THE details of more than 20 unclaimed estates of people who died in Colchester have been revealed by the Treasury, with hundreds of thousands of pounds of inheritance waiting for a rightful heir.

The latest Treasury list shows there are almost 6,000 unclaimed estates across the UK – and 21 of those belong to people who died in Colchester.

It is estimated that around £80million is sitting in limbo in Treasury coffers. The Treasury only advertises estates with a net value of £500 or above.

Unclaimed estates usually occur when the deceased has not left a will or the beneficiaries of the will cannot be traced – and the next of kin, following the rules of intestacy, cannot be found either.

Fiona Mainwaring, Head of Wills and Probate at law firm ORJ, said: “There are clear rules in place to distribute an estate to family members when there is no will in place, following a strict order of priority that starts with married or civil partners and ends with half aunts and uncles.”

The surnames for unclaimed estates in Colchester include: Adekanmibi, Braybrook, Campbell, Carrera, Clausing, Comi, Gould, Hudson, Hunter, Kelly and Lennon.

More details of the estates and how to claim can be found at orj.co.uk/6000- unclaimed-estates-revealed/.

Fiona said anyone who believes they might have been left something in a will can search the probate records, so they know who to contact when the estate is dealt with.