There are currently 29 estates in Romford which have passed to the Crown as ‘ownerless property’.
This happens when a person dies without leaving a will and there are no apparent family members to claim the inheritance.
In general, estates held on the list can be claimed within a 12-year deadline, from the date the estate was taken into possession of the Crown.
The Treasury will allow claims up to 30 years from the date of the person’s death for unclaimed estates dating before 1997, subject to no interest being paid on the money that is held – if the claim is received after the 12-year period has ended.
You could be entitled to a share of a deceased relative’s property – just search for your name in the list below to see if you could be in for a fortune.
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If someone dies without leaving a valid will, the following family members are entitled to the estate in this order:
- Husband, wife, or civil partner
- Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on
- Mother or father
- Full brothers or sisters, or their children (nieces and nephews)
- Half-brothers or sisters, or their children (nieces and nephews of the half-blood). ‘Half’ means sharing only one parent with the deceased.
- Grandparents
- Uncles and aunts, or their children (first cousins or their descendants)
- Half-uncles and aunts, or their children (first cousins of the half-blood). ‘Half’ means sharing only one grandparent with the deceased, not both.
If you are a first cousin of the deceased, you can only inherit if there are no closer family members, such as nieces or nephews, who have higher priority.
