 6EX and who died at Gartnavel General Hospital, Glasgow, G12 0YN on 8/12/2010. (47,168.28)

Christopher Richardson Kizyma, d.o.b: 19/12/1949, place of birth: Perth, who resided at, Flat 1/2, 34 Dudley Drive, Glasgow, G12 9SA and who died there on 3/7/2009. (105,487.53)

Alexander Pagan, d.o.b: 17/8/1926, place of birth: Glasgow, who resided at 64 Fleurs Avenue, Glasgow, G41 5AS and who died at Southern General Hospital, 1345 Govan Road, Glasgow, G51 4TF on 6/4/2010. (105,258.26)