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Details of unclaimed estates – including in Bedfordshire – have been made public by the Treasury.

When a person dies without a valid will and no one from their family steps forward to claim their assets, the estate is considered to be unclaimed.

Across the country, there are over 6,000 unclaimed estates, with around £80 million sat waiting to be claimed. It’s worth noting that the Treasury only advertises estates with a net value of £500 or more.

Surnames in Bedfordshire include Browne, Glomski, Hale and Marshall – and you can see the full list of unclaimed estates in our searchable table below.

£1 coins with the new £10 note. Photo Illustration by Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Can I claim?

According to the government website, if someone dies without leaving a valid or effective will the following are entitled to the estate in the order shown below:

husband, wife or civil partner

children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on

mother or father

brothers or sisters who share both the same mother and father, or their children (nieces and nephews)

half brothers or sisters or their children (nieces and nephews of the half blood or their children). ‘Half ’ means they share only one parent with the deceased

grandparents

uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins or their descendants)

half uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins of the half blood or their children). ‘Half’ means they only share one grandparent with the deceased.

If you are, for example, a first cousin of the deceased, you would only be entitled to share in the estate if there are no relatives above you in the order of entitlement.

Fiona Mainwaring, head of wills and probate at law firm ORJ, said: “There are clear rules in place to distribute an estate to family members when there is no will in place, following a strict order of priority that starts with married or civil partners and ends with half aunts and uncles.

“If no beneficiaries can be traced, the estate simply sits in limbo until after 30 years it becomes the property of The Crown.”

She added: “With people moving around the world more than ever, it is no surprise that it is sometimes difficult to track down the next of kin. The result is these forgotten fortunes sit dormant and are eventually surrendered.”

Are you owed a fortune? Unclaimed estates you could inherit if you have these surnames - and how to claim

Anyone who thinks they might be entitled to a share of an unclaimed estate can click here for more information and how to claim.