Bona Vacantia and the Duke of Cornwall's Benevolent Fund

The Duke of Cornwall’s Benevolent Fund

Under bona vacantia, the estate of a person who dies in Cornwall with no will or surviving relatives passes to the Duchy of Cornwall. However, His Royal Highness chooses to donate all monies from bona vacantia remaining after discretionary payments have been made to the Duke of Cornwall’s Benevolent Fund which he established in 1975 to benefit local communities in the South West of England.

Over the last seven years, The Duke of Cornwall’s Benevolent Fund has donated nearly £800,000 to a wide range of organisations and much of the funding goes towards charitable projects which help the environment, conservation, wildlife, community projects and the advancement of art, religion and education. For example, in 2001, The Duke of Cornwall’s Benevolent Fund donated £100,000 to farmers specifically in the South West after the devastation of Foot and Mouth disease.

About Bona Vacantia

The term Bona Vacantia is the legal name for ownerless property. The principle of bona vacantia forms part of the common law of England. All rights to bona vacantia originally belonged to the Crown, though some have been granted away from time to time.

In the case of the Crown, since William IV’s reign these rights have been included among the hereditary revenues surrendered in return for the Civil List. Therefore such cases are dealt with by the Treasury solicitor. However, where they concern anyone dying within the counties of Lancashire and Cornwall, they have been retained by the respective Duchies.

Administration

The procedures for the administration of bona vacantia are very similar to those of the Treasury Solicitor (www.bonavacantia.gov.uk) and discretionary payments may be available to those who might reasonably have expected to have benefitted from the estate of the deceased. Full guidance on discretionary payments can be found at http://www.bonavacantia.gov.uk/output/discretionary-grants-in-estates-cases.aspx

Bona vacantia is administered by Farrer & Co on behalf of the Duchy.

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