As probate researchers, we are often referred cases by local councils when individuals pass away intestate (without a will). We are contacted when they are unable to locate the deceased’s next of kin due to unclear family lineage.
In this case, the council referred the intestacy case to Blanchards to trace the missing next of kin. Once we have located and contacted the next of kin, our sister company Athena, investigated the deceased’s assets. This process often provides insight into the deceased’s life and the value of the estate.
Mrs V’s estate
Mrs V passed away in 2015. She was born in Scotland and was of Ghanaian heritage. Later in life, she moved to the south of England, married, and had no children. During our research, we found that Mrs V had siblings who had relocated to different parts of the UK and all predeceased her. However, they had children. According to the UK rules of intestacy the descendants would be entitled to inherit from Mrs V’s estate. Overtime, families can lose touch due to relocation which can cause estrangement and unknown relatives.
Exchanging old cedi notes
Our sister company, Athena, carried out an asset search into Mrs V’s estate. This can be from looking into bank accounts, pensions and valuing personal possessions. Among her belongings there were 90,000 old Ghanaian cedis which converts to £6,000.
As Ghanaian cedi is considered an exotic currency, most UK post offices or foreign currency exchange do not buy or exchange it. The team went to several currency exchange providers across the Southeast and eventually located one in Lakeside that was willing to exchange Ghanaian cedis. However, it was then discovered that the banknotes were old cedi notes which were no longer in circulation.
Ghana’s currency change in 2007
In 2007, Ghana redenominated its currency by removing four zeros from the old cedi. As a result, 10,000 of the old Ghanaian Cedis became just 1 new Ghanaian Cedi. And 1,000 cedis became 10 pesewas. This change simplified transactions and reduced the need to handle large amounts of cash. Mrs.V had multiple of 1,000, 2,000 and 5,000 old cedi notes.
Outcome
While we are unable to exchange the currency in the UK, Athena intends to distribute the notes among family members. During the asset search, we also discovered property plans for a house in Ghana that appear to be more than 20 years old. Based on the existence of these plans and the currency that was found, we believe she may have been saving towards building a house in Ghana. Our administration team goes to great lengths to ensure that beneficiaries receive the full value of the estate and that no assets are overlooked.
