The Ministry of Justice has published an urgent warning for anyone with unclaimed dormant funds held by the Courts Funds Office (CFO). Recent changes in legislation have changed the rules for individuals or entities with dormant funds held by the CFO.

The new rules come into effect from 1 June 2024 and mean that any account that has been held 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.

There is now less than 1 month left to claims funds dating back 30 years or more. Going forward, any account that subsequently reaches 30 years of dormancy will be surrendered on the date that this milestone is passed.

There is a range of reasons why CFO hold funds 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; and
• pending settlements of civil court action, or on behalf of dissenting shareholders, widows, and other clients.

If you think you may be affected there is an online database available at https://find-unclaimed-court-money.service.justice.gov.uk/ or you can contact the CFO directly.