By Megan Harwood-Baynes, cost of living specialist

If Ryan Gregory turns up on your doorstep, chances are you’re about to inherit some money.

For more than two decades, Ryan has been working as an heir hunter, tracking down distant relatives from around the world and reuniting them with money they didn’t even know they were in line to inherit.

When someone dies without a will or an obvious next of kin, it is up to heir hunters to locate distant relatives or the money goes to the government and the King.

Now the international manager at Finders International, one of the bigger firms in the business, which was previously featured on the BBC’s Heir Hunters, Ryan began working for the company aged 18 when it was only a handful of people working out of a converted flat in South Kensington.

But business is booming in the world of unclaimed estates. The company now employs more than 150 people and the amount of money involved is getting bigger each year.

“When I started, it probably took five years to get a £1m estate. That was a big deal at the time, there would be a sense of gravitas to it,” he said.

“And now, as a company, we probably get million-pound-plus cases many times a week – I would imagine that is due to the vast increase in property prices.”

He is working on a case in New York that is processing through probate. After spending several years tracking down a missing nephew, one heir is now $5m richer.

‘I inherited a windfall from a stranger’

When Allan Reay, 74, died alone in Gateshead in 2022, there was no next of kin to inherit his estate, worth £28,000. Finders International quickly established that Allan was an only child who had never married or had children of his own.

When a retired North Yorkshire teacher, now living in France, got a call to say she was in line to receive part of the inheritance, she assumed it was a scam.

Joan, 82, a distant cousin of Allan’s (her father and Allan’s mother were siblings) was sceptical at first, she said. “It’s not the type of phone call that I would expect – I was definitely suspicious.”

But after her son confirmed Finders International was legitimate, she “inherited a windfall”.

“I wasn’t expecting it and I was utterly surprised. You just don’t expect something like that to happen to you. My husband and I plan to spend it on a holiday or maybe even a cruise,” she said. 

Joan hadn’t seen Allan for many decades and was one of 10 beneficiaries that were tracked down. She remembered her distant cousin as chatty and amicable.

“I am quite startled at the entire process and how Finders tracked me down in France, along with several other relations of Allan’s from both sides of his family,” she said.

Lost siblings reunited 

In 2023 two siblings who didn’t know the other existed were both handed £12,000 from a complete stranger.

Raymond and Brenda Ward received unexpected letters telling them they would inherit the estate of 90-year-old George Potter, who had died alone in a nursing home three years before with no obvious next of kin – and no recipient for his estate.

Finders International discovered that although George had no children, he did have an “illegitimate” half-brother, born 11 years before him, named Dennis Ward.

Raymond and Brenda were Dennis’s children, but from two separate relationships, which meant neither realised they had a half-sibling. 

The pair now write to each other regularly, enjoying the connection their uncle has brought them, as well as the inheritance.

How does an heir hunter track you down? 

When a case comes across their desk, Ryan’s first step is to visit the deceased’s last known address.

“We speak to the neighbours, the person at the corner shop, the local pub. If they have a particular religion, is there a community centre near by?” he said. 

They then look to see if there are any marriage records or birth certificates that may help them find any children. The UK, he explained, has pretty extensive records, but other countries may not.

“We have to cast our net pretty wide and try and find out as much as possible – especially now we are living in an age where people have children outside of marriage.”

The target for closing a case is up to three months – they have even managed to find heirs before the funeral took place – but some are more complicated, and Ryan recently clocked out a case that was 10 years old.

They use all public sources at their disposal – from public records to the British Library and open social media accounts.

When they do find someone, the reaction can be mixed.

“Sometimes there is a guilt from inheriting money from someone you didn’t know,” Ryan said. 

How does the King get hold of your assets? 

Half of Britons don’t have a will, according to research by Canada Life last year – and 41% of those who don’t have one aren’t worried about it.

But if you die without one, and if there’s no clear next of kin, all your assets could be given to either the King or the government.

There are more than 6,000 unclaimed estates in England and Wales. 

Claims must be made within 30 years of the death of the individual.

Due to a rule that dates from the Middle Ages, if a person in Cornwall dies without having made a will (also known as dying intestate), and with no surviving relatives, then the estate automatically goes to the Prince of Wales.

A similar rule is in place in Lancaster for the Duchy of Lancaster – an estate owned by the King. 

According to the most recent accounts, the duchy received £4.1m from intestate estates (before costs were taken out) in the year to September 2023.

But the duchy has previously denied that these unclaimed funds go into royal income, saying they are given to charities or used for environmental projects or to maintain properties on the estate.

For the rest of the country, if someone dies without a will and next of kin, it is passed over to the Treasury.

How do heir hunters make money?

Just under 50% of the work Finders International does is pro bono, and for the rest, they work on a commission basis.

Sometimes the lawyer handling the deceased person’s estate “can authorise a fee”.

“But we normally do the research to find people, track them down, link them to the estate and then we ask them to sign a fee agreement,” Ryan said.

What to do if you are contacted by an heir hunter

There are hundreds of amateur sleuths, hoping to capitalise on the prominence of TV shows like Heir Hunters.

So before you sign any paperwork (which may ask you to give away a chunk of any inheritance) do your research on the firm – is it legitimate?

Ryan said the first thing to do is check and see if you recognise the name the heir hunter is giving you.

“If you’ve got a letter from overseas and someone is telling you that you’ve won an amount of money that is probably too good to be true and you don’t recognise the name, I say it is a real warning sign,” he said. 

You can always consult the Bona Vacantia, the unclaimed estates list, to see if you know the person who died.

If it is a distant relative you haven’t met, you may be best employing the services of an heir hunter, but make sure you know exactly what you are signing up for.