The Government banked nearly $700,000 from the estate of someone who died without a will - the most the Crown has received from an estate in the past decade.

It’s sparked renewed calls for Kiwis to write a will, with roughly half of all adults in New Zealand not having one.

According to information released under the Official Information Act, the Crown received $685,690 as ‘bona vacantia’ (Latin for ownerless property) last year.

It’s the largest sum of ownerless property since 2015, with the Crown receiving $13,000 from one estate in 2018, and $1000 from another in 2017.

According to the Treasury, if an individual dies without a will, the Administration Act dictates how the estate must be distributed.

Typically, this is to relatives in order of significant relationships, starting with partners and children, before moving to parents, siblings and aunts and uncles.

But if those relationships don’t exist, the funds are given to the Crown - which Treasury says is rare.

The money is then folded into the Government’s books and treated like any other form of revenue.

The law also allows other people who aren’t related to the deceased to apply for the sum, if they think they have a reasonable case.

Treasury says examples include people who have performed “significant acts of kindness” for the person, or someone who was similar to a relation, such as a step-child.

It could also include cases where a will may not be valid for legal reasons, but the person’s intention is clear.

Each request is considered on a case-by-case basis.

If the sum is under $100,000, Treasury officials decide whether to release the funds.

Sums over that are decided by the Minister of Finance.

Last year, the Government took $699,398 from another estate, but this was later released to another person after an application.

Newstalk ZB asked Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Treasury for more information on this case, which is being treated as an Official Information Act request.

The art of ‘heir hunting’

Public Trust is the Crown entity that provides wills and estate administration services.

Catherine Simpson, the entity’s head of transformation retail, says cases of ownerless property are extremely rare.

“We’ve only got one type of estate like that on the go at the moment. It’s more common where we know who’s entitled to the money, but we’re just trying to find them.”

Simpson says Public Trust has a dedicated team, colloquially referred to as ‘heir hunters’, who try and locate relatives.

“If someone passes without a will, which is about just under 10% of people who pass away, often someone will contact us to administer the estate.

“We would then look to use the Administration Act that outlines who is entitled to what, to locate people to start the process.

“We do a fair amount of hunting. At any given moment, we might have 50 to 100 people we’re trying to locate across our estates."

Simpson says the search is wide-ranging, including placing notices in newspapers, looking at births, deaths and marriage records here and overseas, and personal belongings such as address books.

Catherine Simpson, head of the Public Trust's transformation retail team. Photo / Jason Oxenham

In some cases, private investigators are hired to help. One case has been investigated for more than four years.

“With one estate, we’re up to 40 first and second cousins and counting. It’s pretty extensive, because we really want to make sure there’s no stone left unturned.

“We’ve got one search under way at the moment that’s taken us all over the world. We’re now over in Ireland looking for relatives.”

She says some relatives have simply lost touch, moved overseas, or ceased contact for other reasons.

“For many people it’s a dream to get a phone call to say ‘would you like to have some money?’.”

Some are wary, requesting further information or a meeting, while some relatives say thanks, but no thanks.

“Every family is different.”

She says roughly half of adult New Zealanders don’t have a will, which reduces to 10% of people who die.

But cases like this serve as a reminder of the importance of wills.

“My ask of every adult in NZ is to write a will, whether you want to do it online, or go and see an expert. But it is ultimately a plan and gift for your family.”

Ethan Griffiths is a political reporter with Newstalk ZB, based in the Parliamentary Press Gallery. He joined NZME as a print journalist in 2020, previously working as an Open Justice reporter in the Bay of Plenty and Wellington, and as a general reporter in Whanganui.