MOST people in London do not have a will that has their financial assets clearly documented for their next-of-kin, according to a survey. Eight-out-of-10 have not made proper wills listing their pension plans and life policies, say researchers

MOST people in London do not have a will that has their financial assets clearly documented for their next-of-kin, according to a survey.

As many as eight-out-of-10 have not made proper wills listing their pension plans and life policies, says YouGov research quoted today by Landmark Information Group, the digital mapping and land data agency.

The findings come in the wake of figures showing more than �15 billion assets remain unclaimed in Britain today. Many unclaimed funds are likely to be unknown to those entitled to them, say researchers.

"It's alarming to find how many individuals don't have their financial assets clearly documented," said Landmark's managing director James Sherwood-Rogers. "It's not surprising there are so many unclaimed accounts and policies.

"Many of these are lost, forgotten, or simply unknown to those entitled to them."

The company launched its Financial Asset Search

service last year to identify potentially lost or forgotten assets, using electronic data-searching to help executors and beneficiaries. It has connections with 200 financial institutions.