Hi to all! My first post here (so please be gentle!)
I found this forum whilst trawling through search engines, trying to answer a related question I have. Hopefully someone here could easily tell me the answer? I did try the Search feature, but couldn't find the answer.
The question is:
What are the minimum steps required to find out (or get some idea of) the value of an estate from an intestate death that's featured on the BV list?I should perhaps tell you some background to my question...
I was recently contacted by an heir hunter, telling me I had a relative who's died intestate and that I could possibly be a beneficiary. No name, no value, only that if I sign the contract I will find this out. I do know that my siblings are also potential beneficiaries, as he told me that much.
Since this revelation, my sister and I have done some research of our own (sister would also be entitled, and is no newcomer to genealogy).
We've now discovered who it is (she died many years ago, yet only v recently appeared on the BV list), and how we're connected. A claim has been registered with the Treasury, as per their Bona Vacantia website instructions, and we're still waiting for info to come back from them. Spoken with them also, but can't get any crisp answers. It seems they're in no great rush to track down or confirm heirs, nor answer all the key questions.
We're assuming (or hoping) that once the TO have confirmed entitlement, they'll then divulge the estate value, or a rough idea at least (
). Or, must we ultimately obtain Letters of Administration before the value can be known? It seems like such a simple question, but so far we've drawn a blank on finding the answer. Would rather not fork out £100+ for a grant, only to then find out the estate is hardly worth pursuing after all (which is highly possible)..
We'd be most grateful for any help & advice.
Thanks in advance.
