From our friends at Finders International:
The guys at Finders are prolific content writers and we have published many of their articles on this site, but we thought we would try something different this time. We’ve summarised four of their latest articles so that you can see which ones you would like to read in more detail. To read the whole article, simply click on the link at the end of each section…
1. How to avoid scams—inheritance AND promises of Covid-19 testing kits
Finders International, an award-winning probate research firm and member of Friends Against Scams, is warning that fraudsters are taking advantage of the current Covid-19 situation.
Scams include:
- Offers of virus testing kits
- Vaccines or miracle cures
- Overpriced or fake goods, such as anti-bacterial products, to protect yourself from coronavirus
- Shopping or medication collection services
- Home decontamination services
It’s also aware of individuals and organisations trying to cheat people into revealing bank account details or pay out large sums of money in order to receive a fake inheritance.
To learn more about the most recent scams, and how to protect yourself, read the full Finders International blog here.
2. Friends of the deceased win claim in recent court case
A recent court decision saw the friends of the deceased, rather than the man’s only child, awarded a claim in proprietary estoppel, reports Finders International, an award-winning probate research firm.
In most proprietary estoppel cases the deceased’s own family pursue the claim against the estate but, in this case, the two claimants were friends of estate-owner Anthony Sowray (the deceased). The first claimant had worked on the farm for more than 20 years and occupied 50 acres of the estate, while the second lived in a house on a small plot.
Mr Sowray had promised the first he would inherit the farm and the second that he would be left the plot of land where he lived. However, Mr Sowray did not leave a valid will and his estate passed to his estranged daughter, the defendant, resulting in this court case.
You can read the full details of how this interesting case was resolved on the Nelsons Law website.
3. Funding strain on local government during COVID-19 pandemic
Finders International, an award-winning probate research firm, is encouraging local councils to make use of its services.
Danny Curran, Finders International’s CEO and founder, said: “Our local councils, cash-strapped at the best of times, have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately affected already vulnerable members of our population.”
Finders International offers a number of free public sector services that can help. These include identifying the family of those with no known next of kin free of charge for the public sector and coroners, tracing the owners of empty homes and verifying family trees. Finders can also help with missing beneficiary insurance policies, to protect councils should another heir come to light after the distribution of a will, while the Finders International Funeral Fund provides subsidy payments towards the cost of Public Health Act (PHA) funerals in cases where there are no family.
Click here to read the full blog post.
4. An emotional rollercoaster—life as an heir hunter
The life of an heir hunter (or probate genealogist) at Finders International can be an emotional roller coaster. There are the heart-warming cases, where people are reunited or meet up for the first time, and the difficult ones, where they are tasked with passing on news about the death of family members.
For example, a recent case involved tracing the family of the crew members of a Lancaster bomber that was shot down only weeks before the end of the Second World War, with the loss of all life. Another case resulted in the reunion of two brothers who grew up believing they were only children.
Discover more about these amazing reunion stories and many more here.
