Wanting help about what to do next

[JuliaP]

We have been contacted by a UK heir hunting firm  Estate Research. We live in new Zealand. We were told my late father in laws cousin had died intestate. How can you check it out as it is recent. We have checked out using records that a person of this name was a cousin

To work out whether its a scam can we check any death index or see if a death certificate exists in her name

Many thanks
Julia

[maddys52]

I'm normally very suspicious of things like this, but there is also this thread from 2013 -
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=651886.0

I think the link in reply #7 sounds like a good idea - you can do the research yourself to see if your cousin has an unclaimed estate.
http://www.bonavacantia.gov.uk/output/estate-faqs.aspx

[JuliaP]

Hi

Many thanks Maddy the references to other searches was interesting.

We have looked up the list but her name was not there. We gained the impression that she had only recently died and thought that maybe a lawyer might have instructed the company to locate relatives.

They seem to charge 30 % plus VAT for their services so we want to be sure. The charging regime appears large if it was to be a reasonable sized estate but very small if it was to be a smaller one. Is this flat fee structure the norm in the UK.

The good thing is they are not asking for fees up front or bank detail which would have scam written all over it.

Just seeking advice because its quite different from the way things are done "down under"

Kind regards,
Julia

[carol8353]

You could try http://www.iannounce.co.uk/ which is the website where they mention obit's in the paper,but as they are expensive not everyone has one.

[rosie99]

This link from one of the heir hunter companies may give some guidance
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01k2x/

I would have thought that it should show on the bona vacantia list though 

[JuliaP]

Firstly I think its more recent than the type of estate that's listed

Also I've looked at the iannounce site but if she didn't have close family no one probably was there for her to put in a notice

Thanks
Julia.

[Jebber]

This link from one of the heir hunter companies may give some guidance
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01k2x/

I would have thought that it should show on the bona vacantia list though 

This is not necessarily the case, just because someone dies intestate doesn't mean there are not relatives aware of, and entitled to make a claim on some of an estate.

Whoever deals with the estate has to be sure there are no other entitled people, solicitors often employ heir hunting firms to do a search to ensure no one is missed.

[JuliaP]

I think Jebber that the list is more historic. The money appears at that point to have been sent to your treasury. I'm not sure but it appears if someone dies intestate but has a solicitor / lawyer they might trigger a search for family members

[alpinecottage]

Estate Research has a good website and is well established (more than 10 years).  They were the subject of a similar querey on Rootschat in 2013, which you can find by using the RC search function or Google.
I don't think it's a scam but they proceeds may not make you rich!  But what have you to lose, especially if you're on the opposite side of the world from the person who died?