There are thousands of unclaimed fortunes in the UK left by people who died without making a will - and your surname could be among them.
HM Treasury has published details of 29 unclaimed estates belonging to people who were born or died in Merseyside. There are millions of pounds languishing across the country, waiting to be collected by any relations of those who died.
When someone dies without making a will, everything they own - from money to property - becomes known as their 'estate', meaning there could be people in Liverpool in-line for a potentially life-changing inheritance, and they are yet to realise it.
READ MORE: Unclaimed estates where Liverpool families could be sitting on a fortune
The treasury keeps detailed records of every unclaimed estate in the country. Estates from people without a will include everything that person owns - this can include their money, businesses, cars and property.
There are several relations that are eligible to make a claim on the estate (listed in order of priority):
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
Uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins or their descendants)
If your relationship to the deceased is traced through someone who survived the deceased but has since died, you will need to confirm who is entitled to deal with that person’s estate.
For example, children are only entitled to share in an estate if their parent died before the deceased, in which case they take their parent’s share of the deceased’s estate. If their parent survived the deceased but has subsequently died, then whoever is dealing with their estate should claim.
Unclaimed estates must be claimed within 30 years of the person's death. If you think you are eligible to claim on one of the below estates, all you need to do is prove it with a family tree - more information is available HERE.
If you are in any doubt about your entitlement to claim the estate, you should either seek your own legal advice or send a family tree, including the dates of death of family members on it, to bvestates@governmentlegal.gov.uk
Here’s an extensive list as of May 29, 2022, where the person either was born or died in Merseyside.
Unclaimed estates in Merseyside
Full name, marital status, place of death, place of birth and additional information listed for each unclaimed estate
Gordon Harper, died in Wirral (12/01/2022), born in Wirral (09/12/1928)
Joan Belli, died in Wirral (28/04/2022), born in Ince Cheshire (31/07/1952)
James Gerard Burns, died in London (06/04/1994), links to Merseyside (13/09/1924)
David Craig, died in Birkenhead (13/01/2000) (27/02/1935)
Mabel Curtis, single woman, died in Gosport, Hampshire (24/04/1994), born in Liverpool (05/05/1909)
John Duval, married, died in Alcester, Warwickshire (04/05/2016), born in Liverpool (11/07/1939)
Peter Ellis, died in Brent, London (28/01/2016), born in Merseyside (26/09/1939)
Robert Fallowfield, bachelor, died in Wallasey (25/07/2011), born in Wallasey (28/01/1944)
Edith Margaret Goulding, unmarried, died in Wallasey (26/02/2009), born in Birkenhead (19/01/1928)
Thomas Griffin, died in Westminster (27/08/2018), born in Liverpool (23/11/1947)
Peter Anthony Hayes, bachelor, died in Birkenhead (09/01/1996), born in England (10/10/1927)
Stephen Dale Hoare, bachelor, died in Wirral (14/05/2003), born in Wirral (30/05/1951)
Irene Alice Holden, widow (married to George Fletcher Holden), died in Birkenhead (24/12/1993) (30/07/1910)
Sandra Denise Jones, died in Wallasey (07/12/2019) (10/02/1960)
Ian Philip Kelly, unmarried, died in Cambridge (16/11/2010), born in Bootle (30/03/1949)
David George King, died in Wirral (04/12/2008), born in Birkenhead (23/02/1953)
Trevor Allen Matthews, died in Lincoln (22/01/2005), born in Liverpool (28/08/1940)
Frances Montingo, unmarried, died in Wirral (28/12/2003), born in Liverpool (05/05/1923)
Yvonne Barbara Lillian Morris (Beck), widow of Raymond Osborne Morris, died in Leeds (13/08/2016), born in Liverpool (21/02/1930)
Alice Audrey Owen, died in Wirral (21/10/2012), born in Wirral (29/01/1926)
Margaret Rose Pahis, unmarried, died in Sydenham London (16/09/2012), born in Liverpool (02/11/1942)
Margaret Perry (Murphy), widow of John Perry, died in Birkenhead (18/10/2011), born in Belfast (17/01/1921)
Marguerite Pickles (Davies), widow, died in Wirral (25/01/2008), born in Birkenhead (14/02/1916)
Jean Rutherford, died in Birkenhead (23/03/1995)
Terence Rodney Shaw, died in Reading (03/10/2020), born in Liverpool (17/10/1946)
Donald Taaffe, died in Wirral (30/09/2020), born in Wirral (21/11/1940)
Dennis Thomas, died in Rhyl (28/02/2012), born in Liverpool (13/12/1939)
Kathleen Mary Waddon (Harrison), widow, died in Taunton (04/05/2007), born in Liverpool (09/08/1914)
Mark Francis Wilson, died in Birkenhead (12/01/2019), born in Wirral (02/06/1962)
