An incredible £38.5M worth of cash and assets last year were unable to be distributed from dead people’s estates. This is a figure which has been rising sharply over recent years. These sums are known by lawyers as “Bona Vacantia” (literally meaning vacant or unapplied goods).
How Does This Happen?
Unclaimed estates are the result of either a person not making a Will or a Will not being found after that person has died. If the family of the deceased cannot be traced, the money has to go, following historical rules, to the Crown or the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster as Bona Vacantia. Unless of course, you can instruct a firm of heir hunters. This is seen by many as an embarrassment to the Prince of Wales being the holder of the Duchy of Cornwall. But laws dating back to the medieval times demand that this is where the money ends up. One imagines few of these deceased people would have wished for all of their worldly goods to end up being passed to the Crown or the Duchies! Anti-monarchists often cite the situation as an example against the Royal family.
The number of such “unclaimed” estates increasing is a by-product of our modern world. With an increasing life expectancy, a less family-centric society, and a more mobile population (both nationally and internationally), Wills are easily lost or unmade.
What’s the Solution to Bona Vacantia?
The saddest thing is that this end result is simply and cheaply avoided. The solution is for people to make a valid Will. Then to register it to be easily found after that person’s death. With the advent of the internet, many people choose to have their Will drawn up online. A far cry from the traditional, well-established route of making a trip into the local Solicitor’s office.
So where do you want your worldly goods to end up? Contact us for assistance finding or storing a Will.
