Approached by Heir Hunters... (General)

by rachaelw , Monday, May 13, 2013, 17:00 (4207 days ago)

Hi all,

Just a little info needed if possible...

My eldest Auntie (my Mum's sister) has been approached by an heir hunting company asking if she is related to two names (which I confirmed are definitely their Grandparents, I have their marriage cert and would not be a problem proving the link).

How would we go about finding out who the estate is from, without having to go through the heir hunting company (who charge 25% and over). Would it be a matter of having to greatly extend the family tree and see if any of those names crop up?

I have looked at the bona vacantia list, and cannot seem to find any relatives that we know of on the list (only one name seems to be possibly relevant but from a different area of the country as well).

Is it right that if the person was say born in 1930, as long as you were related to the grandparents of the deceased (potentially born as early as 1840) then you are an entitled heir?

I also wondered, it says on the treasury site that the first entitled relative can claim. Does this mean that they can claim their share or could they potentially claim the whole estate? Only my Auntie was approached (as she was executor for my Grandfather's will and therefore her info was public), my Mum would obviously like to make a claim also :)

Any info on this kind of thing would be gratefully received!

Many thanks