Geni Forum » Suggestion Box
Heir Hunting, let Geni do the heir hunting and give away 35 BILLION DOLLARS!
(8 posts)-
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Just watched a moving program about a 2nd world war orphan that got reunited with a large family in Canada she never knew existed thanks to a Heir hunter. The usual sob story :-), but very interesting to see how the heir hunting agencies are like flies trying to find heirs for unclaimed estates. I'm sure "detectives" must be paid very well with that eagerness they displayed, they must take enormous fees.
Could you perhaps make a public unclaimed estates by countries section where we could enter those estates that still are claimable, and then any matching Geni profile would automatically get a notification "You might have unclaimed inheritance in xxx, we have a match with your relative xxxx and an unclaimed estate"
for UK see:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/lifestyle/tv_and_radio/heirhunters_estates1.shtml
http://www.copfs.gov.uk/About/roles/qltr/UnclaimAdvertisEstFor US you even have a central database.
$35 BILLION OF UNCLAIMED MONEY AND PROPERTY!!!! held by U.S. federal and state government agencies, Canada and others.
If by signing up to Geni you would get the chance to win the lottery in form of inheritance, I bet you will see an increased interest for people to add details to profiles and make profiles public VERY quickly :-)
Can you imagine the buzz when the first heirs found via Geni would talk about it to the press, you will get a lot of people making sure they are part of the lottery :-)
Unclaimed Estates are claimable for 10 years here in UK, if not claimed the State keeps the money. I don't see any of the other "social genealogy networks" offer this feature? Don't let this opportunity slip, it would be a great selling point!! Especially in these credit crunch times.
Posted 1 year ago # -
That does sound fascinating. Have to do your best to not make it sound like the foreign lottery spam, though!
Posted 1 year ago # -
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I would like to claim estates that aren't even mine to claim...can you also work this into the UI?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Geni Team
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Great idea, @od!
Posted 1 year ago # -
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Unclaimed money ends up with the state usually after 12 years (UK) and its normal to insure when a payout happens in case other beneficiaries claim later and get some or indeed all the money.
A lot of scams are around where people are EMAILED from someone pretending to be from the BBC who show the "Heir Hunters" program (now in its 3rd series) its a scam and asks for money up front, or loads of personal info to get at your bank or card details.
Real Heir Hunters work on commission based on "no win no fee" basis and NEVER ask for money upfront. They usually make contact by phone, or letter, and sometimes personal visits.
Sometimes beneficiaries are traced by Heir Hunters working for lawyers on a direct fee basis, this is where a will is made, they then tend to be called probate detectives or probate researchers, and usually will disclose details of the estate once you are confirmed as beneficiary. Paying out can take months or years.
if you are seriously interested in learning more read these informative article
heirhunters-association.org.uk/articles/
Posted 1 month ago # -
I had some rich relatives but my connection to them was disowned. :'(
Posted 1 month ago # -
I guess that means I can't go back to ...probably England... and claim the estate left by my 6xGreat Grandfather's kin, huh? Ah well, I guess it will remain in the hands of their sister's descendants.
Posted 1 month ago # -
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Lol...I missed OD...
Posted 2 weeks ago #
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