Overview

The Bona Vacantia Divisiondivision (BVD) of the Government Legal Department administers the estates of people who die without known blood relatives and without leaving a Will in England and Wales (except for the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall). Will.

Please note that the information contained here is for guidance only and cannot cover every possible scenario that may arise when someone has died intestate and with no known entitled relatives and is not intended to be legal advice.

Before you refer an estate

Referral Criteria

To refer an estate, you need to provide:

• a completed BV1A referral form
• provide a copy of the death certificate or Coroner’s Interim Certificate

BVD cannotdoes acceptnot adeal referralwith ifestates ANY of the following statements apply:where:

• there is a valid Will, even if the executor and beneficiaries cannot be traced or do not wish to deal with the estate. If the executor or beneficiaries have formally renounced their interest in the estate (see issee is there a will? section below)
• there are known or likely to be entitled relatives who survived the deceased even if these have subsequently died, cannot be traced or do not wish to deal with the estate
• the net value of the estate is underbelow £500
• the onceestate funeralis expensesinsolvent and(there knownare more debts havethan beenassets)
• the settled,deceased orlived outside England & Wales – you doshould notcontact havethe sufficientauthorities informationin tothe confirmcountry thiswhere they lived
• the estatedeceased islived insolventwithin (thereeither of the Duchies of Lancaster or Cornwall at the time of their death. These estates are moredealt debtswith thanby assets)Farrer & Co Solicitors
• thea deceaseddeath livedcertificate inis othernot areasprovided. Prior ofto referring an estate you should contact the UKinformant (theon Duchiesthe ofdeath Lancastercertificate to find out if they themselves are entitled relatives or Cornwall,have Scotlandany information about a Will or Northernany Ireland)relatives; atif thethey timeare relatives or know of theirany death. or Pleaseof refera toWill thethen Otheryou UKshould BVnot Authoritiesrefer sectionthe forestate websiteto detailsBVD
• if a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration has already been issuedtaken forout to the estateestate. - SearchYou probateshould recordscheck for documentsa andgrant willsto (Englandthe andestate Wales)on -Find GOV.UKa Will . If you locate a grant you should contact the Executor or administrator of the estate named in the grant

Other

Insolvency

An UKestate BVis Authorities

Contactinsolvent detailsif forthe otherdeceased UKhas authoritiesleft whomore debts than there is money to settle them. BVD does not deal with bonainsolvent vacantiaestates outsideand ofthe BVD’sadministration jurisdiction:

Duchiesshould be dealt with by the creditors of Lancasterthe andestate Cornwall:

Bona(that Vacantiais, -anyone Farrerowed &money Cofrom the estate).

(checkIf herean estate is only marginally solvent, it may still be uneconomical for BVD to seeget ifinvolved. Therefore, BVD will not take any interest in estates where the net estate falls(the withinbalance theirleft jurisdiction)

Scotland:

Nationalafter Ultimusany Haeresdebts Unithave -been KLTR

Northernpaid) Ireland:

Crownis Solicitor’sunder Office£500.

Is there a Will?

Generally, if there is a valid Will which disposes of all the deceased’s estate it should not be referred to BVD.

If  However,the BVDexecutor(s) mayof a Will does not want to deal with the estate, they can give up their right to be the executor by signing a form of ‘renunciation’ and the beneficiaries of the will are then entitled to anydeal unclaimedwith sharesthe orestate remaininginstead. The order of beneficiaries’ entitlement to deal with an estate can be found here. BVD can only deal with the estate if the beneficiaries have died before the deceased or have formally renounced their bequest and if there are no entitled relatives. BVD will not otherwisedeal distributedwith the estate if the executor and/or beneficiaries cannot be traced. If you are in any doubt, you should obtain your own legal advice before referring the estate.

If there is a valid Will but the estate should be dealt with by BVD, the original Will, signed renunciations and/or death certificates of any beneficiaries who died before the deceased should be supplied when referring the case.

A Will is usually accepted as valid by the Probate Registry if it:

• is signed by the deceased and two witnesses who were both present at the same time the deceased signed, or acknowledged their signature on, the Will
• clearly indicates the deceased’s wishes

It does not have to:

• be drawn up by a solicitor
• name an executor
• be written on a printed Will form

In some cases the Will may be legally valid but not all of the estate is disposed of by the Will as some or all of the beneficiaries have died before the deceased. If this is the case, BVD may have an interest in the absenceestate not disposed of by the Will if there are no entitled relatives. This is called a “lapsed share” or “undisposed of residue”. If you are the executor of a Will in these circumstances, you should make enquiries for entitled relatives. If there are none, you should refer the estate to BVD.

If BVD collects the lapsed share or undisposed of residue and any entitled relatives come forward later, they will be referred to the executor(s) who should consider their claim. If the executor is satisfied they are entitled to the money then BVD will return it to them. Details of executors can be found on Grants of Probate and are available to search online.

Funerals

BVD does not become involved in making funeral arrangements or give instructions for a funeral to be held. If there is no one who is available or willing to arrange a funeral, then the Local Authority has a legal duty to do so under Section 46(i) of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984.

FuneralThe funeral expenses takeare precedencethe overfirst allcharge otheron debtsthe andestate mustwhich bemeans paidpayment firstof fromthem thetakes estate.priority Inover someall cases,other debts. Some asset holders, such as banks or building societies, mayare agreewilling to releasepay fundsthe funeral expenses from the deceased’s account to cover funeral costs before an administrator hasis been appointed but thisultimately decisionthat restsis witha thematter assetfor holder.them.

Before arrangingmaking afuneral funeral,arrangements ityou ismay advisablewish to:to check:

• Confirm that there are enoughsufficient funds in the estate to coverpay thefor costs.

  it

• Checkthat whether an asset holder is willing to paysettle the funeralaccount expenses directly from those funds.

  funds

Floral, or other tributes, are the responsibility of the person ordering them, and the cost of these is not claimable from the estate.

It may be possible to claim back other expenses that could be incurred in dealing with an estate before an administrator (the person responsible for dealing with the estate) is appointed, such as the costs of a funeral tea or a Wake; receipts must always be kept in order to make a claim but you should bear in mind that reimbursement is ultimately a matter for the administrator to agree. If the administrator considers that the costs are not reasonable, were not incurred for the benefit of the estate or cannot be justified, then they may not be reimbursed.

Memorials

Whilst the reasonable cost of a memorial headstone is a legal liability of the estate, it is advisable not to give instructions for a memorial until it is known who will administer the estate and they are consulted. If entitled relatives are traced, for example, they may take a different view on a memorial. If you have already placed an order with a stonemason,stonemason you could become contractually liable for payment.

Termination of tenancies

Where the deceased was living in rented accommodation it may be in the best interests of the estate for the tenancy to be terminated before an administrator has been appointed in order to prevent rent arrears building up, and to release the property back to the landlord.

Considering any interest BVD may have in the estate, wethey would have no objection to this being done provided that:

• the furniture and effects are disposed to the best advantage of the estate
• the deceased’s personal papers and details of assets and liabilities are retained and protected

Notices to Quit (to terminate tenancies) should be served on the Public Trustee.Trustee See the GOV.UK website for further information:at

Refer an estate

Cases should be referred to BVD as soon as possible after the death.death Pleaseusing completethe a Case referral form - BV1A

Freedom andof emailInformation / DPA disclosure

The reasons that we can use to collect or use your personal data are set out in law. Most of the time, this withwill be because it is necessary for us in our work as a scannedpublic copybody (Article 6(1)(e) of the deathGeneral certificateData Protection Regulation, the law which applies to submit.BV1A@governmentlegal.gov.uk personal  data). Additionally or alternatively it may be necessary to comply with a legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR).

WeIn prefersome circumstances, personal data may be passed to receivea newthird estateparty referralssuch byas email. an However,administrator postalin referralsorder canto beenable acceptedthat withthird party to pursue a completedlegitimate BV1Ainterest referralsuch formas the administration of an Estate (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).

When you refer an estate to BVD it may be necessary to pass your name and acontact cleardetails photocopyto ofthird theparties deathsuch certificateas (doexecutors, notrelatives encloseor their representatives should they claim the originalestate.

Write certificate)to sentBVD to:at:

You must include:

• a fully completed BV1A referral form
• the original death certificate (if the death certificate is not provided the referral will be rejected and papers returned)

Please do notnot, submitat the referral stage, send any otherdocuments, papers,papers or cash, valuables or keys. keys etc; if you do so, these will be returned to you. Valuables should be listed and protected pending an administrator being appointed.

ExceptWith forthe exception of the funeral expenses, no assets of the estate shouldcan be collected ornor liabilities paid until such time as an administrator has been appointed.

Once you refer the estate,referral youhas willbeen getreceived, aBVD confirmationwill emailaim withto youradd, BVwithin referencefive number.working Ifdays, itdetails appearsof the estate isto bonaits vacantia,unclaimed welist will contact you later to requestenable moreexecutors detailsor aboutentitled therelatives deceased’sto estate.come Ifforward theand Bonafor VacantiaBVD Divisionto takesgive onup the administration,Crown’s ainterest section 27 Notice will be published in the Londonestate. If Gazette.

Freedomevidence ofis Informationreceived / DPA disclosure

The reasons that weBVD canhas useno tointerest collect or use your personal data are set out in law. Most of the time,estate thisthey will bereturn becausethe itreferral ispapers necessaryto foryou, usand inthe ourExecutor workor asentitled arelative public(or bodytheir (Articlerepresentative) 6(1)(e)will ofbe theadvised Generalthat Datathey Protectionhave Regulation,done theso.

If lawa whichvalid appliesWill toor personalrelatives data).are Additionallynot ortraced, alternativelyBVD itwill maycontact beyou necessary to complycollect withanything aheld legalon obligationbehalf (Articleof 6(1)(c)the GDPR).

Inestate somein circumstances,order personal data may be passed to astart thirdthe partyadministration such– asthis ancan administratortake ina orderfew tomonths. enableIf thatit thirdappears partyBVD tohas pursuean a legitimate interest sucha asSection the27 administrationNotice ofwill anbe Estateplaced (Articlein 6(1)(f)the GDPR).Gazette.