What happens when a Beneficiary cannot be found?

What happens when a beneficiary cannot be found? Well, executors of a Will (its Administrators/Representatives) need to make every effort to find a missing Beneficiary or one that is difficult to locate. This may extend to measures including the Executor(s) making enquiries with the deceased’s friends and other relatives to obtain a Beneficiary’s whereabouts, taking out advertisements in local newspapers in the geographical area where the missing Beneficiary was last known to live, and placing an advertisement in a national publication called “The London Gazette”.

So what happens when a beneficiary cannot be found and remains “Missing”, then the Executor(s) of a Will would have 3 options thereafter

Firstly, the missing Beneficiary’s legacy may be paid into court and the remainder of the estate distributed according to the terms of the Will. The court would retain the legacy for a certain number of years in case the missing Beneficiary reappears. If they do not subsequently materialise, then their legacy would be distributed by substitution according to the terms of the deceased person’s Will instead; or

The Executor(s) could apply for a “Benjamin” Order. This is an order granted by the court giving the Executor(s) leave to distribute the estate on a certain assumption. For example, the assumption that the missing Beneficiary predeceased the person from whom they are due to inherit. This would allow the Executor(s) to distribute the estate to the remaining beneficiaries stipulated in the Will. Prior to the granting of the Benjamin Order, the Executor(s) would firstly be expected to have done all they could to locate the missing Beneficiary. Applying for a Benjamin Order would be an expensive procedure; or

Another available option is for the Executor(s) to purchase “Missing Beneficiary Insurance” and distribute the estate to the remaining beneficiaries according to the terms of the Will. Again, all reasonable steps must have firstly been taken to locate the missing Beneficiary.