List of 57 unclaimed estates in Newcastle that you could inherit if you have these surnames - how to claim

If you have one of these surnames you could be entitled to money as the Treasury has released its list of unclaimed estates in Newcastle. An unclaimed estate is when someone dies without leaving a will, or when an old will is in place and the beneficiaries have died.

When this happens, the property of the person who has died will be deemed as ‘ownerless property’ and be in possession of the Crown. From when the Crown possesses the state, a 12-year window opens where family members can come forward if they believe they are entitled to a share of the deceased relative’s property.

For unclaimed estates before 1997, the Treasury will allow claims up to 30 years from the date of the person’s death, subject to no interest being paid on the money that is held - if the claim is received after the 12-year period has ended.

Who is entitled to an unclaimed estate?

There’s an order of priority when people are entitled to unclaimed estate:

1. husband, wife or civil partner
2. children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and so on
3. mother or father
4. brothers or sisters who share both the same mother and father, or their children (nieces and nephews)
5. half brothers or sisters or their children (nieces and nephews of the half blood or their children). ‘Half ’ means they share only one parent with the deceased
6. grandparents
7. uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins or their descendants)
8. half uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins of the half blood or their children). ‘Half’ means they only share one grandparent with the deceased, not both

On the government website, it says: “If you are, for example, a first cousin of the deceased, you would only be entitled to share in the estate if there are no relatives above you in the order of entitlement, for example, a niece or nephew.”

Surnames of the unclaimed estates in Newcastle

1. Bailes
2. Clark
3. Dumphey
4. Gibson
5. Graham
6. Gumula
7. Horne
8. Jackson
9. Kelly
10. King
11. Kwiatkowski
12. Lange
13. Macdonald
14. McPherson
15. Murray
16. O’Carroll
17. Scott
18. Simpson
19. Simpson
20. Smith
21. Sparrow
22. Swan
23. Wade
24. Ward
25. Keating
26. Rowntree
27. Baker
28. Balmer
29. Barker
30. Cairns
31. Kennedy
32. Mason
33. Palmer
34. Simpson
35. Warner 
36. Wilson
37. Fraser
38. Henderson
39. Robson
40. Waugh
41. Ward
42. O’Neill
43. Harley
44. Ashley
45. Bell
46. Campbell
47. Elrick
48. McCormick
49. Richardson
50. Scott
51. Stobbs
52. Walsh
53. Watts
54. Leeson
55. Mackenzie
56. Ward
57. Freeman

How to claim an unclaimed estate

People who believe they are entitled to a share of an unclaimed estate should contact The Treasury on the government website.