This morning, I was interested to read on BBC News about the problem of millions of pounds worth of unclaimed premium bond winnings. 

The article highlights cases where it is only discovered that someone had premium bond winnings after they have died, at the point when their family are trying to collect their assets to administer their estate. The article talks about the amount of those unclaimed winnings, but also the extra hassle they can involve for those trying to administer the estate.

Sometimes families come to us for estate administrations believing that their deceased relative only had, say, one bank account and a house without realising that they actually had other (perhaps small) assets in different places. 

These assets could include NS&I premium bonds, but also things like small shareholdings worth a couple of hundred pounds in companies such as BT or the National Grid, or bank accounts with a small amount of money in them here or there. Going through life, a lot of people will set up various assets and then, unfortunately, forget about them, leaving more work for their families when they pass away.

Dealing with these assets can be difficult for the estate administration because of the extra paperwork involved. Also, with assets like shares, there could be taxable income to be paid out, meaning that those dealing with the estate administration have to sort out an income tax payment.

For families who are concerned that they may not have found all of their deceased relative’s assets, the people dealing with the estate can instruct various agencies to carry out an ‘asset search’. An asset search involves writing to lots of banks and other institutions to see if they have any record of the deceased, but obviously, this involves extra cost for the people dealing with the estate.

Some families manage to deal with all the assets when they administer the estate, but in some cases everyone believes that an estate administration is complete and then a year or so later they may be contacted by an institution saying that they are holding money for the deceased, meaning that the estate has to be ‘re-opened’ just to deal with that money. This can be particularly upsetting in cases where there is family tension, since it can require the family to be pulled back into the estate administration, re-igniting emotions.

When clients come to us to prepare their wills, they often say that they want things to be as simple as possible for their family when they die. Sometimes the best way to make things simple for your family is not just about having a simple will but also making sure that your assets are easy to locate and deal with.

This does not necessarily mean closing down accounts since we would only suggest doing that with proper advice in case there is some good reason for you to leave those accounts open. At the least, however, it can be helpful for your family if you make a list of your assets that you can store with your will, so that your family can read that list rather than having to hunt for your assets when you die. 

By tying up any loose ends (or at least making a note that those loose ends exist), you can make the process of the estate administration much easier for your family.

For more information

For further information about wills and estates, please contact me.