When a solicitor is administering an estate, they are legally required to advertise for unknown creditors and beneficiaries under the Trustee Act 1925. Those advertisements are published as Deceased Estates notices in The Gazette— the UK's official public record.
These notices typically appear 12 to 18 months before an unclaimed estate reaches the Bona Vacantia list. Spotting a surname here gives you the earliest possible warning — and the best chance of coming forward before the estate is absorbed into the Crown.
FindMyLegacy syncs The Gazette daily and matches notices against user watchlists automatically. Search by surname below, or register free to set up automatic alerts.
Phonetic matching included — searches the last two years of notices.
Under Section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925, a personal representative (executor or administrator) who advertises for claims before distributing an estate is protected from personal liability if an unknown creditor or beneficiary later comes forward. Most solicitors therefore advertise as a matter of routine.
The notice names the deceased and gives a claim deadline — typically two months from the publication date. Strictly speaking this deadline applies to creditors, not to beneficiaries, who have longer under the intestacy rules. But responding before the deadline puts you in the best possible position.
Not every estate that appears in The Gazette will reach the BV list — many are administered normally and distributed to known relatives. But estates where no relatives come forward eventually do make it onto the list.
Deceased Estates — The Gazette
Bona Vacantia List — GLD
FindMyLegacy monitors both. Registered users receive alerts for both Gazette notices and new BV list entries matching their watchlist surnames.
Register free to save surnames to your watchlist. You will receive an email alert whenever a matching Deceased Estates notice appears in The Gazette — weeks or months before it reaches the Bona Vacantia list.
Notice data sourced from thegazette.co.uk via the official SPARQL endpoint. Updated daily. This service is for information only.