A total of 33 estates across the region passed to the Crown as ‘ownerless property’ since the start of 2023.
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 12 years from when the estate was taken into possession of the Crown.
The list of unclaimed estates is updated and published daily on the Government’s website.
If someone dies without leaving a valid or effective will, the following relations are entitled to the estate in the order shown below:
1. Husband, wife or civil partner
2. children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on
3. Mother or father
4. Brothers or sisters who share both the same mother and father, or their children (nieces and nephews)
5. Half brothers or sisters or their children (nieces and nephews of the half-blood or their children); ‘half ’ means they share only one parent with the deceased
6. Grandparents
7. Uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins or their descendants)
8. Half-uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins of the half-blood or their children); ‘half’ means they only share one grandparent with the deceased, not both.