THOUSANDS of euro left
by Irish people who died without making a will lies
unclaimed in a special deposit account held by the
Government.
Figures from the Department of Public Expenditure
and Reform show that almost 2.5 million euro is
currently held in the Intestate Estates Fund.
The cash is the proceeds from the estates of people
who passed away with no known next-of-kin and for
whom no relatives ever came forward to make a claim.
The Intestate Estates Fund was set up under The
Succession Act 1965.
Cash accumulations from it are from time-to-time
transferred to the Dormant Accounts Fund for
distribution to charitable causes. A sum of 4.4
million euro in intestate monies was transferred to
the Dormant Accounts Fund in 2007.
A Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
spokesperson said when a person’s estate falls to
the State, it is administered by the Chief State
Solicitor under the direction of the Attorney
General.
Newspaper advertisements may be published in a bid
to locate eligible relatives.
When it is established that there are no known
next-of-kin, the proceeds of the estate are then
paid into the Intestate Estates Fund deposit
account.
"Where next-of-kin come forward, the grant in favour
of the State can be revoked, if obtained, or if not
obtained, the Chief State Solicitor’s Office will
withdraw from the proceedings in favour of the
next-of-kin,” said the spokesperson.
A total of just over 2,442,177 euro is currently
held in the Intestate Estates Fund, the department
said.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Irish-born emigrants, who
died intestate in England and Wales feature on a
list of some 15,000 unclaimed estates published by
the British Treasury.
The list features the late estates of many widowed
or unmarried Irish people who had no children. It is
updated daily and features new and historical cases.
Many of the estates are worth little but others
include bank savings, life insurance policies and
property valued at tens of thousands of euro. |
