Millions of pounds in cash and assets are lying unclaimed, with solicitors unable to trace the living relatives of deceased estate owners.
Research has found that 320 cases are currently being worked on by The Office of Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer in Scotland (QLTR).
The organisation handles the estate of anyone who dies without a will and who has no immediately traceable relatives.
Altogether the homes, pensions, dormant bank accounts and premium bonds it is currently overseeing are worth more than £2.1million.
In Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire there are 17 estates in limbo, worth £90,040.78.
These include one set of assets worth £17,580, which were owned by William Barclay until his death in April 2011.
Meanwhile there are 15 active cases in Moray, the Highlands and Islands worth £78,545.13, with several dating back to 2008.
The QLTR’s UK counterpart, Bona Vacantia, currently has 9,774 estates worth around £65million on its books, with some unclaimed since the 1970s.
Iain Considine, an estate planner with solicitor firm Aberdein Considine, which carried out the research, said: “If no blood relatives come forward then the estate passes to the Crown.
“However, a simple will would have spared all the red tape and mystery around these estates and made sure the money went to the people who deserve it.
“Even if they have no close or deserving family, they may wish to consider leaving the funds to charity rather than letting it default to government.”
The oldest unclaimed estate on record belongs to East Sussex widower Barbara Barker.
She was born more than a century ago, in 1909, and died in June 1974.
The estate with the highest value in Scotland was owned by Polish-born Lucyna Szen.
QLTR have been unable to find a recipient for her assets, which are worth more than £123,000, since her death in Glasgow in January 2015.
