Heir hunters

Latimer

Anybody had any dealings with an heir hunter company called Hoopers, London? Mrs Lat contacted out the blue this morning to suggest that she and many other 2nd cousins may benefit from the estate of her father's auntie who died intestate. No vast sum involved just interested if others had such an experience. Web site suggests they are involved in the TV series

adamtheaddick

they are, they also take a cut of what you recieve if you sign up with them so be carefull.

LenGlover

Anybody had any dealings with an heir hunter company called Hoopers, London? Mrs Lat contacted out the blue this morning to suggest that she and many other 2nd cousins may benefit from the estate of her father's auntie who died intestate. No vast sum involved just interested if others had such an experience. Web site suggests they are involved in the TV series

They are not the main firm featured in the TV series (that is Fraser and Fraser) but Hoopers have featured occasionally.

Algarveaddick

Yes, they are legit. Do a good job if the TV show is anything to go by. Your good lady has nothing to lose, and for them to get involved there must be a reasonable sum To divvy up.

LenGlover

http://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/a-lost-legacy-lucky-you-ndash-but-watch-out-for-greedy-heirhunters-fees-1820829.html

1905

Beers are on Kev!!

Latimer

Thanks Len and others a good read

Latimer

1905 where have you been? Haven't seen you for ages but keep looking out for you, not that you are easy to miss of course! Need a big lump to settle your beers!

better red than dead

Some advice I saw a little while ago on the Lost Cousins website. It doesn't mention the company that you mentioned but does give general advice on what to do if you are approached

The initial contact is most likely to be a letter, but phone calls are increasingly common. In my case the letter I received was accompanied by an impressive brochure, and a contract that - if I signed it - would give 40% of any inheritance I was due to the heir hunters. Fine if the inheritance was £100, but what if it was £10,000 or £100,000?



RULE NO. 1 - DON'T SIGN ANYTHING IMMEDIATELY

The worst thing you can do is sign straightaway - despite what they say, most heir hunters are prepared to negotiate downwards. As a family historian you're not only in a better position than most to handle everything yourself (should you so choose), you've also got information that will be valuable to the heir hunters, and you can use this to negotiate their fee downwards (if that's what you eventually decide).

RULE NO.2 - DON'T GIVE AWAY VITAL INFORMATION

When I asked people who had dealt with heir hunters and subsequently received an inheritance what their advice would be for others in the same position, the most common recommendation was not to reveal information to the heir hunter without getting something in exchange.

RULE NO.3 - THEIR FEES ARE NEGOTIABLE

Heir hunters aren't stupid - if you ask them if their commission is negotiable they'll tell you that it isn't. But if they think you're prepared to do the work yourself and cut them out they'll be much more likely to negotiate.

RULE NO.4 - REMEMBER VAT

Value Added Tax in the UK is now 20% - that's a big addition to whatever percentage the heir hunter charges. It means that 25% becomes 30%, whilst one-third (a commonly quoted rate) becomes 40% when you add VAT. If you do the work yourself you won't pay any VAT, nor will you have to pay tax or National Insurance contributions, or any of the other overheads that a company would typically have.

If only half the money the heir hunters charge goes into their pockets this means that they've got to charge you twice as much. That's certainly an incentive to do the work yourself, isn't it!

RULE NO.5 - CONTACT YOUR RELATIVES

It's unlikely you're the only one in the family to be contacted by the heir hunters - so your first pro-active step should be to find out who else has been contacted, and suggest they don't sign anything for the time being.

But the other reason to contact them is even more crucial - if you know who else has been contacted it will be far easier to work out who has died.

RULE NO.6 - WORK OUT WHO HAS DIED

You'll almost certainly figure out very quickly which side of your family is relevant, but to go beyond that you first have to understand the laws of inheritance. Fortunately there's a handy guide on the Bona Vacantia website - the site of the division within the Treasury Solicitor's department responsible for the estates of those who die intestate. On page 7 of the PDF file you'll find a chart which shows the order of priority - and the first thing you'll notice is that to inherit you need to be descended from their grandparents.

This means that 2nd, 3rd and more distant cousins are NOT entitled to share in an estate - which greatly simplifies the task of identifying the deceased. But bear in mind that they're likely to be from an earlier generation than you - so rather than being your 1st cousin they're likely to be your 1st cousin once or twice removed. In my case the paternal grandparents of the cousin who died were my great-grandparents, which made her my 1st cousin once removed (but how said that it was only after her death that I found out about her - until then she'd been just a name on the family tree).

RULE NO.7 - DECIDE WHETHER TO SIGN UP

Once you know who has died you can work out who half the beneficiaries are simply by referring to your family tree. However, then it starts to get more difficult - because you probably won't have researched the other half of your cousin's tree (remember that they have two sets of grandparents, and it's unlikely that you are descended from both of them).


There are also all sorts of legal issues that it wouldn't be appropriate to go into in this article, not least because I'm still finding my way through the minefield. However, when you come to make the decision whether to sign up with the heir hunter it's worth remembering that your inheritance won't disappear if you don't sign - they can't cut you out simply because you don't play ball. There is very little to be lost, and potentially a great deal to be gained by stalling.


Tip: one of the big heir hunting companies told me that they don't get involved unless the estate is worth at least £20,000 - so that's something to bear in mind when you're making your decision.

.

BDL

Exactly what @Better has said. Do your own research, it's very simple and doesn't cost a huge amount.

The estate will be with the Treasury Solicitor (Bona Vacantia) (or the Duchy of Lancashire/Cornwall in certain parts of the UK).

Worthwhile contacting them direct if you know the name and make a claim.

Need any advice - whisper me. I'm normally the one referring cases to the Treasury Solicitor for my patch in London.

Have seen several of my cases on that programme and end up shouting at them as they haven't got their facts right!!

Latimer

Well Vic Robinson, Mrs Lat's Great Uncle, and his daughter Jean Chainey, her Dad's cousin, were featured this week on BBC's Heir Hunters. Vic was 'the David Beckham of pigeon fancying fame!' no less. Mrs Lat decided to let Hoopers do the spade work, 82 heirs in total so the day job continues!

Baldybonce

Sorry, I thought it was something else.

Addickted

Latimer said:

Vic was 'the David Beckham of pigeon fancying fame!' no less.

Ties up nicely with you being the Les Berry of the pharmacy world.

Latimer

Latimer said:
Vic was 'the David Beckham of pigeon fancying fame!' no less.

Ties up nicely with you being the Les Berry of the pharmacy world.


Always rated Les Berry! Lol