FindMyLegacyis a free tool to search the UK Government's Bona Vacantia list of unclaimed estates — phonetic surname matching, email alerts, and an AI assistant to guide your research.
Data-driven analysis of the UK Bona Vacantia list — unclaimed estate trends, regional breakdowns, and insights to help you understand the landscape before you search.
10 May 2026 · 7 min read
A grant of representation is the legal authority to administer a deceased person's estate. Here is what it means, the three types, when you need one, how to apply — and what happens when nobody does.
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9 May 2026
The bona vacantia list is the UK government's official register of unclaimed estates — property left by people who died without a will and without known relatives. Here is everything you need to know about searching it and making a claim.
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9 May 2026
When someone dies intestate in England and Wales, the Rules of Intestacy determine who inherits — not the deceased's wishes. Here is exactly who gets what, who gets nothing, and what happens when no qualifying relative can be found.
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8 May 2026 · 7 min read
If someone you are related to died without a will and without known family, their estate may be sitting on the Bona Vacantia list. Here is exactly how to make an inheritance claim — step by step, for free.
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3 May 2026
A guide to using AI in researching your family tree.
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29 April 2026 · 6 min read
When someone dies intestate with no known relatives, their estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia. Here is exactly what that process looks like — and how distant relatives can still claim.
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29 April 2026 · 5 min read
Heir hunters charge 15–40% commission to find relatives of people who died intestate. But the list they use is public — and free to search yourself. Here is what you need to know.
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15 April 2026 · 3 min read
A data-driven look at where unclaimed estates are concentrated across England and Wales, based on the current Bona Vacantia list.
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15 April 2026 · 4 min read
An analysis of the surnames that appear most frequently on the Government Legal Department's Bona Vacantia list — and what that means for potential claimants.
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15 April 2026 · 3 min read
Looking at the years of death recorded on the current unclaimed estates list — how far back the oldest entries go, and why some claims are more urgent than others.
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All data in these articles is drawn live from the UK Government Legal Department Bona Vacantia list as held in the FindMyLegacy database.