Letter about unclaimed estate - intriguing!

[Cantdecidewhich]

Dp received a letter from France yesterday from a man who says he is a private geanealogist, he said he is not looking for any financial gains it is a pastime.
Anyway the letter goes into great detail about his relatives and places they lived etc. and says that he had a great aunt who died in 1993 with no will and he is entitled to claim her estate in his Mother's name (deceased) and he asks if DP to pursue it with his assistance or appoint a solicitor or do it himself.
Has this happened to anyone else on here?

[sneakysnoopysniper]

There are services who legitimately trace missing heirs and charge 30% fee for their services. Usually they work with a firm of solicitors who handle all the correspondence and legal work while the company does the research. I did have an involvement with one such company a few years ago for a small inheritance from a distant cousin, However I first checked with other family members (who had got similar letters) and googled the company to ensure they were legitimate.

I would advise OP to be careful and do similar checks before becoming involved.

[PTW1234]

I did a bit of research into my family tree, I used to love the show heir hunters!! Secretly I was hoping to find a forgotten millionaire distant cousin 😬

It’s surprisingly easy, especially when following paternal lines. I traced my great great grandma through my fathers side. Turns out we are Irish. She immigrated to England alone, widowed, with 3 young children, and with no other relatives living in England as far as I can tell. I found that fascinating and very brave, it made me cry!

[RaspberryCoulis]

@WhereverIGoddamnLike

You've got all the info you need to pursue it yourselves. Just do it. If it is real then you get something, if not you havent lost anything.

Heir hunters usually have you sign an agreement with them immediately. If he isnt doing that then he isnt after a percentage. It could be a scam and he could try and charge you after helping you but just sont engage with him at all. Do it all yourself

As @MorrisZapp and I have said, it's not that straightforward. It's not just about proving your link to the deceased. It's about presenting a fully drawn up family tree showing exactly where you fit, and justifying your percentage claim by showing what has happened to all other possible heirs.

Not impossible - but a lot more complex than just sending off your birth certificate in the post and waiting for a cheque.

[Jaichangecentfoisdenom]

@SpiritLevel

Raspberry oh, I never thought for a moment they were doing it purely out of the kindness of their hearts

Sad state the world is in if the immediate reaction by many on the thread is "it's a scam"

[Genevieva]

I may be wrong but I have been told that in France you inherit debt as well as assets, so you would want to make sure this aunt was solvent before doing anything else. You might find yourselves getting your fingers burnt.

[Sertchgi123]

This happened to a friend of mine. She found some lost relatives along the way and inherited £5,000.

[Coughsyrupsucks]

Put a claim in to Bona Vacantia, you can fill out all the forms for free just go to the website and download. It better than the whole lot going to the government.

I sometimes come across things like this when I’m doing trees, most people just go ‘scam’ without thinking it through, so I don’t bother telling them now.

[Jaichangecentfoisdenom]

Yes, I think you're right, @Genevieva, but a quick squizz at google shows you can opt out of receiving your share of the inheritance if you feel your share of the outstanding debts will outweigh your possible gains.
www.economie.gouv.fr/particuliers/succession-options-successorales

[RaspberryCoulis]

[quote Jaichangecentfoisdenom]Yes, I think you're right, @Genevieva, but a quick squizz at google shows you can opt out of receiving your share of the inheritance if you feel your share of the outstanding debts will outweigh your possible gains.
www.economie.gouv.fr/particuliers/succession-options-successorales[/quote]
And we've established that although the letter came from france, it's a UK (English) estate.

[bitheby]

France is a red herring according to OP. The deceased died in the UK. The guy doing the research just happens to live in France.

[GU24Mum]

Personally I don't think you have anything to lose by trying provided that you don't give out your bank details etc, pay any upfront fees. When DS was a baby I spent many a happy 45 minutes in the morning watching Heir Hunters!!

[Allllllaboutme]

I think it's worth looking in to.

[MiriamMargo]

as long has you dont part with any large amounts of money, and dont give any bank details etc, what have you got to lose

[SwedishEdith]

for a while 5 years ago there was a free copy of the entire ER online (which was illegal and caused much problems) it was eventually put behind a paywall - but as far as I know it was the entire list and included people who had ticked not to be shown

Interesting. I've found people's addresses online who I am sure (as I can be) that they would not be public because of their job.

[Blinkyblonkyblimey]

I was contacted via a genealogy website by a person looking for the beneficiaries of an estate (not me). I was a bit at first, but it was legit. All they wanted was to know if I had any idea of the whereabouts of some distant cousin. If there is any truth in the claim, there are plenty of ways to look into it without giving money to someone who contacts you out of the blue.

[tara66]

What is the post mark for the envelop? If Nigeria (other places are available) it is probably a scam.

[GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER]

I used to watch Heir Hunters, and it was not uncommon for people to find they’re entitled to money from the estate of someone they never even knew existed.
So I wouldn’t delete straight off, but I definitely wouldn’t send any money or bank details.

The HH programmes were often fascinating, but a very good lesson in the need to make a will, if only to stop your assets going to people you’ve never met, or to the Treasury, as they will if no relatives can be traced.

[MichelleBauble]

@tara66 have you actually read any of the thread?

[diddl]

I would think that your husband can pursue it himself can't be?

Great Aunt isn't fairly close, isn't it?

He can just order up what he needs himself?

[borageforager]

My grandfather inherited £20k this way.

[cdtaylornats]

The BBC ran a series about this for years - it was Heir Hunters. Look it up on iPlayer or youtube.

It follows a couple of the bigger firms that go for big inheritances.

There are smaller firms that tackle smaller or abandoned cases.

It is possible to do it yourself but there is a small mountain of paperwork to prove that you are a valid inheritor and there are no others.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05cmrpp

[Joeblack066]

My friend’s husband got £40k after something like this. It’s worth looking into!

[Silverjellybean71]

My in-laws have just inherited over £500,000 from an American relative they didn’t know existed. They thought it was a scam at first too!

[oakleaffy]

Scam. An executor of a will would surely instruct solicitors to try to find genuine relatives.
99.999% scam, If you want to be put on a mugs list, go ahead.. these scammers sell emails of gullible people, sadly.

[SwedishEdith]

@Silverjellybean71

My in-laws have just inherited over £500,000 from an American relative they didn’t know existed. They thought it was a scam at first too!

Wow!