Deceased estate

[bojan]

Hi all,

Recently I was told by an agent (apparently it is their business to search for beneficiaries and collect percentage of the payout) that my aunt (with whom I lost contact a long time ago) died in London, and left some real estate.
How can I confirm this is correct, and how can I get into a direct contact with solicitors the trustee or executor who are taking care of this?
Is there some public record of those things in UK / London where I can search for names?

Any help with this will much appreciated!

[AstroJunk]

What a scam. Report them to the UK police.

It is the duty of the executor to search for all beneficiary. If your Aunt died intestate, and had NO children, or surviving children from her own deceased kids, then you may be a beneficiary if your related parent has passed - otherwise forget it.

No percentage fee is ever paid - that is illegal. If the executor has failed to find you, they are in the wrong and can be sued.

I have way too much experience in this :(

[el_draco]

Start with DBM in U.K. Locate the legal firm and check them out online. Verify their credentials and the contactors legitimacy. Dont give them anything information wise until you cease a Will. LOTS of scammers out there, but it could be legit.

Rom

[Octane]

What is the email address of the person that emailed you? I mean, the domain? Is it a GMail address? If you don't mind, can you strip the contents of the email and send me the headers of the email? It can very quickly be worked out whether it is a scam or not.

To me, it smells of scam.

H

[bojan]

Guys,many thanks for help and suggestions.
I will try to locate them as Rom suggested.

H, they contacted me with snailmail, so I am guessing they may be legit.. but one never knows.

[rustigsmed]

Hi Bojan,

A friend has recently been contacted by snail mail in a similar scam, be careful with your details.

all the best,

Rusty

[Pinwheel]

http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/848613

[Octane]

Bojan,

Head over to www.scamwarners.com and post there. The guys there will help you.

H

[jenchris]

Yes seen this one before as a scam.
Executors will find you legally - it's the whole point about probate.
My mother in law died recently and even though there's only the two offspring in the will, it all has to go through probate and death certificates ($40 each) have to be sent to all and sundry, ads inthe papers, the works.

[bojan]

This is where the whole thing started:
http://www.findersuk.com/site/about/people/profile/amy-louisemoyes
http://www.findersuk.com/site/beneficiary_information/contact_solicitors/

Anyone knows anything about this mob and their business?
It seems they want to be the middlemen here (for a hefty percentage of 30% !!. Ok, it also could be 30% of nothing.. but still.. )

[AndrewJ]

Gday Bojan

Hmm, those links do appear to indicate the mob is genuine
but i find it interesting that they still give you a list of their own lawyers who will validate them, ( vs an independent govt agency like an ombudsman )
That said, many of these companies wont pursue anything that they dont ( already know ) will be very profitable for them.
If there is property involved and the company wants 30%, i would be very suspicious of what it is really worth.
I know in Australia recently, several companies like this were exposed as being genuine in what they do ( mainly for lost bank accounts/super etc) , but charged extortionate rates to do a job that could be done for ( almost ) free via a std govt agency.

I would be asking em to tell me more about the overall costs involved before sending any other information at all.
If they want you to send info re proof of who you are,
just give them their own snail mail reference data as
proof you got it. ;)

Andrew




Andrew

[jenchris]

The law gazette will give you probate information

[louie_the_fly]

Did your aunt have any immediate relatives? Children or brothers and sisters. If so I would be making direct contact with them about it. Or you could contact the public trustee through the ministry of justice in the UK. or even try the British high commission here in Australia.

[Stormfyre32]

My wife is from the USA and this is how her and her sister were notified. They take a percent and you get rest. It could well be legit.

But.. you can simply locate the company in charge of the trust and bypass the "middleman".

[bojan]

I was wandering...
The whole thing is legit all right, but that middleman percentage is outrageous.
Are they by any chance obliged to disclose the identity od solicitors/executors, so I can contact them directly? Because they are (and I know why) avoiding the reply to this question..

[JB80]

http://www.sog.org.uk/learn/education-sub-page-for-testing-navigation/hints-tips-seven-what-should-you-do-if-approached-by-heir-hunters

Not sure if this may be of any use or if you have seen it before?

[bojan]

Nope..
Very interesting.
Thank you!

[Kunama]

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/probate/copies-of-grants-wills

[dmizen]

if the deceased died without a will and there are no immediate family members surviving the money will transfer to the crown until its claimed there is an unclaimed money register maintained i think by treasury (home office?) if you can locate the register you should be able to search it yourself once you have located the name of the deceased that will verify the email you can then claim your share - the publication of the unclaimed money register is usually the trigger for the correspondence from the middle men if they are writing to you it has to be commercially viable for them so its probably worth checking into

as a guide have a look at the victorian treasury unclaimed monies register and the claim forms - you will need to prove a blood
relationship

on the other hand if there is a will you can do a probate search through the probate courts however if you are being contacted by an agent it suggests she died with out a will

regards

dcm

[Renato1]

It could be legit. There was a weekly program on Foxtel following a UK company that tracked down relatives of people who died without leaving a will, and without any obvious heirs. And there was a time limit, else the Government took the estate. And they were in competition with other companies doing the same thing.

Plainly, in these cases though, there wasn't a solicitor or executor involved, as there was no will. Nor would you have had to put any money up for their services, as after signing with them, they get their cut when the proceeds come through.

I remember that every week, they'd check the notice that came out from the Government Department about people who'd died without wills and heirs. And then the companies would look if there was anything substantial like a house involved, and the hunt would start.

But then again, in your case, it could be a scam.

Regards,
Renato