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My uncle passed away earlier this year. We weren’t close. In fact, I haven’t not seen him since he didn’t bother to turn up for my mother’s (his sister’s) funeral in 2013.
I’ve recently been contacted by a company who say they have been appointed by the local authority to administer his estate. They say that the council has had no success in contacting his relatives (my two sisters and I) about his estate, and therefore they have been asked to do so.
This seems strange, as I know my family informed the council about his relatives at the time. My sisters and I have completed the picture for them in terms of the living relatives.
The crux is that this company want 23% plus VAT of net asset value to complete the administration of the estate (no fee up front). I have no idea how much the estate is but it is highly unlikely to be a fortune.
Does anyone have any experience of this type of affair? What’s the alternative…..presumably it involves paying a solicitor upfront to do the same estate discovery and administration work?
Apply to be executor yourself.
TBH I'm not convinced this isn't a scam. For a start, I'd no idea the LA had any role in this.
Did he have any other, closer relatives that would have sorted his estate out? If there was a will there's a chance an executor was stipulated in that.
If they're ringing you then they either have half an idea it'll be profitable or they go for a volume approach in the off-chance they strike lucky to cover costs.
Main question you need to answer is if property forms part of the estate? if that's the case then 23% is a big chunk of cash.
We’re the closest relatives - he had no children, so there isn’t anyone to even understand what the estate is - he lived in local authority sheltered accommodation so there is no property involved.
One of us could apply to be Executor but we wouldn’t know where to start in terms of the admin of discovering bank accounts, insurance etc.
In that case the use of this type of company makes sense but 23% (PLUS VAT!) seems awfully high….but also I suppose if the estate is only £800 they could be out of pocket.
23% plus VAT of the estate administration is very high I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole - they are Heir Hunters or probate genealogy companies as they prefer to be know. They insert themselves into an estate administration where they can when there is no obvious family to do the administration. They have no rights to do this unless and until they convince a relative entitled to administer the estate to sign up.
If you are entitled to administer the estate and establishing that can be complex then you can apply for probate yourselves, appoint someone to work on your behalf - preferably someone who will work for a fixed fee (send me a DM for a cost), or and I can't stress this enough they are very expensive sign up with the Heir Hunter company.
Essentially if there is no will, and it sounds like the council may have established that there isn't then the statutory order for entitlement to a grant is as follows Surviving Spouse, Child of the Deceased, Parent of the Deceased, Sibling of the deceased, Niece or Nephew of the deceased. Once you reach a category that has surviving relatives anyone in that category has the right to administer the estate.
Obviously if you were not close it may end up being difficult to track down any assets and importantly any liabilities, although the council may well have details. If there is not enough money in the estate to pay any debts that can be problematic if you haven't taken the right steps.
If it were me I wouldn't take it on myself as I would be wary of taking on personal liability. But equally I wouldn't be signing up with these guys either, shop around you will get a better deal.
As a final point, the heir hunters are likely to have done some background research, so they will know what the estate is likely to be worth and will have priced it accordingly. Obviously they won't share it with you unless you sign up with them, so it is unlikely to be a fortune but will be worth their while.
Hope that helps.
Nick.
Thank Nick, that gives me a lot more context and a few things to think about.