Recent legislation changes have affected how the Court Funds Office (CFO) holds dormant funds. From 1st June 2024 any account that has been dormant within the CFO for 30 years or more will be surrendered and any future right to claim the funds will be extinguished. Funds are classified as dormant if they have been held by CFO for an extended period, with no activity on the account, and any efforts to trace the intended beneficiary have been unsuccessful.

Funds can be held by CFO for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, the following:

• Damages that were awarded to children as a result of civil legal action in a county court in England, Wales, or the High Court of Justice,

• Assets belonging to people who lack capacity to manage their own financial affairs and where the Court of Protection has appointed someone else to do so,

• Pending settlements of civil court action, or on behalf of dissenting shareholders, widows, and other clients.

If you believe that you may be eligible to claim an account held by the CFO you can search the online database found here (https://find-unclaimed-court-money.service.justice.gov.uk/). Alternatively, you can contact CFO enquiries direct.

If you find an account you believe you are entitled to claim, you should then contact CFO enquires with details of the account. They can then provide information such as the relevant court the application should be sent to as well as the amount of money in the account to enable a claim to be made if they find that you are eligible.

Once a claim has been submitted to the relevant court, you need to inform the CFO if your claim is within the 12 months prior to the last claim date for the account as shown on the online database. You will need to provide the title of the account, court case number, account number and the date you submitted your claim to the court. Please email this information to UCM claiminprogress@cfo.gov.uk or phone CFO on 0300 0200 199.

Enquiries Contact Information:

By email: enquiries@cfo.gov.uk

By phone: 0300 0200 199

Write to us at: Court Funds Office, Sunderland, SR43 3AB