Lancashire unclaimed estates: People with these surnames could be in line to inherit a fortune

More than £77m worth of inheritance is still left unclaimed in UK estates.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Figures obtained from the UK government’s treasury solicitor shows 7,090 estates remain unclaimed, analysis from Investing Reviews shows.

According to data from the Office for National Statistics, the median amount of inheritance received by individuals is £11,000.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The list of unclaimed estates held by the Treasury Solicitor was last updated on January 18, 2022.

Millions of pounds go unclaimed when people die, according to Treasury figuresMillions of pounds go unclaimed when people die, according to Treasury figures
Millions of pounds go unclaimed when people die, according to Treasury figures

Records published by the Treasury have revealed that there are 16 unclaimed estates with links to Lancashire.

Every year hundreds of people in the UK die without a will, leaving behind their property, money and other possessions as unclaimed estates.

If a blood relative cannot be found, and the dead person’s assets are worth more than £500, their estate will pass to the Crown.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Long lost relatives of the deceased people – potential heirs to their estate – have 30 years to make a claim to the Bona Vacantia division (BVD) of the Government Legal Department, which keeps the assets in limbo on behalf of the Crown.

How to check the list and make a claim

The full list of unclaimed estates in England and Wales is here.The BVD handles unclaimed estates in England and Wales, except where the estate is held by the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster – that’s if the estate is in Cornwall or the historic county palatine of Lancaster

Anyone who thinks they have a claim can send in a family tree showing how they are related to the person who died, including the dates of birth, marriage and death of all those on the tree.

The BVD will then ask for extra documentary evidence if they think they may be entitled to a claim.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Here is the full list for people with links to Lancashire with their date of birth:

Alan Allen, 29/08/1938, born Burnley

Winifred Barratt, 06/02/1935, born Fleetwood

Deborah Bibby, 14/03/1967, died Barnoldswick

Marjorie Dorothy Brannen, 12/03/1920, born Morecambe

Percy Baynham Broadhead, 21/01/1940, born Preston

James Vincent Burke, 31/07/1922, born Accrington

John Henry Collins, 13/03/1925, born Fleetwood

Ian Joseph Dawson, 28/06/1944, born Burnley

Eric Howarth, 05/02/1948, born Colne

Margaret Hughes, 22/12/1953, died Lancaster

Patrick William O'Connor, 18/06/1927, born Preston

Derek Partington, 01/11/1933, born Blackpool

Hilda Florence Rigby, 19/04/1905, born Lancashire (no town given)

Peter Wharton Rooke, 11/08/1945, died Barnoldswick

Alvis Shelia Ryder-Brittain, 19/11/1937, born Lancashire (no town given)

Elizabeth White, 26/12/1927, born Lancashire (no town given)