Have you ever been contacted by an heir hunter?

[Alldelicious]

You have to agree to them having a cut of any inheritance and then they set about proving you are heir to some far distant relative you've never heard of.

A friend has been contacted by two different companies regarding the same "relative". Presumably these companies know there is money to chase?

No one has ever heard of the relative and one sibling has done considerable family tree research without coming across them, but I suppose that's the point, they'll be on a distant branch (if connected at all).

Would you get involved or assume it's a scam? Obviously it's going to mean sharing a lot of personal data.

I had never heard of this, everyday's a school day!

How does it work in terms of spouses or blood relatives though? So for example if your somebody's dad was dead, and a long lost relative who had died intestate left money that would have gone to the dad if he was still alive - would it filter to the dad's living wife, or their kids as they're next in the blood lineage?

I have numerous relatives from older generations very much alive on both sides of my family so this will never happen to me but just curious how it works!

My mum came away with a few thousand. Is one of these companies. Just to balance out the ones that only got double digits.

It took a long time to sort out but she got a 3-figure sum in the end - partly because the delay meant the house sold for a lot more than first predicted.

Was it a dolls house?!

I always find that programme quite sad when the person who died sometimes has incredibly close friends who were loyal to them for years and then because they didn’t write a will all their money goes to family who’ve never heard of them.

Yes, same here. The whole idea of passing down and providing joy for your loved ones seems so pointless when, instead, your money just ends up going to somebody you were related to but who never knew you, on a technicality.

My DSis and I once got some money from one of our DM's Aunts - she died (not sure if intestate or not) and we got a letter out of the blue with a cheque from her solicitor for half each of the money that would have been our DM's share, had she still been alive.

Of course, it was a very nice thing to receive - just under £4K, so not life-revolutionising but a considerable, welcome sum. I did feel a bit guilty, though, as neither of us had the faintest idea who our DA was and she never met us either.

We got a letter a couple of years ago and are still waiting for it to be sorted as it is a very large and complicated family tree with branches abroad. We are not expecting to get much

Friends had this twice. One a small sum the other a substantial one.

My mum was contacted a few years ago. An uncle that everyone believed had died at the Somme had actually returned to Britain and bought a house in London (the family are from Scotland and the north of England). He never married or had children and died intestate, and owned a house that was worth a huge amount.

The most interesting thing for my mum and her siblings was the family tree that the heir hunters created as part of their research. Of course there was also the intrigue of why Uncle H decided to never see his family again, but I don't think anyone will ever know for sure.

DM was contacted before Christmas.

They have said it could be months before they have finished contacting everyone, some are abroad. DM does know who the relative is (old lady that died is rated by marriage) but no family contact for many years. There are a lot of relatives so it would have to be a huge estate for DM to get anything much, but the information will be interesting.

My sister was, but it wasn't anything to do with us. Same surname but that was it.

So I sometimes wonder how good their checks actually are, since there was absolutely nothing to link us and therefore no reason to contact us.

Sorry to necro post. But have recently had one of these firms get in touch. Turns out it was a speculative query about buying a property by a developer. Just felt a little horrible as we hadn't even had the funeral yet. Perhaps that wasn't the whole truth and it was some kind of probe for potential work, but felt pretty horrible and invasive at a very sensitive time.

Hi All,
I know this thread was started in 2022 but felt as someone who runs his own business in this field to give some facts and not just the speculations etc.

Whether the letter they received was genuine or not I do not know as I have no sight of that letter.

To discern whether its a scam or not should be easy. A genuine Heir Hunting firm will never ask you for any monies up front. We take all the risks associated with the claim for the estate. So if they want csh up front walk away.
Any reputable firm will ask for any BMD certificates you may have because this cuts down the costs on the estate which they will claim back from the estate before distribution. In fact some conmpanies will not even claim them back and do the work for a higher comission. The 2 things they will ask for from you would be certified copies of 2 pieces of identification which you get by taking the original docs to a solicitor post office amongst others and you pay for the service. I myself when doing this if local will go with them and make the payment or where not possible transfer the money to them however if im honest by the time we get to that position I have usually built up a good relationship with the person and they know by then its genuine and will pay the 14 pounds (or whatever their route to get that certification costs)

All reputable firms will be happy to receive phone calls from you and answer all the questions you have.

The decision as others have said is down to you and without your assistance there is no way they can make the claim. Remember as well if you refuse and any other entitled heir agrees then the claim will be made and you are still entitled to your share with no loss of commission

Someone posted that a charity received more than they did or a relative or friend did because the heir hunters couldnt find the missing heir. This is not as straight forward as that. The heir hunter actually as no power to do that and must keep the money although there is a provision that a set time limit can apply. After 12 years the money can be distributed to the heirs that were found subject to them agreeing to pay the monies back if the heir finally turns up. There is no way it can be distributed to a charity without the heir hunting company being responsible for the repayment if the heir turned up.

Yes you can do the research etc yourself to get the money comission free. Remember though the BV list as over 4000 estates on it and as we dont tell you who the deceasedis until you have signed for this very reason. We do after all make our living from this.

Also many of the reputable firms work with solicitors so the cases may not even be on the list.

Hopefully this as given an insight into my industry.

Rob