COULD you inherit a fortune from a long-lost family member?

The treasury's list of unclaimed estates has been released for August with several people from Worcestershire appearing on the list.

Why are there unclaimed estates?

If a person dies without leaving a will and there is no evidence of living family members for the estate to pass on to, it will instead be passed to the Treasury as 'Bona Vacantia' or ownerless property.

These ownerless properties can be money or possessions and can be claimed by a relative of the deceased.

There are currently several estates in Worcestershire that have been left unclaimed.

The full list of unclaimed estates across the UK can be viewed on the government's website and is updated daily.

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Who can claim an unclaimed estate?

If someone dies without leaving a valid will, relatives are entitled to a claim on the estate in the following order:

  • husband, wife or civil partner
  • children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and so on
  • mother or father
  • brothers or sisters who share both the same mother and father, or their children (nieces and nephews)
  • half brothers or sisters or their children (nieces and nephews of the half blood or their children). ‘Half ’ means they share only one parent with the deceased
  • grandparents
  • uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins or their descendants)
  • half uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins of the half blood or their children). ‘Half’ means they only share one grandparent with the deceased, not both

This means that a half sibling of the deceased would only be entitled to a share of the estate if there were no relatives above them in the order of entitlement, such as children, parents or full siblings.

Details on how to claim an estate can be found on the Government's website.