Thousands of estates left behind by Londoners are sitting in the government’s care waiting to be claimed by the deceased’s next of kin.
In total the government is holding more than 10,000 estates and the right surname could be the ticket to an easy fortune.
Names and details for all the estates are posted online daily by the government for those who have made no wills or have no known next of kin.
Many estates have been held by the government for decades but, according to specialist probate genealogist team Finders International, heirs have just 12 years to claim their estates before they are reverted to the crown.
Any individual can check the Central Probate Registry to see if any next of kin are on the unclaimed list.
If you think that you might be the rightful heir to one of the estates listed you can find out how to make a claim for that estate here .
Recent government cuts mean more people are being added to the list as no searches for wills are carried out before the estates are added to the list.
We’ve selected five surnames from each west London borough.
If you have these surnames you may be entitled to the fortune your relative left behind but it’s worth checking the database as there are thousands more unclaimed estates from across Britain.
Brent
Weston, Barrett, Eles, Falconer, Raymond
Harrow
Walters, Boyle, Gilbert, Luckman, Rashid
Hillingdon
Baddock, Dillon, Larkin, King, Morton
Hounslow
Abouargh, Kaniewski, McDonnell, O’Shea, Sutton
Ealing
Carr, Foster, Goldmann, Rankin, Whittaker
Hamersmith and Fulham
Adrian, Daly, Holmes, Kielty, Sibley
Westminster
Wilton, Talago-Raimundo, Mutum, Hold, Bennett
Kensington and Chelsea
Weger, Petenko, Hyne, Gordeni, Blois
This article has been first published in getwestlondon