Make a claim to a deceased person's estate

Overview

This guidance is for information only, is not intended to be legal advice or to cover every situation that may arise when claiming an estate. If required you should seek your own independent legal advice from a qualified solicitor, your local law centre or Citizens Advice Bureau.

The Bona Vacantia Division (BVD) of the Government Legal Department administers the estates of people who die without blood relatives and without leaving a Will in England and Wales (except for the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall).  BVD does not provide genealogical services and we cannot assist you with your research.

Check your entitlement

Order of priority to share in an intestate estate

If someone dies without leaving a valid or effective will (intestate) the following are entitled to the estate as shown in the strict order of priorities below:

1. the deceased’s husband, wife or civil partner
2. the deceased’s children or their descendants
3. the deceased’s mother or father
4. the deceased’s brothers or sisters or their descendants (nieces and nephews)
5. the deceased’s half* brothers or sisters or their descendants (nieces and nephews of the half-blood)
6. the deceased’s grandparents
7. uncles and aunts or their descendants (first cousins)
8. the deceased’s half uncles and aunts or their descendants (first cousins of the half-blood)

Half means they share only one parent or grandparent (for example, the same mother but a different father)

You would only be entitled to, or a share in, the estate if you are a direct descendent from one of the deceased’s grandparents and that there are no relatives that survived the deceased above you in the order of entitlement.

A second cousin is related through the deceased’s great-grandparent(s) and is not entitled to, or share in, an intestate estate in the UK.

If an entitled relative survived the deceased but has since died, that relative’s personal representative can make the claim to the deceased person’s estate.

Claims from personal representatives

If an entitled relative survived the deceased but has since died, that relative’s personal representative (the person legally entitled to deal with their estate) must make a claim to the deceased person’s estate.

Definition of a personal representative

A personal representative is defined as:

• The person named on the grant of Probate or the executor named in the will

or

• The person named on the grant of Letters of Administration or the person entitled to take one out

You can check whether a grant of Probate or Letters of Administration has been issued using the probate search service 

If you are in any doubt about your entitlement to claim an estate, you should first seek your own legal advice or email a family tree, showing how you are related to the deceased, including the full names, dates of birth and death of the family members on it, to bvestates@governmentlegal.gov.uk

Adoptions

For inheritance purposes, only adoptions finalised by Court Order under the Adoption Act or foreign adoptions recognised by English law are legally valid. Once adopted in this way, the individual is considered the child of their adoptive parents for succession and inheritance and no longer has inheritance rights in their biological family. Legal adoptions have only been possible since 1 January 1927.

Time limits for claiming Estates Administered by BVD

Claims will be accepted by BVD within, generally, 12 years from the date that the administration of the estate was completed and interest will be paid on the money held.

However, BVD may admit a fully documented claims up to 30 years from the date of death, subject to no interest being claimed on the money held, if the claim is received after the 12 year period above has expired.

All fully documented claims must be submitted within 30 years of the date of death. Claims received by BVD after this 30-year period, whether complete or incomplete, will not be accepted. If an incomplete claim is submitted, the necessary documents to complete the claim must be provided within the 30-year deadline; otherwise, the claim will not be considered.

Genealogists

Genealogists are private companies who trace potentially entitled relatives for commercial gain. They do not work for, on or behalf of, BVD.

If you are contacted by a genealogist, it is up to you whether you use their services and BVD will not advise you in this respect.

Make a claim to BVD

BVD publishes a list of the estates which have been referred to and have not been claimed. We remove estates from the list that have been:

• claimed by an entitled relative
• where a will has been located
• where the time limit for making a claim has run out
• the estate is insolvent

If you believe you are entitled to claim an estate on the BVD list, please email a family tree, showing how you are related to the person who has died to bvestates@governmentlgal.gov.uk

The family tree should include the dates of birth, marriage and death of all those on the tree. If it appears that you may be entitled to claim the estate, BVD will then ask you to supply official documentary evidence that supports your claim of entitlement.

This will include documents such as:

• full birth certificates (showing the parents’ names) and marriage certificates of each person between you and the deceased (including yours and the deceased’s)
• a full explanation, supported by documentary evidence, of any discrepancies in the documents supplied with your claim or about any missing documents
• identification documents as proof of your name and of your name linked to your address (see the list of acceptable ID documents )
• if you are acting on behalf of the claimant you will need to provide a signed letter of authority or contract confirming that you have been instructed to make a claim on their behalf

BVD may also ask you for other evidence to support your claim. If additional evidence includes census returns or the 1939 Register, this should be a copy of the actual return not an online transcript of the information contained on the return.

Please also note that downloaded PDF documents supplied by the General Register Office (GRO) cannot be accepted. The GRO website confirms that a PDF has no “evidential” value and therefore a paper certified copy (certificate) is required for official purposes.

If you are in any doubt about how to prove your claim, you should seek your own advice, from a solicitor, local law centre or the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

Incomplete claims submitted to BVD

If BVD is not satisfied that your evidence supports your claim, we will tell you the reasons why.

Obtaining documents for your claim

Certificates issued in the United Kingdom can be obtained from the local registrar where the event took place or as follows:

England and Wales

Scotland

Northern Ireland

Translation

If you provide certificates or identity documents in any language other than English, you must also include a certified English translation of each document, prepared by a certified translator.

Identity documents

When submitting a claim to the Bona Vacantia Division (BVD), you must provide two forms of identification:

• One document to prove your name

• A separate document to prove your name linked to your address

You cannot use the same document for both purposes. For example, if you use your driving licence as proof of your name, you must supply a different document, such as a utility bill, to confirm your address.

Documents BVD will accept as evidence of formal identification

Name	Address
Current signed passport	Utility bill (gas, electric, satellite television, landline phone bill) issued within the last three months
Original birth certificate (issued within 12 months of the date of birth) in full or short form including those issued by UK authorities overseas such as Embassies High Commissions and HM Forces)	Water bill issued for the current financial year
EEA member state identity card	Local authority council tax bill for the current council tax year
Current UK or EEA photocard driving licence	EEA member state identity card
Full old-style driving licence.	Current UK or EEA photocard driving licence
Photographic registration cards for self-employed individuals in the construction industry - CIS4	Original mortgage statement from a recognised lender issued for the last full year
Confirmation from DWP of state benefits issued within the current year	Solicitor’s letter confirming recent (within previous three months) house purchase or current Land Registry title view
Firearms or shotgun certificate	Council or housing association rent card/statement or tenancy agreement for the current financial year
Residence permit issued by the Home Office to EEA nationals on sight of own country’s passport	Confirmation from DWP of state benefits issued within the current year
Medical card or letter of confirmation from GP’s practice of registration with the surgery	Bank, Building Society or Credit Union statement (dated within the last three months) or passbook.
	HMRC self-assessment letters or tax demands dated within the current financial year
	Medical card or letter of confirmation from GP’s practice of registration with the surgery

BVD will accept the overseas equivalent of the above documents for claimants who live abroad.

Documents BVD will not accept include, but are not limited to

• Provisional driving licence
• Mobile phone bills
• Credit or store card statements
• General notification letters from banks, utility companies, mortgage lenders etc

Copies of documents & Certificates

Do not send original documents by post when submitting a claim in the first instance. We accept good quality true copies of certificates and identification documents.  We do not accept any copy documents that have been cropped or contain redactions.

Please submit your scanned claim documentation attached to an email, quoting the BV reference number and name of the deceased person to

submit.kinclaim@governmentlegal.gov.uk

NOTE: The above email address is for new kin claims submissions only. 

Any additional evidence requested to support your claim should be sent direct to the assigned case officer’s email address that will be provided to you. 

BVD may request to see the original documentation submitted in support of a claim at any time.

What happens after your claim has been accepted

Once your claim has been accepted BVD will confirm this in writing advising you of what actions you need to take to progress the matter further.

Providing Information to others once a claim as been accepted

Once a claim is accepted BVD does not need claims from other relatives as any claim they may have is protected by law. It is the legal duty of the administrator to deal with the estate appropriately and to distribute it to all those who are entitled.

Our Personal Information Charter explains how we treat personal information and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia/about/personal-information-charter

The reasons that we use to collect or use personal data are set out in law. Most of the time, this will be because it is necessary for us in our work as a public body (Article 6(1)(e) of the General Data Protection Regulation, the law which applies to personal data). Additionally, or alternatively, it may be necessary to comply with a legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR).

In some circumstances, personal data may be passed to a third party such as an administrator in order to enable that third party to pursue a legitimate interest such as the administration of an Estate (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Personal information and prevention of crime

BVD will only release information about the value of the estate, or details about its assets and liabilities, to a successful claimant or their representative.  Please see here for more information.