300,000 die each year without a Will

I was watching Heir Hunters again. The programme starts with the powerful statement that 300,000 people a year die in the Britain without a Will.

This is a BBC programme about a firm of ‘Heir Hunters’ called Fraser & Fraser. They start by searching the weekly Bona Vacantia list of persons who die intestate and without known kin.

The Treasury Solicitor provides the list as it is the body responsible for the administration of these estates.

What is astounding is the sheer volume of people who do not make Wills. Programmes like this serve to highlight the issue of intestacy, which judging by the success of Fraser & Fraser is a enduring state of affairs.

From time to time there are surprising results. Not just distant unknown relatives inheriting tidy sums. Several times estranged and very unpopular close relatives found new weath dropping in their laps, which they surely never would have benefitted from if there had been a Will in place.

It certainly is the case that some people make their Wills driven by a concern of ensuring a particular brother or sister can’t inherit, which might happen if they died intestate.