HEIRS
It’s quite right that when you receive correspondence from companies like our own, that you check them out as much as you can before you make contact with them. We will try to explain to you why we have written to you and why you can safely contact and sign with us.
Intestate/Testate estates (Scotland)
Basically, if someone dies in Scotland and has left a valid and lawful Will, this means that they have died Testate. An Executor has been detailed in the Will and will follow the wishes of the deceased person as per the instructions contained within the Will.
Intestate means that a person has died in Scotland without leaving a valid and lawful Will, or usually, no Will at all. Believe it or not, this is a relatively common occurrence, for a number of reasons. Some people believed that if they made a Will, they would die, silly but true. Others made Wills during their lifetime, however, at the time of their death, the Will could not be enacted as it was never signed, witnessed or the heirs in the Will had passed away prior to the death of the deceased.
The main reason for Intestacy, however, is that quite simply, they never made a Will at any time.
In order for an Intestate estate to be dealt with through the Scottish legal system, the legal blood relatives of the deceased have to be identified, located and make a claim on the estate. That’s usually the reason we have written to you, as we believe that you are a potential heir to a deceased’s estate we are researching.
HEIRS
It’s quite right that when you receive correspondence from companies like our own, that you check them out as much as you can before you make contact with them. We will try to explain to you why we have written to you and why you can safely contact and sign with us.
Intestate/Testate estates (Scotland)
Basically, if someone dies in Scotland and has left a valid and lawful Will, this means that they have died Testate. An Executor has been detailed in the Will and will follow the wishes of the deceased person as per the instructions contained within the Will.
Intestate means that a person has died in Scotland without leaving a valid and lawful Will, or usually, no Will at all. Believe it or not, this is a relatively common occurrence, for a number of reasons. Some people believed that if they made a Will, they would die, silly but true. Others made Wills during their lifetime, however, at the time of their death, the Will could not be enacted as it was never signed, witnessed or the heirs in the Will had passed away prior to the death of the deceased.
The main reason for Intestacy, however, is that quite simply, they never made a Will at any time.
In order for an Intestate estate to be dealt with through the Scottish legal system, the legal blood relatives of the deceased have to be identified, located and make a claim on the estate. That’s usually the reason we have written to you, as we believe that you are a potential heir to a deceased’s estate we are researching.
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Contact LetterThis is when we are trying to locate a particular person but have had to write to a number of addresses in order to locate them. These letters include some basic genealogy details to help you confirm whether or not you are the person we are looking for and asking if you would contact us so that we can explain the estate to you
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Information LetterThis is where we believe that although at this point in the genealogical investigation we do not believe that you are an heir, we think that you may hold certain information that would help us with either information on the deceased, or knowledge of an heir we are trying to locate
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Agreement LetterOur letter to you gives the name of the person who has sadly passed away and explains who we are and why we are contacting you. It also explains about the Agreement that is included with the letter (explained below). This can sometime be our introduction letter and is the first thing you receive from us. Many people have no idea of any relationship to the deceased and are therefore curious as to what it is all about. Please be reassured that you can contact us at any time and we will explain everything to you
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AgreementThis is the legal document outlining our agreed contract with you in relation to your claim on the estate. If agreed, we receive a percentage fee from the monies you receive on the completion of the estate. The fee only relates to the amount you personally receive and not on the gross/net value of the estate. If you are a resident within the UK or EU, there is also a VAT charge on our fee, for example if you get £100 and our fee is agreed as 20% plus VAT, we would be paid £20 plus £2 making a total of £22.00. Your cheque would therefore be for £78.00. There are no other charges once you have received your payment, all deductions for our fee are completed by the solicitor prior to distribution.
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Acknowledgement LetterWhen you return your signed agreement to us, we will certify the document and return a copy to you for your records, we will also give you a written explanation of your relationship to the deceased, along with any additional information we may hold at that time
IMPORTANT
If for any reason whatsoever, you receive no monies from the estate and you have signed an agreement in our favour, there is no fee payable to us for any aspect of our involvement in the estate and in representing your interest therein.
In addition, should the solicitor have carried out investigations into the estate and established that the estate is off too low a value or of negative equity, they absorb the cost of the estate work they have carried out. At no time is any legal fees charges to an individual involved in a claim on the estate if you have signed an agreement with us.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
If you are happy with proceeding with your claim on the estate, please fill in the details on the Agreement form and return it to us in the envelope provided.
If you need to talk to us first, please feel free to contact us on the number listed.
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Contact LetterThis is when we are trying to locate a particular person but have had to write to a number of addresses in order to locate them. These letters include some basic genealogy details to help you confirm whether or not you are the person we are looking for and asking if you would contact us so that we can explain the estate to you
-
Information LetterThis is where we believe that although at this point in the genealogical investigation we do not believe that you are an heir, we think that you may hold certain information that would help us with either information on the deceased, or knowledge of an heir we are trying to locate
-
Agreement LetterOur letter to you gives the name of the person who has sadly passed away and explains who we are and why we are contacting you. It also explains about the Agreement that is included with the letter (explained below). This can sometime be our introduction letter and is the first thing you receive from us. Many people have no idea of any relationship to the deceased and are therefore curious as to what it is all about. Please be reassured that you can contact us at any time and we will explain everything to you
-
AgreementThis is the legal document outlining our agreed contract with you in relation to your claim on the estate. If agreed, we receive a percentage fee from the monies you receive on the completion of the estate. The fee only relates to the amount you personally receive and not on the gross/net value of the estate. If you are a resident within the UK or EU, there is also a VAT charge on our fee, for example if you get £100 and our fee is agreed as 20% plus VAT, we would be paid £20 plus £2 making a total of £22.00. Your cheque would therefore be for £78.00. There are no other charges once you have received your payment, all deductions for our fee are completed by the solicitor prior to distribution.
-
Acknowledgement LetterWhen you return your signed agreement to us, we will certify the document and return a copy to you for your records, we will also give you a written explanation of your relationship to the deceased, along with any additional information we may hold at that time