There are almost 100 estates across Scotland that have gone unclaimed and could see some Scots earn a fortune in inheritance. Some of those passing have left behind six-figure sums.
When somebody dies with no written will or known family, their estate is passed to the Crown where it is held, waiting to be claimed. These estates are kept for 30 years, and if no one comes forward to claim it then the money could disappear into the Treasury’s accounts.
But in the meantime, any relatives who couldn’t be tracked down at the time of death can still make a claim on the estate, and bag themselves an inheritance. The government publishes a list of these unclaimed estates on a regular basis - you can search it here.
There are currently 93 unclaimed estates which belonged to people with a connection to Scotland.
Who is entitled to collect an unclaimed estate?
If a person dies without leaving a will the following people are entitled to claim the estate:
- 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)
A total of six unclaimed estates were added since the start of the year:
(Surname, Forename – Date of birth, Place of birth - Date of death, Place of Death)
Mack, Alan Cameron – 05/10/1934, Old Kilpatrick West Dunbartonshire - 28/01/2019, Banbury Oxfordshire
Clarke, James Cleghorn – 11/08/1942, Ayrshire - 23/04/2019, Gloucester Gloucestershire
Anderson, William Archibald – 08/11/1951, Edinburgh Scotland - 11/05/2021, Denmark Hill Lambeth
Dean, Myra – 26/06/1927, Edinburgh - 22/12/2018, Driffield East Riding of Yorkshire
McHugh, Mary Houston Ferguson – 20/03/1912, Tillicoultry Scotland - 28/02/2004, Grimsby Lincolnshire
Fuchs, Alfred – 17/01/1949, Scotland - 27/02/2020, Westminster London W2
If you recognise any of the names on the list you could be in for a significant windfall.
You can search the full register of unclaimed estates across the country using our table here:
If you think that you may have a claim on an estate you should visit the government’s website here .
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