It’s a little-known secret that the details of thousands of unclaimed estates are available online.
The government are currently sitting on the estates because the deceased passed away without making a will or with no next of kin.
There are currently more than 100 unclaimed estates in Leicester and Leicestershire, spread right across the county.
Several estates have been listed by the government for decades, and will revert to the crown permanently if they remain unidentified.
According to Finders International – a specialist probate genealogist team – family members and heirs have just 12 years to claim an estate once it has been reported unclaimed to the Crown.
Danny Curran, star of BBC Heir Hunters and MD of Finders International told the Birmingham Mail: “Hundreds of estates are waiting to be claimed from the government, who are sitting on the fortunes of over ten thousand people across the UK.”
Any individual can check the Central Probate Registry to see if any next of kin are on the unclaimed list.
The list has seen an sharp increase in numbers over the past few years after government cuts mean that there is no search for a Will before an unclaimed estate is added to the list.
Danny Curran explained that this inexpensive search will save a lot of wasted time when searching for next of kin
He added: “Valid wills do exist for approximately one in every five cases currently being advertised by the Government as intestacies.
“Many relatives are being needlessly traced only to find their expectations are dashed.
“The solution to this escalating problem is simple: The Bona Vacantia division should revert to an inexpensive Will search prior to advertising estates. Where valid Wills are found, the estate does not need to be advertised.
“This would also ensure the deceased’s wishes are met.”
These are the surnames of unclaimed Leicestershire estates:
Abbott
Anderson
Armstrong
Bailey
Barker
Barton
Billingham
Bird
Bodor
Bramley
Brereton
Brooks
Chaplain
Charles
Chilko
Clarke
Condon
Connolley
Cooley
Cooper
Dalby
Doherty
Eaves
Eccles
Eddleston
Emmerson
Erlloy
Fenton
Forsyth
Gent
Godhino
Goodison
Granger
Greaves
Griffiths
Hachulski
Hall
Hanley
Hannigan
Harris
Harrison
Hayes
Haynes
Henderson
Hethering
Hill
Holdaway
Holhos
Ison
James
Jarmulow
Jastrza
Jennings
Johnson
Jones
Joshi
Kelly
Kociuba
Kolodij
Kopacsi
Kucko
Kusmider
Lane
Lawrie
Lickman
Liddell
Long
Magennis
Manning
Master
Maughan
McKusker
McDonald
Meaney
Measures
Milan
Moran
Morris
Morrow
Mullahy
Murray
Murrell
Newman
Nytz
Omnaath
Paeglis
Parczewski
Payne
Pitman-Jones
Ponting
Prinze
Rench
Riley
Ryan
Samarasinghe
Samuels
Sharpe
Shipley
Simpson
Smith
Sparkes
Stevenson
Stewart
Tayler
Thompson
Toye
Tungas
Turkalo
Vazquez
Von Hehenzo
Wallen
Ward
Wasylak
Wayman
Wheldale
Whyatt
Wombell
Worrall