Finders International can now help locate both UK and overseas assets, vital if you are administering an estate on behalf of relatives or potential beneficiaries to an estate.

We’ve run this service for years, but our new and improved version for assets in the UK means we can draw together all the resources that can currently be checked for funds which have been overlooked or left in accounts that have been forgotten.

Our search checks:

• More than 150 financial institutions
• Shareholdings
• Life companies
• Mutual and friendly societies
• Pension fund administrators

Financial penalties

Probate practitioners need to note that the potential consequences of failing to identify all the financial assets during estate administrations include penalties and additional taxes, if the administrators or executors fail to comply with the new Inheritance Tax penalty regime. This could also mean claims for negligence are put into effect.

Practitioners need to inform administrators or executors of all asset identification checks they need to pursue and of the potential consequences of inaccurate IHT returns. Our search takes up to fifty days to complete, but updates are available during the search time if requested. You will be notified of any other findings or positive responses if they come in after the fifty days.

Applications forms

To order a UK Missing Asset Search, please download and complete the application form or submit online. (The form needs to be filled in and signed by a solicitor/executor). Send this to us with a certified copy of the deceased’s death certificate and we will confirm costs with you.

When it comes to overseas asset searches, complete this form and let us know which countries you want us to search for unclaimed assets. Include specific details, if you have them, such as where the deceased lived or worked, and how long for. All costs will be confirmed before we start work. We’ll also advise on feasibility.

For further information on this service, please contact Andrew Ritson, phone: 020 7490 4935 or email [email protected]