1. Does this authority follow Government guidelines and pass details to the Bona Vacantia division within 5 days of a person dying in their care, if that person dies intestate?
(a) If the answer to Question 1 is ‘Yes’, how many referrals have been passed to the Bona Vacantia division in the period between 1 January 2020 to 1 January 2024?
(b) If the answer to Question 1 is: ‘We do not record these details and to establish the information would require files being recovered from storage and significant case officer time to find and review case notes. We would estimate the time required to be in excess of 50 hours. This is in excess of the appropriate time limit and we are therefore not obliged to provide this information pursuant to s.12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000’, then please explain why you don’t hold a regularly updated data list.
We can confirm the answer is 1(b); we can further explain that we do not keep an updated list as we have no need to , we deal with cases as they come up on their individual merits
2. Does this authority pass details of a deceased person living in a care home, intestate, to Forensic Genealogists and Researchers?
(a) If the answer to Question 2 is ‘Yes’, how many referrals have been passed to Forensic Genealogists and Researchers in the period between 1 January 2020 to 1 January 2024?
(b) If the answer to Question 2 is ‘Yes’, how many Forensic Genealogists and Researcher companies is this information passed to for each case?
Yes we do but we do not keep records of how many or who we refer these cases to. We therefore do not hold the further information that has been requested.
3. Does this authority receive a financial incentive for passing information regarding a deceased person dying intestate, to a Forensic Genealogist and Researcher company?
(a) If the answer to Question 3 is ‘Yes’, how much money is received for each referral?
No
4. Does this authority try to trace next of kin family members when a person dies in a care home, intestate and where a sibling of the deceased is known to that authority?
No , we would try with the known sibling in the first instance
5. Does this authority tell a Forensic Genealogist and Researcher company how much an estate might be worth, when someone dies in their care, intestate?
(a) If the answer to Question 5 is ‘Yes’, does the Forensic Genealogist and Research company need to provide a death certificate of the deceased and a grant of probate to this authority before this information is released?
Sometimes
6. Does this authority consider that Forensic Genealogist and Research companies:
(a) act responsibly towards next of kin when encouraging them to enter a contract?
(b) charge fairly, even when there is no competition because no other companies are aware of the case?
This is a subjective question and is not a question for information, as defined by section of 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
7. Which authority is responsible for notifying the Bona Vacantia division if a person dies intestate whilst living in a care home within a unitary authority, but is under the Court of Protection with your authority?
The Court of Protection Team within Devon County Council
8. If a person living in a care home within a unitary authority dies intestate and is under the Court of Protection within your authority and their next of kin eg. a brother or sister is known, what measures are taken to try and find children of the deceased person?
It would be up to the known next of kin to deal with the estate appropriately. If they don’t respond or engage we would approach a genealogy company to assist