The Government Legal Department’s (GLD) recent decision to remove the Bona Vacantia list from public view, following reports of fraudulent claims against unclaimed estates, has significant implications not just for probate professionals, but for the wider financial services community.
While the move has drawn mixed reactions, it highlights a challenge familiar to all sectors dealing with client assets and estates: how to strike the right balance between transparency and security.
As professional probate researchers, we support the withdrawal of the public list. Fraudulent claims against unclaimed estates undermine confidence in the system and put genuine heirs, and the professionals working on their behalf, at risk. However, restricting access to information is only part of the solution. This moment presents an opportunity to strengthen processes, enhance verification standards, and ensure estates are transferred safely to those legally entitled.
A shared responsibility
Much like regulated financial advisers and estate planners, probate genealogists operate at the intersection of compliance, client care, and due diligence. Our role is to identify next of kin, verify entitlement, and help ensure that estates are distributed correctly. We do this in collaboration with SRA-regulated solicitors and other professionals, backed by specialist insurance such as missing beneficiary cover - a safeguard that protects all parties should an heir later come forward.
This kind of risk management mirrors the financial services sector’s emphasis on regulatory compliance and consumer protection. Just as advisers rely on anti-fraud checks and client verification, the probate world depends on secure, verified processes to prevent false claims and misallocation of assets.
Balancing access and security
Restricting public access to estate information significantly reduces the potential for opportunistic fraud. But it also raises an important consideration: how do we maintain fairness and ensure genuine beneficiaries are not locked out of the process?
The answer lies in controlled transparency: Allowing access through trusted, regulated channels and accredited professionals, rather than open public databases. In practice, that means ensuring only those with a legitimate, verifiable reason can view sensitive estate information.
By doing so, we can uphold the principle of openness while minimising exposure to criminal exploitation, a challenge the financial services industry itself knows all too well.
Collaboration is key
Fraudulent wills and false inheritance claims are not victimless crimes. They threaten the integrity of the system and erode public confidence. But with proper oversight and collaboration between regulated solicitors, probate genealogists, and financial advisers, we can strengthen safeguards while maintaining fairness.
Ultimately, protecting inheritance requires a multi-professional approach built on due diligence, regulation, and insured processes. By aligning our standards across the legal, financial, and genealogical sectors, we can ensure that estates, and the families connected to them, remain protected from fraud while preserving the trust that underpins the entire system.
