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Is the estate insolvent?

The estate is insolvent if the deceased has left more debts than funds to settle them. If this happens, any money must be used to pay the debts.

Funeral expenses are the first legal charge against any estate. So the funeral director (or, if their bill has been paid by someone else, the person responsible for paying it) has first claim. Only when this bill has been paid can anyone else including other creditors make a claim on what is left.

You should not refer insolvent estates to the Treasury Solicitor. They will not accept the estate as there will be nothing for them to collect once the creditors have been paid.

What is the value of the estate?

If the estate is only marginally solvent, it may still be uneconomical for the Treasury Solicitor to get involved — see small estates below.

Small estates

When an estate consists only of cash of £500 or less, you can keep the money and do not have to refer the case to the Treasury Solicitor. When an estate consists of a cash residue of over £500 but under £2,000, you should refer the case and send the money to the Treasury solicitor at the same time.

In all these small cases, the Treasury Solicitor will assume that you are not aware of any entitled relatives and that the deceased died without a Will. In all cases the Treasury Solicitor will need to have at least the following information:

• the deceased's full name and marital status
• the actual date and place of their death (and, if this a residential home or hostel, the date of the deceased's admission and their last private address if admission was recent)
• if the deceased died at or had recently occupied a private address, confirmation that the tenancy has been terminated, that no rent is due and that furniture and belongings have been disposed of
  

If there are personal belongings that you do not think have any saleable value, you can dispose of them as you wish. If you believe that some of them (usually jewellery) may have value, you can arrange to sell them through a local firm of reputable auctioneers.

If an estate has a net cash value of £500 and belongings that appear to be saleable, these should be sold and if the net estate then exceeds £500, you should refer the estate to the Treasury Solicitor.

Get in touch

If you are in any doubt about whether an estate should be referred to the Treasury Solicitor, or need any further information regarding ownerless property (bona vacantia) or the Treasury Solicitor’s requirements, then please get in touch.

Treasury Solicitor's Office (BV)
One Kemble Street
London
WC2B 4TS

Tel. 020 7210 3116/3117/3239
Fax. 020 7210 3104
Email:
bvinfo@tsol.gsi.gov.uk

How to refer a case to the Treasury Solicitor

If you are satisfied that this is an estate that should be referred to the Treasury Solicitor, then you can either complete the referral form using the deceased person notification form link below or download and return to the above address.

Sending papers and valuables

When you send papers and valuables to the Treasury Solicitor, please follow the procedures below to assist with security and safe transit:

• all documents of value such as title deeds and share certificates should be scheduled and sent by recorded delivery
• credit/debit and store cards should be cut before you send them, to avoid fraud
• all bank or building society passbooks should be scheduled and sent by recorded delivery
• please do not send cash through the post
• please make cheques payable to The Treasury Solicitor, and write the case reference and name of the deceased on the back
• please keep jewellery somewhere safe until the Treasury Solicitor sends you instructions on how to dispose of it

• Fill in the deceased person notification form online Opens new window

• Download the deceased person notification form (PDF, 55K)

• Download the deceased person property form (where a freehold or leasehold property is owned by deceased) (PDF, 43K)

More about referring an estate to the Treasury Solicitor

• Referring an estate to the Treasury Solicitor - introduction

• Referring an Estate to the Treasury Solicitor: entitled relatives

• Referring an estate to the Treasury Solicitor: wills