Estate Research Genealogy Matters

[roibustea]

Not sure where to put this, so very happy to move it.

I today received a letter from Estate Research Genealogy Matters addressed to me, with the reference "RoibusTea, born daughter of [my mum's name] and [my dad's name]." It states they are a firm of genealogists who specialise in tracing missing family and beneficiaries, and says they believe I may be able to help them with their enquiries.

My mother died a couple of years ago, as far as I know with no will. We were in very regular contact. She was also married to my father, who is still alive. He has not received a letter, and he has already received all the money in her bank accounts.

Does anybody have any idea what this might be referring to, and whether I should call them? A brief Google suggests they are a genuine company, but it feels like it might be a scam...?

I've spoken to my dad and apparently it was the council that contacted him rather than the care home, so I'll call them on Tuesday. I would guess the council must just automatically pass things to the heir hunter, and maybe pay them? Or just let them take 10% of anything they find, and that's enough to make a living? In which case the company may be thrilled if I decide not to use them; I doubt there'll be enough that 10% will pay for their time. I just can't see how he can possibly have very much as he's been needing vast amounts of social care for years. I imagine that even if we do find he's got a load squirreled away, I'd just be presented with a massive bill for his care. I suppose it's possible he won the lottery last week... but I think it'd be safer to assume it's next to nothing, rather than start picking out yachts!

They may not know what's in his estate at all, but if they've been given a tip off by someone (which is common) then they've got the chance to jump at it before it goes on the list so before any other companies get a chance.

The bona Vacantia list starts at 5k so they do end up doing work on small estates.

In this case chances are they were told he died and had a sister who died so was a quiet easy search, as shown by how quickly they got in touch with the op and her brother.

The council won't have paid for the company to do things, and with them having your dad's details I'd be surprised if they contacted them all. More likely someone in the home gave them a heads up.

You can have up to around 13/14k in savings I believe if you're having care home fees paid. If that company can have a few estates like that a year that are easy to sort then it adds up to a decent amount if they make 1k here and there.

I’ve done a wee bit of research and it seems the relative named on the letter passed away in 2012 if I’ve found the right one but going with the details I’ve got it seems to be them but not long and hopefully have the 2nd letter through.

I called the council, and unfortunately didn't manage to speak to anyone. I called the company though and the guy says the council contacted them to find the next of kin, and informed them that the estate would be around £32k, possibly plus pension. Which is obviously significantly more than I expected. Still not getting too excited though, I have no idea if this is before/after care fees etc.

I did mention to the guy that the letter didn't make it sound like we had a choice, and he said it did. I - and my brother - have reread it, and it really, really doesn't. Which I find off-putting... he also says they have some super-amazing solicitors they work with who give extremely good rates, so we really should stick with them as no other solicitor will be be as good or as cheap. We would have to pay the solicitor's fees on top of the 10%, though he won't give us an estimate of cost until we've agreed to engage him. All of which I find a little bit 'off'. I have spoken to my bother and he says just go through the company as he can't be bothered with the faff of doing it ourselves, but I can't see it can be that much work? Presumably most people manage probate without using an heir hunter, so I think I want to at least investigate doing it myself. I did ask if he'd pay me the £3,200 fee if I did it instead of the company, but for some reason he said no...!

The guy did give me the name and number of the contact at the council, but it went to voicemail saying she was on leave. So I'll try again tomorrow.

That sounds like there most likely is a good sum I would guess, I can't see why any company would be bothering with tracking you down after this amount of time if they're not expecting a decent amount for it!

I'm surprised the company told you the amount? From my extensive knowledge of heir hunter companies gleaned entirely from the TV programme , I didn't think they disclosed the amount. All I do know is that you have to be sure you have looked for all of the potential heirs. For £32k or £16k each max, I'd probably be like your brother and offload the hassle.

He sounded quite young, so maybe he's new?! But he just said that's what the council had told him; presumably the council would tell me anyway if I called them, so there wouldn't be much to gain from him hiding it from me. I made it clear from the off I would like to speak to the council as I would like to send flowers for the funeral, if nothing else.

From having a quick google, it looks like it should be very easy to do myself; he doesn't have property so it will only be any bank accounts, and possibly a pension. And he's been in full council care for years now so I imagine they must have access to his personal finances. And if it looks like it might be too much, I could just appoint my own solicitors. Even if they're not as cheap as the company's, I imagine they must be less than theirs + their 10% + VAT. It sounds like this guy's he's just going to pass us over to lawyers, and it's not like he had to spend any time or effort hunting us down, so I would begrudge paying him £3k+ tbh.

yes a few ppl I have spoken to have said to make enquiries and possibly do it ourselves rather than this heir company (if there is a claim that is) as they’ve sent this letter out 2 weeks ago tomo I received it and they’ve said it is a matter of urgency yet the person on the letter has not personally responded to any of us that received a letter I’m a bit wary especially with the lack of communication so early on! I hope you can manage to get this done on your own rather than through the company as it does sound a bit weird their lack of communication regarding fees etc aswell.

I agree with you I think I would go down that route also if I were you as it can’t be that hard surely🤞🏻for you, yeh I’m a bit confused as to why it’s taken 12yrs since this relative passed til now but no letter today so maybe tomo as it was a bank holiday yesterday as I don’t see any point phone again as I am having trouble pinning down the elusive mr scully!😅

For 10% plus VAT I would rather someone else do it. Dealing with estates can be simple or horrendous and you dont know until you're in it.

The probate office were extremely helpful when I called them. They listened to the situation, then told me which firms to use and fill in - paid online a couple of hundred quid. It was testable easy.

I'll be calling the probate office as well as the council, I'm pretty good at admin so I feel it should be doable. There's no property, so unless he's squirreled away loads in offshore savings accounts, I can't see that it can be too bad... but that might be famous last words! And presumably I will always have the option of hiring lawyers myself if it does turn out to be too much for me. I have a week or so before I have to decide whether to go with them or not, so hopefully I'll be able to get a good feel of exactly what will be involved before I sack them off.

well that’s me another full week down and not another letter has come through yet despite them telling me on 23rd a 2nd letter went out that day! tbh if there is anything to go forward with I very much doubt I would be going with the company as the communication is ridiculous to say the least!

To be fair post is terrible through Royal Mail - it can take a week to 10 days to get a first class letter it seems

we've never had any issues with regular post and the first letter they sent we received the next day so just seemed a bit off that it’s taking so long for this one but then maybe they’ve sent it 2nd slowwwwwwww class!😂

It's not just 10% though, it's 10% + the solicitors fees + vat. The OP can cut out at least the 10% by doing it herself

You mentioned his husband ? Would your uncle have inherited from that side of his family

It's possible, but I think he died many years ago. My uncle must have been in fulltime, medical care for at least 5 years, apparently at a not-terribly nice home. Which seems awful if he had money that could've made his last years more comfortable. But it may be that it's just an accumulation of benefits etc, he presumably hasn't been spending his money on anything other than the care home for a long time now, so possibly it's just all gone into one account and not been touched. The lady I need is on holiday, but I did speak to someone else at the council she said it didn't look like he had left much, though she couldn't be sure and I'd have to wait until Monday to talk to the person in charge of the case. So maybe the council just told this company £32k to get them to take the case, and it's actually next to nothing! We still haven't bought a headstone for my mum, so we've decided we'll do that, and send some flowers for the funeral. If there's anything more, great. But I'm not banking on it.

Apparently, there is a plot ready for him next to his husband, which is good. I'm glad he has somewhere to go.

This happened to us, it sounds quite legit. If someone dies without a will and obvious next of kin, efforts are made to find more distant family who they may not have been in regular contact with

So this was the 2nd letter can anyone break this down for me as I have no idea what it means🤷‍♀️thank you!

Its not the clearest letter (I'm not sure about the 'prior to our contact' part) but I think they are basically saying the solicitor will be in touch directly if they have determined that you are a beneficiary of the estate. They also say it's not likely to be a huge amount of money and they don't know how long it will take. You could always drop them a line to check that understanding with them.

If someone dies intestate I understand the process is more complex and time consuming than normal probate.

I did both of my parents' estates. Both had wills. It was a total nightmare but then I loathe paperwork. The process itself isn't conceptually complicated but dealing with the many and various institutions all of whom had different requirements and procedures drove me mad.

Probate Office and Court of Protection were both terribly bad and not at all helpful. Sometimes it was impossible to get through and emails went unanswered.

Soupyspoon is correct. Settling an estate can be fairly straightforward ( a couple of bank accounts, hopefully at institutions who are efficient and have a good bereavement service - not always the case- no property or shares or other investments ) or it can be hell on earth.

He can keep up to 23k in savings. His fees will have been deducted from his account monthly.

I would find out how much there is and clarify absolutely that they have sigh5 of all accounts. It's possible there may be more than you think.

Hé may have inherited from his husband. I think there is a service where you can check for accounts in a person's name after a death but I may be wrong.

If there are several accounts order multiple copies of the death certificate so you are not waiting for it to come back from one bank before sending to another.

I would ditch the heir hunter people.

I would then pay for an hour's advice from a good probate solicitor before deciding next steps - either to do it yourself or engage a solicitor who will take a percentage of the estate as a fee.

Sorry I didn’t realise it had uploaded like that😞I will try again, they had sent out one letter previous to this one but it just said relatives name and that I could help with their inquiries