A WOMAN has revealed how she was handed £17,000 by a complete stranger – and thousands could find themselves in the same position.
Back in 2021, Kimmy Booth, 60, received an unexpected letter telling her she was set to inherit a stranger’s whole estate.
Finders InternationalKimmy’s father and mother (pictured above) emigrated in the 50s[/caption]
Finders InternationalEileen died 12 days after her 90th birthday in south west London[/caption]
The surprise cash came from 90-year-old Eileen Booth, who had died alone in a nursing home in south west London.
Eileen had no known next of kin and hadn’t made a will, meaning there was no obvious recipient for her estate.
This led to Finders International, a professional probate genealogy firm that regularly features on BBC’s Heir Hunters show, being tasked with tracking down her relatives.
Finders found that Eileen had previously lived in Battersea, London, but she never had any children.
Her brother though, named Eric, had moved to Ottawa, Canada back in 1956 with his wife, where they then had Kimmy.
Finders tracked her down and that’s when Kimmy received a letter explaining she was set to inherit Eileen’s entire estate.
Kimmy, a parts manager for an appliance company, said: “It came completely out of the blue.
“Initially, I didn’t really know what to think.
“It came as a huge surprise to find out my late father had a sister, and that we had never met or heard of her – a part of his life that was left unsaid.”
Over the years Kimmy’s family had only kept in touch with her mum’s relatives back in the UK.
She said that her father, who passed away 47 years ago, never really spoke about his family in England and there was no contact with them so it was completely unexpected to be tracked down as Eileen’s next of kin.
It turns out that 60 years earlier Eileen had actually tried to reach out to Eric by letter, but as she hadn’t included a return address so no one knew how to get a response back to her.
Mum-of-two, Kimmy said: “Once I was told about my aunt Eileen, I made a special request to get any photos of her.
“I felt it was important to know her, even though we will never get to meet her.”
After her dad passed away, Kimmy didn’t have anyone to ask about her aunt.
She said: “Thanks to the work of Finders we now have names, dates and pictures of my dad’s side of the family – so I am very grateful for that.
“It’s still a story we won’t get all the pieces to, but we know more now than ever before.”
Kimmy also said that while the inheritance from Eileen was an utter surprise she will use it wisely.
So far she has bought a new bed and loveseat for her new home, and she’s currently looking for the “perfect” piece of art to remind her of the “loss of someone I never got the chance to meet”.
Finders InternationalKimmy’s dad Eric moved to Canada in the 50s[/caption]
Could you be in line for a windfall?
Danny Curran, Finders International said: “Families lose touch for a multitude of reasons.
“It happens frequently and situations like this are more common than one might expect.
“It’s terribly sad to think that a letter, received some 60 years earlier, could have reunited Eileen with her brother, but for the omission of a return address.
“However, without a will we have no idea what Eileen would have wanted to do with her money.”
Danny added that had the team not found Kimmy, Eileen’s money would have gone to the Treasury.
“It is great to see that instead it has been given to her relatives and Kimmy has now been able to piece together further details on her family,” he said.
According to Finder’s International, there are around 6,500 unclaimed estates on the Bona Vacantia list.
Bona Vacantia is the name given to these “ownerless” estates that are then passed to the Crown.
Family members and heirs have just 12 years to claim an estate once it has been reported unclaimed to the Crown.
The list is published by the government and updated daily, it’s made up of the estates of people who have died but do not have a will or any living relatives.
The only other criteria required to be on the list is that the estate has a minimum value of £500.
Finders InternationalDanny Curran is the Founder and Managing Director of Finders International[/caption]
How can you find out if you could be due an inheritance?
You can search the list yourself and make a claim, but the process can be expensive and time-consuming.
To see the entire searchable list that is updated daily visit:
http://www.bonavacantialist.co.uk/
You’ll have to build a family tree, listing birth, marriage and death dates, and pay for copies of certificates for each person between you and the deceased.
An heir hunter, like Finders Internation, does the legwork for you, for a fee.
But bear in mind that you’re probably not the sole heir to an estate and around 95% of those listed are worth less than £1,000.
What happens when someone dies without a will?
IF someone in England or Wales dies without a will, their estate is given to their next kin in the following order:
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 (nieces and nephews of the half blood or their children). “Half”’ means they share 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 or their children). “Half” means they only share one grandparent with the deceased, not both
Note that once the highest related relative has claimed, it negates claims made by lower down relatives.
So if you are, for example, a first cousin, you would only be entitled a share in the estate if there are no relatives above you in this order.
Meanwhile, have a look at our guide for how to track down an inheritance.
Plus, a woman was handed a share of £180,000 for free by a complete stranger – and it wasn’t a scam.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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