There are a dozen unclaimed estates of people who were born or died in Greater Manchester- four of which were born in Bolton.

An estate is classed as unclaimed when a person with no will or known relatives passes away; their property, money and personal possessions then pass to the Crown.

Earlier this month, the Government published a list of unclaimed estates which are held by the treasury solicitor.

Research by property developer, StripeHomes, has revealed that there is an estimated £1.744bn worth of unclaimed property lying vacant across England and Wales.

Unclaimed estates in the North West account for 3% of all unclaimed estates and there is an estimated £44,113,062 worth of unclaimed estates in the region. 

Here is some more information about the the unclaimed estates in Greater Manchester and the people who used to own them:


Who is entitled to an estate?

Even if you are distantly related to the deceased, you could still be entitled to their estates.

Managing Director of StripeHomes, James Forrester, commented: “Finding out you’re eligible to claim one of the thousands of unclaimed estates across England and Wales is probably one of the most fortunate but unlikely ways of getting a foot on the property ladder."

If someone passes away without leaving a will, certain people are still entitled to the estate in the order shown below:

  1. husband, wife or civil partner
  2. children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and so on
  3. mother or father
  4. brothers or sisters who share both the same mother and father, or their children (nieces and nephews)
  5. half brothers or sisters or their children (nieces and nephews of the half blood or their children). ‘Half ’ means they share only one parent with the deceased
  6. grandparents
  7. uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins or their descendants)
  8. half uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins of the half blood or their children). ‘Half’ means they only share one grandparent with the deceased, not both.
     

If your relationship to the deceased is traced through someone who survived the deceased but has since died, you will need to confirm who is entitled to deal with that person’s estate.

If you want to make a claim to a deceased person’s estate, you can do so at the following Government link.