Unclaimed estates Bristol June 2023: You could be sitting on a fortune if you have one of these 88 surnames

If you have one of these surnames, you could be about to find yourself better off after the Treasury released its updated list of unclaimed estates in Bristol. An unclaimed estate happens when someone has passed away without having an effective will in place, with no family coming forward to make a claim.

It means the deceased’s property will become “ownerless property” and will therefore be in possession of the Crown. But within a 12-year period from when the Crown possesses the estate, family members can come forward if they believe they are entitled to a share of the property.

For unclaimed estates before 1997, the Treasury will allow claims up to 30 years from the date of the person’s death, subject to no interest being paid on the money that is held - if the claim is received after the 12-year period has ended.

Here is the most recent list of unclaimed estates in Bristol and how to make a claim.

Who is entitled to an unclaimed estate?

If someone dies without leaving a valid or effective will the following relatives are entitled to the estate in the following order of priority:

• Husband, wife or civil partner
• Children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and so on
• Mother or father
• Brothers or sisters who share both the same mother and father, or their children (nieces and nephews)
• 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
• Grandparents
• Uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins or their descendants)
• 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 you are, for example, a first cousin of the deceased, you would only be entitled to share in the estate if there are no relatives above you in the order of entitlement, for example, a niece or nephew.

Surnames of the unclaimed properties in Bristol

1. Alders
2. Banks
3. Bauknecht
4. Bidjikian
5. Black
6. Bridges
7. Brown
8. Bryant
9. Campbell
10. Carpenter
11. Clark
12. Cleghorn
13. Clements
14. Coles
15. Collins
16. Courtice
17. Cromarty
18. Cullen
19. Dallas
20. Davies
21. Davis
22. Delahunty
23. Ellis
24. Faulkner
25. Fox
26. Gaez
27. Gardner
28. Graham
29. Green
30. Greenman
31. Gwozdzik
32. Hall
33. Harvey
34. Horseman
35. Hudson
36. Hunt
37. James
38. Johnston
39. Jones
40. Kowalski
41. Leach
42. Lewis
43. Loveridge
44. Lovett
45. Luce
46. Madden
47. Mann
48. Marsh
49. Martin
50. McDermott
51. McKenzie
52. Messer
53. Morgan
54. O’Donnell
55. Panes
56. Parkhouse
57. Peterson
58. Pinder
59. Pitman-Jones
60. Reid
61. Ryan
62. Rudge
63. Samuda
64. Saunders
65. Savage
66. Smith
67. Staniek
68. Stevens
69. Sullivan
70. Szpak
71. Taylor
72. Thomas
73. Turner
74. Tusus-Platis
75. Venn
76. Verace
77. Vieke
78. Walters
79. Watkins
80. Weaver
81. Whitcher
82. Whitcombe
83. Whybrow
84. Wiglesz
85. Williams
86. Wilson
87. Woodley
88. Wright

How to claim an unclaimed estate

Anyone who believes they might be entitled to a share of an unclaimed estate should contact the Treasury on the Government website.