Could you be heir to a forgotten fortune? Dozens of estates in South Yorkshire go unclaimed

From Sheffield to Barnsley and Rotherham, dozens of people have died without leaving a will, meaning their estates - which may include houses and bank savings - are sitting in limbo, waiting to be claimed by rightful relatives.

When someone dies without a valid will and with no known next of kin, their estate is held by the Government’s Bona Vacantia Division.

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That gives eligible relatives 30 years from the date of death to make a claim.

Only certain relatives are allowed to claim, including spouses, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Claimants must provide official documents proving their relation to the deceased.

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Below is a list of unclaimed estates linked to people who died in South Yorkshire, along with their birth and death locations, grouped by area:

Sheffield:

• David John Watson – Died 17/01/2013 in Sheffield, born 15/04/1949 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
• Stephen James Shean – Died 14/04/2024 in Sheffield, born 05/02/1952
• Dennis John King – Died 20/01/2024 in Sheffield, born 03/01/1963 in England
• Barry Roy Rollett – Died 13/06/2023 in Sheffield, born 17/09/1942 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
• Jessica Beatrice Fletcher – Died 11/09/2018 in Sheffield, born 11/06/1943 in England
• Mohammed Ali-Bin-Ali – Died 23/04/2007 in Sheffield, born 29/06/1931 in Yemen
• Alan Allen – Died 06/01/1999 in Sheffield, born 29/08/1938 in Burnley, Lancashire
• Rohim Box – Died 14/12/2014 in Sheffield, born 12/02/1920 in Bangladesh
• Frank Brown – Died 08/12/2009 in Sheffield, born 02/11/1939 in Sheffield
• Christina Casson – Died 06/01/1996 in Sheffield, born 19/01/1923 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
• Frederick Cooper – Died 13/12/2013 in Sheffield, born 30/11/1937 in Nottingham
• Glyn Barry Davies – Died 03/11/2004 in Sheffield, born 17/12/1940 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
• Joseph Dejneka – Died 27/07/2009 in Sheffield, born 19/12/1919 in Poland
• James Donaghy – Died 17/02/1996 in Sheffield
• Michael Harry Donovan – Died 17/06/1997 in Sheffield, born 26/06/1921 (possibly Sheffield)
• Eric Thomas Hill – Died 01/01/2009 in Sheffield, born 07/10/1936 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
• Linda Susan Jamieson – Died 11/10/2006 in Sheffield, born 12/12/1941 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
• William Johanes – Died 23/09/2008 in Sheffield
• Istvan Steven Juhasz – Died 18/01/2005 in Sheffield, born 26/07/1913 in Hungary
• Sylvia Keatley – Died 09/08/2001 in Sheffield, born 04/04/1947 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
• Stefan Kolencik – Died 14/03/2016 in Sheffield, born 23/02/1956 in Slovakia
• Arthur Little – Died 13/07/2001 in Sheffield, born 22/04/1924 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
• John Henry Littlewood – Died 03/05/2006 in Sheffield, born 25/03/1945 in North Carlton, Nottinghamshire
• Michael Patrick McDermott – Died 21/01/2013 in Sheffield, born 08/12/1953 in Bradford, West Yorkshire
• Francis McGinty – Died 01/04/2001 in Sheffield
• Michael George Naylor – Died 07/05/2019 in Sheffield, born 27/10/1935 in Sheffield
• Brian Oldale – Died 30/05/2015 in Sheffield, born 31/08/1947 in Sheffield
• Raj Parmar – Died 11/05/2010 in Sheffield, born 15/03/1937 in India
• Kirsty Louise Pegg – Died 12/04/1996 in Sheffield
• Anton Prystasz – Died 29/07/1996 in Sheffield, born 12/04/1914 in Poland
• Audrey Ronksley – Died 03/07/1998 in Sheffield, born 01/08/1934 in Sheffield
• Eric Roger Taylor – Died 04/06/2018 in Sheffield, born 18/07/1965 in Sheffield
• Joseph Neil Taylor – Died 02/03/2013 in Sheffield, born 27/10/1948 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
• David John Treddinick – Died 13/11/2019 in Sheffield, born 22/05/1940 in England
• Audrey Waring Wainwright – Died 25/09/2006 in Sheffield, born 23/09/1932 in Thurnscoe, Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Dorothy Walker – Died 05/02/1998 in Sheffield
• Betty Sheldon Watson – Died 04/02/2004 in Sheffield, born 05/04/1920 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
• Margaret Nancy Wheatcroft – Died 03/04/2013 in Sheffield, born 12/11/1938 in Sheffield
• Nellie Wilkinson – Died 30/07/1995 in Sheffield, born 30/07/1928 in Sheffield
• Akinlolu Olaniran Williams – Died 26/07/2013 in Sheffield, born 13/09/1936 in Lagos, Nigeria
• Geoffrey Wood – Died 16/08/2000 in Sheffield, born 12/02/1914 in Sheffield
• Alfred Donald Yates – Died 06/12/2001 in Sheffield, born 08/01/1926 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire

Barnsley

• Graham Dallison – Died 15/02/2018 in Barnsley, born 15/03/1945 in Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Gordon William Dennis Dunstan – Died 10/06/2020 in Barnsley, born 03/08/1929 in Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Peter George Harrison – Died 21/05/2022 in Barnsley, born 06/11/1941 in Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Mikolay Leonowicz – Died 17/06/2004 in Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Stefan Mitro – Died 16/12/2013 in Barnsley, born 04/05/1978 in Slovakia
• Daniel Ramososo Nteka – Died 30/08/2016 in Barnsley, born 19/09/1937 in Soweto, South Africa
• Stephen Alexander Orr – Died 02/11/2010 in Barnsley, born 27/07/1970 in Glasgow
• Demitro Sajko – Died 08/11/2004 in Barnsley, born 11/11/1926 in Kiev, Ukraine
• Vera Simpson – Died 05/09/1996 in Barnsley, born 29/03/1914
• Philip Smith – Died 30/05/2017 in Barnsley, born 06/10/1957
• Philip Lodge – Died 19/10/2011 in Wakefield, born 16/01/1949 in Barnsley, South Yorkshire

Rotherham

• Irene Paula Wilmot-Smith – Died 26/09/2010 in Alcester, Warwickshire, born 18/12/1916 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire
• William Petrie Coyle – Died 02/02/2024 in Rotherham, born 30/08/1955 in Scotland
• June Elizabeth Flavell – Died 02/03/2023 in Rotherham, born 08/12/1936 in Doncaster, South Yorkshire
• John David Hunter – Died 17/06/2021 in Rotherham, born 07/05/1955 in South Yorkshire
• Jan Koczy – Died 27/11/2003 in Rotherham, born 02/12/1923 in Poland
• Kenneth Walter Southorn – Died 25/07/2014 in Rotherham, born 16/09/1936 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire
• John Whitfield – Died 29/03/2020 in Rotherham, born 01/02/1962 in Doncaster

Doncaster

• Christopher Marsden – Died 13/05/2014 in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, born 06/05/1952 in Halifax, West Yorkshire
• Denise Jackson – Died 23/02/2022 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, born 19/06/1969 in Doncaster
• John Whitfield – Died 29/03/2020 in Rotherham, born 01/02/1962 in Doncaster

If you think you may be related to anyone on this list, visit the Government’s Bona Vacantia website to check the full register and learn how to make a claim.

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