Manage a missing person's finances and property

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Apply to be a guardian

You can make a claim yourself or use a legal representative.

Fill in the form

Download and fill in a part 8 claim form.

Include:

  • your name and address (under ‘claimant’)
  • the missing person’s name (under ‘defendant’)
  • your relationship to the missing person
  • the last known address of the person
  • when the person went missing
  • how long the person has been missing

If you’re applying with other people, complete one form with everyone’s details in it.

You’ll need to write a witness statement to help the court decide if you’re a suitable guardian.

Witness statement

Confirm that the missing person normally lives in England or Wales.

If you’re not the person’s husband, wife, civil partner, parent, child, brother or sister, explain why you’re interested in the person’s property or financial affairs.

If it’s less than 90 days since the person went missing, explain you need the guardianship order urgently, for example, because the person is going to lose their house.

In the statement, include:

  • the person’s usual day-to-day activities and when they stopped doing them
  • evidence that the person has been missing for at least the last 90 days
  • information about the property and finances of the person
  • what you know about their disappearance and where they might be
  • details of any police investigation or report
  • the names and addresses of the missing person’s family, if they have any
  • the proposed news advert
  • whether you’ve been convicted of a criminal offence
  • whether you’ve been refused credit
  • whether you’ve ever been bankrupt
  • whether you’ve run a company that became insolvent or went bankrupt
  • confirmation that you believe the facts in the document are true and accurate (a ‘truth statement’)

Send the form to the High Court

Apply to one of the following:

  • the Chancery Division of the High Court - if there are complicated issues with a property or trust
  • the Family Division of the High Court - if it’s likely that family disagreements and issues will happen
  • Your local High Court District Registry

The High Court can transfer your hearing from one division to another. This will not change what you have to pay.

Send one identical copy for each person you need to tell, plus a copy for the court.

  • the form and witness statement
  • any documents you have as supporting evidence, for example police reports
  • a cheque for the court fee, made payable to ‘HM Courts and Tribunals Service’

Chancery Division of the High Court
Rolls Building
7 Rolls Building
Fetter Lane
London
EC4A 1NL

Family Division of the High Court
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London
WC2A 2LL

Find your local High Court District Registry.

After you apply you’ll need to advertise your claim in a newspaper. The High Court will ask you to go to a hearing.

View a printable version of the whole guide

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