Beneficiaries

Have you received a purple envelope from us and have some more questions?

Perhaps you have already signed a contract with us?

 

What is Intestacy?

Intestacy refers to when someone dies without leaving a valid will (known as dying intestate). When this occurs, the deceased’s estate must be passed out according to certain rules. If the deceased’s nearest next of kin cannot be located, the estate is passed to the Crown to hold. This is where we come in – by locating the estate on the “Bona Vacantia” list (the “ownerless goods” list), we trace back the deceased’s family tree until we find the closest (in terms of relation) living ancestor(s).

Why have I Been Contacted?

You have been contacted as we believe that you – or someone in relation to you – may be a beneficiary to one of these intestate estates. Upon our initial contact, we request that you get in touch – be it via email, telephone, or physical mail – to progress our research!

Once we hear back from you, we will ask you to sign a contract – should the connection be confirmed by yourself. This is a legal requirement, as it grants us permission to act on your behalf with resolving the estate.

Is This a Scam & How to Protect Yourself?

Often, when you have been found as a beneficiary to an intestate estate, you will receive many letters at once, from various different heir hunting firms. For many, this situation can seem overwhelming – irrespective of the fact that free money often sounds too good to be true.

For this reason, it is imperative that you check the legitimacy of any firm thoroughly. For extra reassurance, you should:

  • Check any points of contact for spelling and grammar issues;
  • Check the authenticity of the establishment on Companies House;
  • Check the Information Commissioner’s Office – any GDPR compliant business should be found here;
  • Check the company’s social media channels and website, checking for grammatical errors. Cross reference information found on the website with other online channels, checking for inconsistencies;
  • Check the company’s online testimonials to see what previous clients have to say.

Why You Should Sign with Family Wise?

Here at Family Wise, we operate by taking the entirety of the risk and will never ask you for money – we only want to give it to you! Following the conclusion of an estate, we will take an agreed percentage commission from the final sum of money – so, if the estate ends up insolvent, you are never left out of pocket! This is a contrast to how most other heir hunting firms work: many charge an hourly rate, whilst also taking a percentage commission at the end of the process.

Just take a look at what some of our previous clients have to say!

Want to join the Family Wise team?

Looking for the next step in your career? Interested in genealogy and wanting to make a living doing what you love?

Get in touch to hear about career opportunities!

Get in touch

We have helped thousands of beneficiaries in over 40 countries and across 6 continents - find out how we can help you!

More Success Stories
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Linda Young

I learned from Family Wise that I was the beneficiary from the estate of a relative who died intestate. Although his estate was in the UK and I am in the US which made things a bit more complicated., Family Wise went out of their way to make getting the estate settled as easy for me as possible and although it took some years, they were diligent in keeping me up to date as to what was happening and ultimately securing the funds were sent to me. They are a very professional firm and I would recommend them without hesitation to anyone needing their types of services.

25 September 2023
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Peter Warneford-Bygrave

Totally out of the blue I was contacted by Family Wise Limited that I had a distant relative that had died with an unclaimed estate. With a 120 year researched family tree thrown in and a cheque I received today, all I can say is well done Family Wise Limited, and thank you to the very pleasant staff.

21 June 2022
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Tammy Byrd

Peyton from Family Wise Limited was very helpful. My family is in the United States, so this process was strange to us. Peyton was patient with us and walked us through the process. Thank you so much for your professionalism.

21 June 2022
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Bob Prior

Highly professional and efficient are the ways I would describe Family Wise Ltd. Whilst the findings of my inheritance were not life-changing amounts, the service I received was superb. Thank you so much for your efforts Family Wise, it was greatly appreciated.

21 June 2022
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Avis Rose

Thank you all at Family Wise for all the work that was carried out to recover money. Was very interesting to receive the family tree.

8 September 2022
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Carole Rust

Excellent service and through Family Wise, I discovered things I never knew regarding my mother

8 September 2022
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Christopher McKeown

Family Wise are a legitimate company and provide excellent service.
They were able to resolve the payment of a deceased relative’s funds to myself and family members for a reasonable admin fee.

8 September 2022
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Margaret Rees-Lee

Family Wise contacted us (we’re in Australia) last year about our brother. They were very professional and trustworthy. I do not hesitate in recommending them.

8 September 2022
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Michael Woolsey

The service is excellent it was in regard to my late wife’s uncle Brian Christopher Smith, who just received a letter about the family’s history. My wife lost touch with a lot of her family on her mother’s side. Thank you for all your help.

8 September 2022
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Ruth Cameron

My experience with Family Wise has been a very good one. From the beginning all the way through to the conclusion. The communication has been outstanding, they have always told us when they would contact us and they always were prompt in doing so. Questions were answered well and with compassion. Whenever I have spoken to one of the team, they have been so lovely, kind, helpful and happy to do so. At the end we each got a Family tree, which was a lovely thing for us to keep. Thank you all at Family Wise, I have really appreciated all you have done for us.

16 January 2024
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Peter Ranford

This company is very professional in all aspects of the word. Dylan who was over looking after my case was carrying and considerate. He made me feel at ease all the way through. We thanks him for all his advice and help. My case did not have the conclusion i wanted but no fault of this company.

16 January 2024
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Michae Guthrie
We are very thankful family wise. They went the extra mile to find us and have been professional,. diligent and helpful Kirsty Gray and her team are first class and pleasurer to deal with.
8 September 2024
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Stephen Roper
Kirsty and the team were absolutely amazing words cannot discibe how very grateful I am. I hadn't known anything about my past from infant onwards. Family wise created my family tree and I found relatives I hadn't known existed. Outstanding from the beginning of the the journey to the end. Many thanks to Kirsty and not forgetting the rest of the team.
23 December 2023
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Barbara Havey
Fantastic work. Big family to trace, so much work. Thank you
13 January 2024
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Clive Haylett
We were contacted by Family in a very sensitive and personal way to be informed of a relative whom we had no knowledge of had passed away. They are a very professional company and did everything they promised and kept us informed throughout the process. They even provided myself and siblings with a family tree at the end of process so on behalf of us all we would like to thank Family Wise and would recommend them to anyone.
21 April 2024
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Chris Colley
When my father passed away six years ago, we were unaware of any assets he may have had, he had been in a nursing home so we presumed that they had taken any assets towards the costs of looking after him. So it was a surprise when Family Wise contacted us unexpectedly to say they had identified something and that they would recover it and share it with myself and my siblings. Several months later we received a cheque representing our share. It was not a huge amount but it was still welcome. My dealings with the company have been pleasant, their responses have been prompt and factual. All in all it has been a pleasure dealing with them and I would highly recommend them.
9 September 2024
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