Unclaimed insurance policies, forgotten bank accounts and unclaimed estates are some of the millions of pounds of unclaimed property accumulating every year in the UK waiting to be reunited with their rightful owner or their heirs. Perhaps you’ve been contacted by a probate firm informing you that one of your relatives died without a will and you may have a claim to their estate. Heir hunting has become a lucrative profession over the last 20 years, reuniting heirs with long-forgotten estates that are collectively worth millions of pounds. The popular BBC series Heir Hunters put this niche industry into the national spotlight, but long-forgotten riches are not the only reason for tracing heirs. Some of the online resources used by probate researchers can help family historians locate missing ancestors who may have died leaving unclaimed property or been party to a probate suit in Chancery.

In the Victorian Era, heir hunters were genealogists who referred to themselves as next-of-kin agents. They’d examine probate filings to identify decedents who died without making a will. Their resources included records of births, marriages and deaths, old directories, peerages and court guides. The next-of-kin agent used their expertise to trace the decedent’s relatives and tantalize them with news that they stood to receive a substantial sum. Then, in return for a fraction of the estate, next-of-kin agents offered to identify the relevant probate matter and supply proof of the heirs’ genetic link to the decedent (David Horton and Reid Kress Wiesbord, scholarship.law.upenn.edu/ ).

Unclaimed money books
Beginning in the 1840s, books were published containing name indexes connected to unclaimed monies that appeared in lists published by the Court of Chancery, the Bank of England and the London Gazette. In return for a fee, the publisher sent the applicant an exact copy of the advertisement that the name appeared in with all particulars so they could make a claim. In 1878 Edward Preston published his fourth edition of Unclaimed Money: A Handy Book for Heirs at Law, Next of Kin and Persons in Search of a Clue to Unclaimed Money, Or the Whereabouts of Missing Relatives and Friends. You can download the book for free here. The book contains information on dormant funds in Chancery, unclaimed dividends, lost wills, unclaimed army and navy prize money and missing relatives. The origins of unclaimed property date back to the court of Chancery in the 18th century.

Dormant funds in Chancery
Under the old English court system, the court of Chancery provided equitable remedies for plaintiffs who could not find relief in the court of law and usually involved civil disputes over property. The Chancery had jurisdiction over land law, trusts, the guardianship of wards of court (in cases where an orphan stood to inherit a large sum of money), and the estates of those deemed mentally incapacitated. After a series of scandals involving the misuse of suitors’ funds, all monies and personal effects connected to a case were deposited in the Bank of England instead of the court of Chancery and duplicate records were kept at both institutions. Unclaimed monies are those used to settle a court case, held on behalf of minors, and legacies left in a will.

The Court Funds Office holds money paid to or awarded by a civil court in England and Wales and records date back to the early 1700s. Only the name, account number and case are shown but these research steps will help you discover more information.

1. Visit find-unclaimed-court-money.service.justice.gov.uk. You can search by name, account number and date. For this example, enter the ‘Doody’ case name in the ‘search by keywords’ text box and click Search. Locate the account ‘19231106L’ and click the case name. You’ll see an unclaimed court account from 1857 belonging to Mary, the wife of William Bridgen. This case pertains to a will.

2. Unclaimed court funds are advertised in the London Gazette under Dormant Funds in Chancery. Visit here. This shows the case name and unclaimed account, which was 40 years old at the time and had no activity since 1857.

3. Cases that set important legal precedents may appear in Chancery proceedings or law journals. Google Books have scanned many older publications which are fully searchable and free to download. Visit here .

Unclaimed dividends
In addition to dormant Chancery funds, the Bank of England held unclaimed dividends. These are monetary rewards paid to a company shareholder for their investment but went unclaimed by the owner when the dividend was paid. If they died intestate their heirs could make a claim on their estate. In 1791 the Bank published a list of ‘The Names and Descriptions of the Proprietors of Unclaimed Dividends on Bank Stock’ that can be downloaded here. The list includes unclaimed dividends and annuities of South Sea stock, East India stock and the Royal Exchange Assurance. Records include marital status, occupation, and address. Some records date back 300 years. John Chomley, a brewer of London, had unclaimed dividends dating from 1708. He is one of the original subscribers of Bank of England stock dating from 1694 when the Bank was founded. The list of 1,520 subscribers can be downloaded here. John’s entry is on page 11 showing a £700 purchase of bank stock.

Bona vacantia list
When a person dies without making a will and there are no claimants to the estate, it passes to the government’s Bona Vacantia Division where it’s held in trust. Bona vacantia is Latin for ‘vacant goods’ and is a legal term for property left without any clear owner. If no one comes forward to claim the estate after 30 years, its ownership reverts to the Crown. You can download the list for free by visiting here and clicking the Unclaimed Estates List which covers estates in England and Wales. Estates that have passed the 30-year deadline are removed. Scottish Bona Vacantia estates come under the jurisdiction of the Queen’s & Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer. If the estate is not claimed after 10 years, the assets are removed from the list and returned to the Scottish Executive. Visit here to search for unclaimed estates in Scotland.

For a complete list of unclaimed estates, including those previously removed that reverted to the Treasury, visit https://www.bonavacantialist.co.uk/search. Results can be filtered by surname, forename, dates and places of birth and death and the date of publication. A few individuals listed were born as far back as the 1880s.

Unclaimed estate notices
The Gazette has a list of unclaimed estates that include the name, dates and places of birth and death, a reference number, claims date, legal information (if known) and marital status (if applicable). For information on how to claim and to see a list of recent unclaimed estates, visit thegazette.co.uk. To search all unclaimed estates dating back to the 19th century, visit thegazette.co.uk. Filter on the publication dates to select specific time periods.

Missing beneficiaries and unclaimed estates
The Internet Archive has an index of names related to unclaimed estates under the name Dougal’s Index Register to Next of Kin, Heirs at Law and Cases of Unclaimed Money Advertisements. This is an unclaimed money book published in 1888. Visit archive.org – you can search the text by keyword. If you find the name, try using online newspaper collections such as the British Newspaper Archive to find the unclaimed property connected to it.

Conclusion
Unclaimed money resources are useful to determine whether your ancestors left unclaimed property and you never know: along the way you may discover you have a claim yourself. {