Finders International Opens Office in Edinburgh.
BBC’s Heir Hunters have officially arrived in Scotland!
At last, Scottish lawyers and councils can look forward to the same levels of professionalism and service in tracing heirs to estates as their English & Welsh counterparts.
“Risk management has been too low on the agenda in Scotland for too long” said Finders founder and MD Daniel Curran. “Identifying and locating the correct entitled beneficiaries is a serious matter and is all too often being left in the hands of amateurs or well-meaning friends or relatives. You have to ask yourself – would you leave the winding up of a relative’s Estate to someone who ‘knows a bit about genealogy’ or to an established firm, with a track record of thousands of successfully completed cases? Our analysis shows that errors of various kinds are alarmingly common on Intestacy matters.”
This means that not only are legally entitled heirs not being traced, but also that solicitors and councils around the country are leaving themselves open to substantial and significant claims.
“I have worked closely with Finders for a few years and would recommend their service which is both professional and courteous ,much valued by me and our mutual clients. Their expansion in Scotland is to be welcomed and I am confident their care and assistance will be appreciated by both the public and in the professional community.” – George Veitch of Sturrock, Armstrong & Thomson solicitors
In the UK, local independent firms of genealogists used on this informal basis have been closed down and worse still, fraud investigations have taken place and there are now heir hunters residing in prison!
Hence there is an immediate need for the legal community to address their procedural processes. Luckily for Scotland, Finders International are now available through their offices in Edinburgh to offer a wide range of services which will vastly improve the quality of service offered to their clients by Scottish solicitors.
Finders International have also launched a website listing all unclaimed estates of persons of Scottish origin, held by the Crown in England & Wales at www.unclaimedestates.scot You can search or browse through this website and if you recognise a name, make contact! There are nearly 300 Estates still unclaimed on this website.
Finders International will identify and locate the correct entitled heirs to an intestacy. Missing beneficiaries named in a Will, missing heirs to trusts, land and other assets can also be found.
All our work is secured and insured through our 18 year relationship with AVIVA. We can obtain Bonds of Caution, missing beneficiary and missing will insurance, search for assets and repatriate a wide range of funds from overseas sources through our expert Asset Valuation and transfer services.
And when the Estate is ready for distribution we can prepare a distribution schedule, or check the solicitors figures free of charge and carry out a Bankruptcy search on individuals residing overseas before they are paid, thus avoiding a potentially calamitous risk at the final hurdle.
We work in an unregulated industry and have striven to raise standards, quality of service and professionalism to a level that we feel Scotland has long deserved.
We are working with highly skilled professionals, carefully selected for their knowledge and thoroughness and our Senior Manager in Scotland is herself an Edinburgh resident. Backed by our long-standing reputation for a fast efficient and friendly service, whilst maintaining the highest standards, we look forward to forming long and productive partnerships with solicitors, councils, hospitals and others for many years to come.