Bona vacantia
(Latin for ‘vacant goods’) is the name given to ownerless property (homes,
money, possessions and so forth) and every day names are added to the Bona
Vacantia list, which is where the Crown’s Treasury Solicitor advertises for kin
of deceased intestates in England and Wales to come forward and claim what
could be rightfully theirs.
The current list dates from 1997, so
this is where you can look to see if you can spot anyone that may be a
long-lost relative. And possibly be in line for a claim on their estate.
However, it’s not quite as easy as
that. The list – which deals with around 2,000 solvent cases per year – simply
provides a forename, surname, place of death and marital status. Sometimes
spouse’s names are given (if known), as are alias names and place of birth.
It’s up to potential claimants on the estate to prove their relationship with
the deceased. Oh, and before you get excited, there’s no clue as to how much
the estate is worth, although none less than £500 are advertised.
The key message is, though, if you
are in line for a surprise windfall, you could be contacted by an heir hunter.
Behind
the camera
Bona vacantia
has been in existence since William the Conqueror’s time, but it wasn’t until
June 2007 that the general public really became aware of it thanks to the
popular BBC TV programme, ‘Heir Hunters’.
Starting its eighth series on BBC1
in early 2014, the programmes follow the exciting warts-and-all progress of
probate researchers attempting to find rightful heirs to intestates, before the
unclaimed estates are collected by the Treasury.
But how was the idea of ‘Heir
Hunters’ conceived? John Widdup, executive producer at Flame TV, the production
company behind the programmes, reveals all…
‘We thought the world of probate
genealogy made an intriguing proposition for a television series. There was the
detective work of tracing missing relatives, the drama of racing against time
to visit heirs and the joy of telling people about an unexpected inheritance.
‘It was also clear that the work of
the “heir hunters” would provide a unique platform from which to explore a
diverse range of social history and tell some fascinating and very moving
family stories. After positive discussions with some major probate research
firms the series was pitched to the BBC in 2005, and the rest is history.
‘The phrase “heir hunters” is now
widely used to describe those in the industry – although many still prefer the
term probate researcher or forensic genealogist.’
Caroline:
Where do you start when making the programmes?
John:
‘We work with several major probate research firms and once we go into
production we begin discussing potential stories for the series. Some may be cases
they are currently investigating, while others will be cases from the archives
that have already been solved.
‘A series of 20 episodes takes
around six months to produce and is generally broadcast within a few months of
completion.
‘We have a core production team of
around 20 people, including a series producer and production manager,
researchers, editors and edit producers who write the narration. Our
producer/directors are also skilled camera operators and they shoot the
programme themselves using small, high-definition cameras. By keeping the kit
and crew to a minimum we’re able to be as unobtrusive as possible, which is
especially important when shooting in a busy working environment.’
Caroline:
Who looks for heirs and why?
John:
‘Probate research companies specialise in tracing missing beneficiaries to
estates of people who have died intestate and who had no known relatives. Many
of these cases are advertised by the Bona Vacantia division of the Treasury
Solicitor’s office and heir hunting firms will try to trace living relatives
who are entitled to a share of the estate and help them claim their
inheritance.
‘Most firms work on commission and
agree a fee with each heir they find, which is usually a percentage of the
inheritance. But because estate values range from a few hundred pounds to
hundreds of thousands of pounds, and because the heir hunters often don’t know
the true value of an estate, their work can be a huge gamble. They might put
hours of costly research into tracing scores of family members only to learn
that the case is worth very little and their percentage fee won’t cover the
cost of their work. ‘There is also a huge amount of work that goes on once
heirs have been found, and it is often months – or even years – before an
estate can be fully distributed.
‘Other sources of work for the heir
hunters can include solicitors who may find that they are in contact with some
but not all of the relatives to an estate, or neighbours of a property that is
falling into disrepair because the owner has passed away and there is no one to
inherit it.’
Caroline:
How do you source and choose subjects for the programme?
John:
‘Broadly speaking we feature two types of cases: ones in which we follow the
heir hunters “live” as they trace family members, and then others which are
interesting cases from the archives that have already been solved.
‘For us to include any case in the
programme we look for an heir who is happy to be featured and we also strive to
find people who knew the deceased and can share some positive memories of them.
‘We then spend time researching the
family and/or social history angle for each story, which could be anything from
the interesting occupation of an ancestor to a key event that shaped a family’s
story, such as WWII evacuation for example.’
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