My great-aunt died four years ago. Her solicitors say they’ve been unable to trace two beneficiaries and that there isn’t enough money left to continue looking. However they won’t distribute the money in the meantime! When, if ever, will we receive it?
Possibly never, if there’s no money left in the estate. It is possible to wind up an estate without finding missing beneficiaries, by taking out insurance or indemnity against their reappearance for example; but these steps cost money, and it would be pointless to carry on if there’s nothing left to distribute at the end of it all. The residuary beneficiaries – the people who inherit what’s left when specific gifts have been paid out – will know how much was in the estate originally.