The Ministry of Justice has issued an urgent alert for anyone with unclaimed dormant funds held by the Courts Funds Office (CFO). Recent legislative changes have altered the rules for individuals or entities with dormant funds in the CFO.
Effective from 1 June 2024, the new regulations stipulate that any account dormant for 30 years or more within the CFO will be forfeited, and the right to claim those funds will be permanently lost.
Funds are deemed dormant if they have been held by the CFO for a prolonged period without any account activity, and all attempts to locate the intended beneficiary have failed.
There is now less than two weeks remaining to claim funds that have been dormant for 30 years or more. In the future, any account reaching 30 years of dormancy will be forfeited on the date this period is reached.
The CFO holds funds for various reasons, including damages awarded to children from civil legal actions in county courts in England and Wales, or the High Court of Justice; assets belonging to individuals who cannot manage their financial affairs and have a Court of Protection-appointed representative; pending settlements from civil court actions; and on behalf of dissenting shareholders, widows, and other clients.
If you think you may be impacted there is an online database available the link Unclaimed Court Money you can contact the CFO directly or the team at CB Reid can assist you with your personal accounting affairs.