Families across Africa due inheritance from deceased relatives in the UK make up the fastest-growing global region to be benefiting from local estates, some valued in the millions – where probate has been granted.
Countries including Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe top list of country cases at Finders International, the UK’s largest probate research firm, which has noted a near five-fold increase in Africa-based beneficiaries between 2021 and 2025.
Emigration vs immigration shift
Ryan Gregory, international manager at Finders International, commented: “While we’ve always had a strong genealogical connection to South Africa, mostly due to historical emigration dating back more than a two centuries – what’s more interesting is the increase from countries such as Nigeria and Ghana. This is directly attributable to colonial-era and mid 20th century immigration into Britain, and the fact that this generation is seeing deaths due to their age group.
“We have many cases where individuals have died intestate (without a will) but more importantly, without next of kin living in the UK – many came to this country for work opportunities, which has led us on the trail back to Africa to find their beneficiaries.”
Estranged-next-of-kin dynamic
“Unlike typical UK cases where we find individuals who die intestate, that leads us to connect families to distant cousins and their descendants, we are seeing quite the opposite when it comes to Africa cases. More often than not, we’ve been able to identify and trace next of kin, who may have become estranged due to the distance created by moving thousands of miles from their birthplace.”
Typically, Finders International utilises the expertise and knowledge of local partners to visit heirs in Africa and work with them to corroborate family ties and verify their connection to the deceased, relying on this connection to guide them through the process of obtaining their potentially life-changing inheritance.
