Rec'd inheritence letter - what would you do?

[Debbru]

Saturday I received an airmail letter from Hoopers Probate Genealogists in London. It said that their research indicated I was the granddaughter of "name" nee "maiden name" (this info is correct) and that I may be due an inheritence from her estate.

I googled Hoopers online - everything I found is positive - they have been in business since 1923. They research genealogy for lawyers and executors of estates in Great Britain and Ireland in order to settle estates. Nothing I found indicated that this was a scam.

But it still seems a little strange - my grandmother came to the US from Ireland some time around 1920 - married here and had four children (my father & his siblings). She died when I was 2 in 1956. How could she possibly have an unsettled estate in Ireland from 90 years ago???

Their letter asks that I call them ASAP in London. From my "googling" it seems like they would get 20% of the inheritence, not from me, but from the distribution when I get my 80%.

Has anyone ever encountered anything like this?

 

[DawnM]

That seems very odd.

I would proceed with extreme caution......no personal info given and certainly no "pay to find out" scams.

I once receieved a similar thing......a letter saying "we have info on money owed to you." They actually DID have info on an insurance amount I had overpaid years prior and it was legit, but I was very careful in giving out info.

Dawn

 

[rantnnravin]

i would be very leery of this
a quick googling gave me this:

http://genealogy.about.com/od/basics/ss/scams.htm

http://www.fraudguides.com/consumer-inheritance-scam.asp

 

[Bethshaya]

Its a scam. If you call them, there will be a huge charge on your phone bill. Sometimes as much as $2000. This is how they sucker you in.

There is no reason why an estate would not be settled that many years after death, especially being that she was not living in the UK or Ireland many, many years before her death. What could she possibly have there that she didn't take with her when she left? She would have liquidated and closed any bank accounts. Property would have been in her husbands name unless he died before she left.

 

[NYCDiane]

The first thing you must know is that while they may have had your grandma's name, maiden name correct, that information is easily attainable anywhere and they could have tracked you down through ancestry.com or something similar. They could have found a death index and are hoping there is some estate left that they can "find" for you and get their 20%.

Second, if she died 40+ years ago, what possible "estate" could be left??? Unless she had property that was held with other relatives back in her home country but even then, it doesn't sound right.

The only thinig similar to this that I am personally aware of is when my friend was good friends with a much older couple. The husband died. A few years later the wife died. My friend was her POA in life and also had joint tenancy on most of her accounts, etc. Well, when the woman died, my friend had to do all the probate work and she had to send letters to every known living relative here in the US and also in Norway letting them know she passed away, etc.

I would be a bit careful in dealing with these people. If you're going to call them, do it with an international calling card (very cheap rates) so your phone number doesn't show up on their caller ID. If at all possible, record the phone calls. Ask them tough questions ---- how could there be an estate after 40 years? How did they find you? What "estate" is there, etc.... If they stumble over their answers, you'll have YOUR answer.

Good luck!

 

[Kristina]

Maybe 10 years ago my Mom was contacted first by mail from lawyers handling the estate of a cousin of my Grandfather who had moved to the states about 80 years prior. She didn't even know who he was. I can't really remember exactly but eventually a gentleman came to her door unannounced and told my Mom if she signed something she would get her money faster..but they would take a fee. She did not and recieved every penny due her after a few months and without having to do anything herself.

The lawyers were apparently obliged to investigate the family tree and split the money up amongst all relatives and Mom even got a huge stack of papers with the whole family tree documented. It was pretty cool.

My uncle on the other hand when visited by the lawyer or whoever he was, panicked, signed the papers and only recieved a small fraction of what my Mom recieved.

I hope it turns out to be legit for you but if it is, from what I learned just from Mom's experience is if it's yours and they've found you don't sign away anything!

 

[lastminutemom]

I would not call them, rather I would email them

rcc@hoopers.co.uk

and ask them to contact me and explain that you can't make international calls from your phone.

I would ask, in the email, for them to share the details with you.

 

[djbleach]

I'd say it is 100% a scam.
I wouldn't call. Or like suggested use a calling card.
If they knew how to get intouch with you. They'd just send you a check.
Plus, they wouldn't get any percentage. They'd get their money from the estate, not out of your money. It would be would ever percentage 5% or something like that from the total estate.
A friend of mine had a rich uncle who he never met. Lawyers got intouch with him and a check.

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

here is a number for you, you might want to call them before calling this other company.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Death/Preparation/DG_10029802

Just to let you know something else the UK has a very high inheritance tax which must be paid, I believe it is a flat rate of 3,000 pounds or around $6000 US

Here is some other information:

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/civil/probate/index.htm

 

[happygirl]

It sounds like a scam big time.

 

[Debbru]

Thank you all for your quick replies. If I do anything, it will either be by email or international calling card.

If I use the calling card from my home phone, does that mean they will not have access to my home number (never used one before so I'm kind of flying blind here

 

[happygirl]

Thank you all for your quick replies. If I do anything, it will either be by email or international calling card.

If I use the calling card from my home phone, does that mean they will not have access to my home number (never used one before so I'm kind of flying blind here

I think if I was you I would contact a lawyer office and see what they say. I wouldn't call them

 

[Cheshire Figment]

One thing is make sure the Country Code is 44, which is the UK.

 

[dex08]

You should report receiving the letter you your local Postmaster, Postal Inspection Service office, your state's Attorney General's Office and the Better Business Bureau.

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

here is a few more important numbers for you...

http://www.cifas.org.uk/default.asp...f_you_believe_you_have_been_a_victim_of_fraud

http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/

Also I would like to say knowing a little something about UK inheritance, husband is a Brit - all his family is in the UK, that there is a statue of limitations on receiving funds from an estate and I do not think that someone who died in 1956 has any estate left to claim the UK government would have laid claim to those funds years ago.

 

[a1tinkfans]

IMHO


SCAM................

I would NOT call, nor would I contact them (which then acknowledges that THEY have the right info on your family)
Personally, I'd report the info to local authorities, if its legit which seems VERY remote, they;d let you know........

Good luck OP, tread lightly here...................

 

[akcire]

Okay, first let me say I don't know anything about this company. They sound like they are a skip tracing type company, or are looking at lists of unclaimed assets in the UK. The fee they want to charge you the 20% will only tell you who to contact to get the assets. That said, you may want to start googling your grandmother's name and see if you can find the unclaimed asset yourself. Also if you have any family papers with a law firm in Europe (even if they are 100 years old) I would contact that law firm or the successor law firm to see if they know anything about the business. Like I said, I don't know the company that contacted you, but this happens in the United States too; I'd just hate to give up the 20%. If you can't find anything yourself, you may have no choice but to split the asset.

The estate that you are to inherit could be anything. She could have left one pound in the UK or she could be a beneficiary of a family trust. Inheritance laws in Europe are very different from the US. Somethings are automatically split by statue in a different way than they are in the US.

Let me know if you have other questions.....my husband received a similar letter years ago. I was able to help him claim the property. Once we figured out who the lawyer was we paid a small amount to our local bank to guarantee his signature, and he received a really nice Victorian brooch from some unknown great-great aunt who had died 20 years earlier.