bona vacantia

[boh-nah vah-kahn-tee-ah, boh-nuh vuh-kan-tee-uh]

noun

Law.

1. property without an apparent owner or claimant.

bona vacantia

/ ˈbəʊnə vəˈkæntɪə /

plural noun

1. law unclaimed goods

Word History and Origins

Origin of bona vacantia¹

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1750–60

Example Sentences

The government list - known as Bona Vacantia - gives the details of unclaimed estates in England or Wales.

Read more on BBC

A BBC News article published on Saturday 5 July recounted several cases in the south of England where a dead person's details had appeared on Bona Vacantia, and then, shortly after, someone had stepped forward claiming to be their sole heir.

Read more on BBC

The removal of Bona Vacantia will also have an impact on legitimate heir-hunting companies, who use the list as a starting point to research and then contact the genuine heirs to unclaimed estates.

Read more on BBC

He says that the problem lies more not with the details revealed in Bona Vacantia, but with government failure to act when presented with clear examples of fraud.

Read more on BBC

Taking down Bona Vacantia is "absolutely right", according to Ann Stanyer, a leading specialist lawyer in the field, but she says this in itself will not be enough to combat fraud.

Read more on BBC