If you have one of these surnames you could be entitled to claim a fortune

29 October 2023 , 16:21

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If you have one of the surnames on the list you could be entitled to a portion of the estate (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Thousands of people may be entitled to an inheritance they never knew existed - and the secret could all be in a surname.

The death of loved ones can devastate families and it is especially sad when someone dies having lost touch with their family altogether. Many people are not aware that there is an official register of unclaimed estates that keeps a track of people who have died without leaving a will.

Many possessions in all corners of the country are never claimed and, when a certain amount of time has passed, they automatically become the ownership of the Crown. The secret of whether a person is entitled to an unclaimed estate could be contained in a surname. If you have one of the surnames on the list you could be entitled to a portion of the estate.

There is a time limit of 30 years set by officials for anyone who wants to make a claim. In a situation where somebody dies with no written will and does not have any known family their estate is passed to the Crown.

Many people are not aware that there is an official register of unclaimed estates that keeps a track of people who have died without leaving a will (Getty Images/Westend61)

If an estate is still unclaimed after the 30 year limit, it becomes permanent property of the Crown and the Treasury, reports YorkshireLive. The register of unclaimed estates is held by the Government's Bona Vacantia division - which translates as 'ownerless goods'.

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It was last updated on Wednesday, October 18 and currently hold the details of scores of such deaths of people. Some cases going back decades. If the deceased has left no will, their spouse or children have the first claim on their estate.

In the event of no spouse or children, any person who is directly descended from a grandparent of the deceased has the right to make a claim for a share of the estate. This includes siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

The following names are just a tiny selection of names on the unclaimed estates list. Below are names linked to locations in Yorkshire:

Barnsley

• Dallison
• Dunstan
• Hobson
• Leonowicz
• Millett
• Nteka
• Orr
• Sajko
• Simpson
• Smith

Batley

• Carter
• Mitchell

Beverley

• Walker

Bingley

• Carr
• Piercey
• Sadler
• Kiss

Bradford

• Bekulard
• Buterlewicz
• Campbell
• Cleminson
• Cooper
• Czorneha
• Das
• Dickson
• Durda
• Field
• Firth
• Gilbert
• Grant
• Greenwood
• Hamilton
• Hanik
• Hardy
• Harris
• Harrison
• Hawkes
• Hododryga
• Hoolahan
• Hudson
• Hughes
• Ichu
• Jackson
• Jekki
• Keenan
• Khan
• Kinnear
• Kish
• Leach
• Maltanski
• Marshall
• Martin
• Masztalerz
• McCarten
• McDonagh
• McNamara
• Mraczynska
• Naughton
• Oles
• Papp
• Patchett
• Pieris
• Priestley
• Radzevicius
• Rowbottom
• Scott-Smart
• Shah
• Singh
• Smith
• Smith
• Smith
• Storey
• Subhan
• Taylor
• Titterington
• Toth
• Trbojevic
• Walsh
• Watkins
• Whitfield
• Wilkinson
• Zawadzki
• Zielonka
• Rutkauskas
• Barker
• Bryant
• Plantagenet
• Zadelek
• Smith

Calderdale

• Hirst

Cleckheaton

• Womersley

Cottingham

• Britton
• Wardell

Dewsbury

• Green
• Hermann
• Kitson
• O'Malley
• Robinson
• Rolanski
• Smith

Doncaster

• Askew
• Bisarenka
• Cross
• Dziadecke
• Henderson
• Hughes
• Kerzac
• Krajewksi
• Ksienzyk
• Matecka
• McLoughlin
• Treu
• Whooton
• Marsden
• Jackson
• Robinson

Driffield

• Dean

Easingwold

• Bean

East Cowick

• Marcusson

• McCall

Halifax

• Stockton
• Birkby
• Blatnyk
• Fallon
• Gabrys
• Jee
• Kalinski
• Kelly
• Kennedy
• Lumb
• Mahmood
• McDonald
• Paniuta
• Park
• Simons
• Verity
• Wachowska
• Wilkinson
• Tiernan

Harrogate

• Stevenson
• Billows
• Christiansen
• Cord
• Gaythorpe
• Hartley
• Jessop
• O'Connor
• Putt
• Suffield
• Zavril

Hartshead

• Richold

Heckmondwike

• Booth

• Wood

Holme-on-Spalding-Moor

• Holdridge

Hornsea

• Cuttill

Huddersfield

• Broadley
• Graham
• Lockwood
• Kovacs
• Beck
• Clayton
• Danyi
• Gannon
• Garling
• Hill
• King
• Singh
• Singh
• Smith
• Szcerban
• Werenicz
• Whitwam
• Richardson

Hull

• Hallett
• May
• Ward
• Cunningham
• Rogers
• Murray
• Davison
• Featherstone
• Hale-Smith
• Mythwytch
• Springfield
• Wainman
• Warcup
• Wilson
• Hall
• Holliday
• Johnson
• Knowles
• Maudsley
• Harrison
• Mills
• Taylor
• McCarthy
• McGilvey
• Ribir
• Shaw
• Lofthouse

Ilkley

• Armitage

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Keighley

• Lukomski
• Lynch
• Mortimer
• Reddihough
• Watson

Kirk Hammerton

• Leadley

Kirklees

• Smith

Knaresborough

• Stoney

Leeds

• Majczak
• Jackson-Ward
• Andrews
• Arnold
• Avalon
• Beaumont
• Belaj
• Birkett
• Browne
• Bryll
• Burnham
• Carter
• Catton
• Clifford
• Cooke
• Crawley
• Czyz
• Davies
• Dingle
• Dolan
• Duggan
• Dzenis
• Ellis
• Ellis
• Fay
• Fiscor
• Fletcher
• Garnett
• Gilmore
• Gilroy
• Goodwin
• Habshaw
• Hammond
• Hart
• Hartley
• Henderson
• Higgins
• Holdsworth
• Hoult
• Howden
• Hudson
• Hurcombe
• Isaacs
• James
• Jones
• Jones
• Jones
• Jones
• Karklinis
• Kmet
• Kutkevicius
• Landy
• Lewis
• Lonsborough
• Love
• Mann
• McBride
• McDermott
• McKean
• McLaren
• Miskiw
• Moore
• Morris
• Mullan
• Mullen
• Murphy
• Murray
• Murray
• O'Brien
• O'Hosi
• O'Shea
• O'Sullivan
• Podola
• Pollitt
• Pylypenko
• Raudsepp
• Rhodes
• Robinson
• Rooney
• Routledge
• Samuel
• Scott
• Sheriden
• Singh
• Smith
• Smith
• Smith
• Sowden
• Stewart
• Stinson
• Svetovio
• Szostak
• Taylor
• Taylor
• Thompson
• Todd
• Voulgaris
• Vukotic
• Walton
• Watson
• Whelan
• Wilcox
• Williams
• Winfield
• Winter
• Wood
• Yusuff
• Zlobicki
• Cooke
• Barker
• Burton
• Davis
• Devlin
• Kruger
• Taylor

Leyburn

• Moody

Mexborough

• Evans
• Richards

Mirfield

• Hussain
• Handley
• O'Loughlin
• Wood

Normanton

• Wilson
• Wright

Ossett

• Eley

Pontefract

• Mills
• Cuthbert
• Hawkes
• Hofmanis
• Howarth
• Levine
• Palgan
• Turner

Rotherham

• Flavell
• Hunter
• Koczy
• Softley
• Southorn
• Turner
• Whitfield

Scarborough

• Bevan
• Catsourides
• Hunt
• James
• Lighting
• Middleton
• Pullan

Selby

• Hinds
• Wilkinson

Sheffield

• Watson
• Bailey
• Ali-Bin-Ali
• Allen
• Box
• Brown
• Casson
• Cooper
• Davies
• Dejneka
• Donaghy
• Donovan
• Fletcher
• Hamer
• Hill
• Hoyle
• Ibbotson
• Jamieson
• Johanes
• Juhasz
• Keatley
• Kolencik
• Little
• Littlewood
• McDermott
• McGinty
• Moore
• Murphy
• Naylor
• Oldale
• Parmar
• Pegg
• Prystasz
• Rollett
• Ronksley
• Shannon
• Staniforth
• Taylor
• Taylor
• Thomas
• Treddinick
• Wainwright
• Walker
• Watson
• Wheatcroft
• White
• Whitehead
• Wilkinson
• Williams
• Wood
• Yates
• Molloy
• Wazir

Shipley

• Cordingley
• Horvath
• Knight
• McReynolds
• Ogden
• Zieminska

Skipton

• Clay

Sowerby Bridge

• Stansfield

Thirsk

• Gibbon

Todmorden

• Butterworth
• Dovanski

Wakefield

• Baker
• Bray
• Calvert
• Center
• Gilmour
• James
• Matthews
• Rimsha
• Smialek
• Woodhead
• Cleator
• Green
• Leigh

Withernsea

• Tully
• Sanderson

York

• Cook
• Egan
• Greenstreet
• Hooker
• Hraj
• Jillings
• Knight
• Matthews
• Normane
• Smith
• Thompson
• Yamazaki
• Ellis
• Husein
• Prokopiw

Full details of each surname can be found on Gov.uk here. And if you believe you have a claim, information on how to proceed can be found here.

Gregory Ford