Browse content similar to Viney. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
Heir hunters spend their lives | 0:00:02 | 0:00:04 | |
tracking down families of people who've died without leaving a will. | 0:00:04 | 0:00:08 | |
They hand over thousands of pounds to long-lost relatives who'd no idea they were in line for a windfall. | 0:00:08 | 0:00:14 | |
Could they be knocking at your door? | 0:00:14 | 0:00:16 | |
Today on Heir Hunters: | 0:00:31 | 0:00:33 | |
the team have an overwhelming sense of deja-vu. | 0:00:33 | 0:00:36 | |
It's very rare that we get people we've contacted before. | 0:00:36 | 0:00:40 | |
We've got the whole family tree here. | 0:00:40 | 0:00:42 | |
And how a man who lived like this... | 0:00:42 | 0:00:45 | |
..had a secret no-one would have ever guessed. | 0:00:46 | 0:00:49 | |
Plus a list of unclaimed estates worth over £120,000. | 0:00:50 | 0:00:54 | |
Could you be due to inherit some money? | 0:00:55 | 0:00:58 | |
Every year in Britain | 0:01:05 | 0:01:06 | |
over 300,000 people die without leaving a will. | 0:01:06 | 0:01:09 | |
When no family is found, their money goes to the government. | 0:01:10 | 0:01:13 | |
That's where the heir hunting companies step in. | 0:01:13 | 0:01:16 | |
Using birth, death and marriage records, | 0:01:18 | 0:01:20 | |
they race each other to be the first to track down any long-lost relatives entitled to inherit. | 0:01:20 | 0:01:25 | |
But so often, the estates the heir hunters investigate | 0:01:27 | 0:01:31 | |
are people who have died alone, with no apparent family. | 0:01:31 | 0:01:34 | |
But appearances can be deceptive. | 0:01:34 | 0:01:36 | |
Sometimes people can be surrounded by family and not even know it! | 0:01:37 | 0:01:42 | |
Southampton, on the south coast, was home to Frank Viney | 0:01:44 | 0:01:47 | |
who died alone in 2007. | 0:01:47 | 0:01:50 | |
He lived in this house from the age of 17 for nearly 66 years. | 0:01:51 | 0:01:55 | |
Frank was a private man who had worked for many years as a postal engineer | 0:01:57 | 0:02:01 | |
before retiring. | 0:02:01 | 0:02:03 | |
The highlight of his week was a trip to the local Asda. | 0:02:03 | 0:02:06 | |
With no will and no near kin, | 0:02:08 | 0:02:10 | |
his name found its way onto the Government's list of unclaimed estates. | 0:02:10 | 0:02:14 | |
And Fraser & Fraser, one of the most experienced firms of heir hunters in the country, | 0:02:14 | 0:02:20 | |
are now on the case. | 0:02:20 | 0:02:21 | |
Using the powerful combination of research skills | 0:02:22 | 0:02:25 | |
and a crack team of mobile agents... | 0:02:25 | 0:02:28 | |
-Mr Barlow? -Yes. -I'm David Mansell from Fraser & Fraser. | 0:02:28 | 0:02:31 | |
Strategically placed throughout the UK, | 0:02:31 | 0:02:34 | |
they plan to keep ahead in the race with rival firms | 0:02:34 | 0:02:37 | |
to find Frank Viney's heirs. | 0:02:37 | 0:02:39 | |
It's 7.30am on Thursday. | 0:02:40 | 0:02:43 | |
The day the Treasury publishes the list of unclaimed estates. | 0:02:44 | 0:02:48 | |
And on the A3, Sussex-based travelling heir hunter Bob Barrett | 0:02:49 | 0:02:52 | |
is on his way to investigate the Viney case. | 0:02:52 | 0:02:55 | |
I'm going down to Southampton this morning | 0:02:56 | 0:02:59 | |
to make some enquiries and see if I can find something about the family | 0:02:59 | 0:03:03 | |
of a guy who died last year, Frank Viney. | 0:03:03 | 0:03:07 | |
So far, it's a really nice journey. There's not much traffic about. | 0:03:07 | 0:03:11 | |
A nice bright day. | 0:03:11 | 0:03:14 | |
Fingers crossed, the day carries on like this. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:16 | |
While Bob's having a pleasant start to the day, in the central offices, the heat is on. | 0:03:19 | 0:03:24 | |
Big boss partner Neil Fraser thinks they'll have to move quickly on the Frank Viney estate. | 0:03:24 | 0:03:29 | |
Value-wise on that, it could be between 300 and 400,000. | 0:03:31 | 0:03:34 | |
So it's looking very positive. | 0:03:34 | 0:03:37 | |
But, at the same time as us looking at it, I'm guessing quite a few other people will. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:42 | |
So we're working on that quite rapidly. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:45 | |
With such a lot of money at stake, | 0:03:45 | 0:03:47 | |
Neil decides to throw all the researchers and several case managers onto the search. | 0:03:47 | 0:03:52 | |
-Aren't any other William H's. -In that case I'll kill William H's. | 0:03:53 | 0:03:57 | |
Over the years, Fraser & Fraser have built up an extensive collection of directories, | 0:03:59 | 0:04:04 | |
basic registers and census records | 0:04:04 | 0:04:06 | |
that provide an invaluable reference for their investigations. | 0:04:06 | 0:04:10 | |
Case manager Marcus Herbert | 0:04:10 | 0:04:12 | |
has been trawling the Southampton directories and has found Viney's address. | 0:04:12 | 0:04:17 | |
He now wants to find out how long he lived there | 0:04:17 | 0:04:20 | |
and if it was the family home. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:22 | |
But more than that, he's found another Southampton address for two Frank Vineys. | 0:04:22 | 0:04:27 | |
We've got a good run of Southampton directories. We've identified the deceased back to 1940, '41. | 0:04:27 | 0:04:33 | |
In 1940 to '41, as well there is a Frank Arthur Viney. | 0:04:33 | 0:04:37 | |
It could be his father. He's disappeared by '48, '49. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:41 | |
So he could be named Frank after his father. | 0:04:43 | 0:04:45 | |
A good chance. We'll look at that. | 0:04:45 | 0:04:47 | |
This could be the breakthrough they're looking for. | 0:04:48 | 0:04:51 | |
Neil and Marcus get straight onto the basic marriage and birth records. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:57 | |
-Both called Frank. -It's not the family home. | 0:04:57 | 0:04:59 | |
Sure enough, the two Franks are father and son, living at the same address. | 0:05:00 | 0:05:06 | |
They're making good progress. It's just before 9.20 | 0:05:07 | 0:05:11 | |
and the team can already start drawing up a family tree. | 0:05:11 | 0:05:14 | |
The heir hunters use family trees like treasure maps. | 0:05:14 | 0:05:17 | |
By laying out each family member, generation by generation, | 0:05:17 | 0:05:21 | |
they can see who is in line to inherit. | 0:05:21 | 0:05:23 | |
The records show that Frank Viney's father was also called Frank | 0:05:25 | 0:05:29 | |
and he was married to Ellen Mayo. | 0:05:29 | 0:05:31 | |
It looks like Frank Junior is an only child | 0:05:31 | 0:05:34 | |
so that rules out the need to search for siblings. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:37 | |
In the hunt for heirs, they will now have to concentrate their search on cousins | 0:05:39 | 0:05:43 | |
and a possible spouse. | 0:05:43 | 0:05:45 | |
Case manager Marcus is full of questions about why Frank Viney died alone | 0:05:46 | 0:05:51 | |
and whether he had many friends. | 0:05:51 | 0:05:52 | |
Quite often, if you get somebody who's been in a house for a long time | 0:05:52 | 0:05:56 | |
for one reason or another have cut themselves off from their family, | 0:05:56 | 0:06:00 | |
um... | 0:06:00 | 0:06:01 | |
the neighbours are often the closest thing they have to family. | 0:06:03 | 0:06:07 | |
This is why the investigations of the travelling heir hunters are so important. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:13 | |
Bob Barrett has arrived at Frank's house. | 0:06:14 | 0:06:16 | |
Frank lived in this house for over 66 years. | 0:06:16 | 0:06:20 | |
There's a good chance his neighbours will know something. | 0:06:21 | 0:06:24 | |
Hello. Sorry to bother you. I'm Bob Barrett from Fraser & Fraser, probate researchers. | 0:06:24 | 0:06:30 | |
We're trying to trace relatives of a gentleman that lived at number one, on the corner. | 0:06:30 | 0:06:35 | |
I wondered if you knew him or knew anything about him. | 0:06:35 | 0:06:38 | |
-No, I just moved in last year. -So never heard of him? | 0:06:38 | 0:06:42 | |
-Most of us are students. -I thought that was the case. Thanks very much. | 0:06:42 | 0:06:46 | |
It's frustrating. It seems most of the houses are student flats | 0:06:46 | 0:06:50 | |
and no-one knows their neighbours. | 0:06:50 | 0:06:53 | |
Thankfully, in the office, search for the Viney clan is bearing fruit. | 0:06:56 | 0:07:00 | |
The heir hunters have identified an address for Frank's grandfather | 0:07:00 | 0:07:04 | |
and senior researcher Gareth is checking it on the 1901 census. | 0:07:04 | 0:07:08 | |
At the moment, I'm looking for the census on the father's side. | 0:07:09 | 0:07:13 | |
The census is a national population survey conducted by the government every ten years | 0:07:14 | 0:07:19 | |
since 1841. | 0:07:19 | 0:07:21 | |
Gareth hopes he'll get a picture of the entire Viney family at this address. | 0:07:22 | 0:07:26 | |
It's a good call. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:28 | |
Most of it's fallen out very easily. It cracked it when we got the 1901 census. | 0:07:28 | 0:07:33 | |
Frank's grandparents were Thomas Viney and Sarah Wise. | 0:07:37 | 0:07:41 | |
Frank's mother was the last of her family | 0:07:42 | 0:07:44 | |
but his father, also Frank Viney, | 0:07:44 | 0:07:46 | |
is the youngest of seven children. | 0:07:46 | 0:07:49 | |
The team have worked out that four of his brothers and sisters produced offspring. | 0:07:49 | 0:07:53 | |
Each of these stems is due a quarter of the inheritance. | 0:07:54 | 0:07:57 | |
Going down a generation, this money will be divided by the number of children | 0:07:58 | 0:08:03 | |
and again by the number of grandchildren. | 0:08:03 | 0:08:05 | |
This is the next area the heir hunters will investigate. | 0:08:05 | 0:08:09 | |
In Southampton, travelling heir hunter Bob Barrett follows one more lead. | 0:08:12 | 0:08:17 | |
At last, he's found someone that knew him. | 0:08:20 | 0:08:23 | |
Charlie Shaw owns the lock-up garages at the end of the road. | 0:08:23 | 0:08:27 | |
-He was single. -Right. | 0:08:28 | 0:08:30 | |
-No children? -He lived with somebody else for quite a long time. | 0:08:30 | 0:08:34 | |
-Did he? -Yeah. -As in partner? -And she died about eight years ago or something like that. | 0:08:34 | 0:08:39 | |
-But not married. -Not married. Not as far as I know. | 0:08:39 | 0:08:42 | |
Right. | 0:08:42 | 0:08:44 | |
Was he a local chap? | 0:08:44 | 0:08:46 | |
-He lived here all his life. -Born and bred? -It was his grandfather's house. -Oh. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:50 | |
Apparently. | 0:08:50 | 0:08:52 | |
Any idea about relatives? | 0:08:52 | 0:08:54 | |
Um... He had a heart bypass at one time. | 0:08:55 | 0:08:59 | |
He had to go back into the South Hants hospital because of infection. | 0:08:59 | 0:09:04 | |
-Right. -While he was in there, his cousin was in there. | 0:09:04 | 0:09:08 | |
-Pure chance? -Yeah. -Right. | 0:09:08 | 0:09:10 | |
His house, as far as you're aware, and family home for years and years. | 0:09:10 | 0:09:14 | |
Yeah. All his life. | 0:09:14 | 0:09:16 | |
-Lovely. Thanks ever so much. Nice to meet you. -All right. | 0:09:16 | 0:09:19 | |
That was a lucky break. | 0:09:19 | 0:09:21 | |
The chat confirmed what the heir hunters suspected, | 0:09:21 | 0:09:24 | |
that Frank Viney was never married. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:26 | |
While Bob Barrett's made headway, | 0:09:26 | 0:09:28 | |
in the London office Gareth's been looking into Frank's Uncle George | 0:09:28 | 0:09:32 | |
who was born in 1870. | 0:09:32 | 0:09:34 | |
He's trying to track down any grandchildren | 0:09:34 | 0:09:37 | |
and it seems he's struck gold. | 0:09:37 | 0:09:39 | |
Basically, we've got two very elderly people. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:42 | |
That's what's made it easy. They're born 1920 and 1928. | 0:09:42 | 0:09:46 | |
They both appear to be alive. | 0:09:46 | 0:09:48 | |
From our point of view, that's reduced the searching we need to do. | 0:09:48 | 0:09:52 | |
We've been able to get them up-to-date quite quickly. | 0:09:52 | 0:09:55 | |
But they're not on the phone, which is a bit of a problem. | 0:09:55 | 0:09:59 | |
It seems the Viney family were fond of calling their sons after themselves. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:04 | |
George Viney had a son also called George, who has now passed away. | 0:10:05 | 0:10:10 | |
He had two sons, George Viney and Roy Viney. | 0:10:10 | 0:10:13 | |
They are Frank's first cousins once removed. | 0:10:13 | 0:10:16 | |
It's great news as both cousins are based in Southampton. | 0:10:18 | 0:10:21 | |
Bob Barrett will be able to visit the addresses. | 0:10:21 | 0:10:24 | |
But the question is, did they know their cousin Frank | 0:10:24 | 0:10:27 | |
and did they know he lived just minutes away? | 0:10:27 | 0:10:30 | |
Bob is on the phone to Neil. | 0:10:32 | 0:10:33 | |
I've found out that he's lived in this house all his life. | 0:10:33 | 0:10:37 | |
Think it was his grandfather's house. It's been a family home for years and years. | 0:10:37 | 0:10:42 | |
That's about it. | 0:10:42 | 0:10:44 | |
If you want to go down and see George's children. | 0:10:44 | 0:10:47 | |
Will do. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:49 | |
Bob needs to get over to see George Viney, and fast, | 0:10:50 | 0:10:53 | |
before another firm pips him to the post. | 0:10:53 | 0:10:56 | |
In the office, the team effort is producing real results. | 0:10:58 | 0:11:01 | |
It's a fairly sizeable family, just on this stem alone. | 0:11:03 | 0:11:06 | |
Looks like we might have up to 20 beneficiaries, a fairly sizeable stem. | 0:11:06 | 0:11:11 | |
We've got quite a few other stems coming along as well. | 0:11:11 | 0:11:15 | |
We'll see how they go later. It's gonna be a busy day, I think! | 0:11:15 | 0:11:19 | |
In Southampton, Bob has arrived at the first heir's house, | 0:11:20 | 0:11:23 | |
George Viney, Frank's cousin once removed. | 0:11:23 | 0:11:26 | |
But no-one is in. | 0:11:26 | 0:11:28 | |
So he uses his nouse, and tries the neighbours. | 0:11:28 | 0:11:31 | |
Hello. Sorry to bother you. I'm Bob Barrett from Fraser & Fraser. | 0:11:33 | 0:11:37 | |
We're probate researchers. I'm making enquiries. I want to see Mr George Viney at number eight. | 0:11:37 | 0:11:44 | |
-Right. -Does he still live there? -Yes. | 0:11:44 | 0:11:46 | |
Perhaps he's just not in. | 0:11:46 | 0:11:48 | |
What day is it today? Tuesday. | 0:11:48 | 0:11:51 | |
He may have gone shopping. If not, he hasn't been well lately. | 0:11:52 | 0:11:56 | |
-Does he live on his own? -No, he's with his wife, Joan. | 0:11:56 | 0:11:59 | |
I've confirmed Mr Viney does live there. | 0:11:59 | 0:12:02 | |
But his neighbour has checked the back and he's probably out shopping | 0:12:02 | 0:12:07 | |
so I'll come back later. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:09 | |
In the meanwhile, go and see his brother who lives round the corner. | 0:12:09 | 0:12:13 | |
The pressure is really on now. | 0:12:13 | 0:12:14 | |
George Viney is their first heir, and they need that signature. | 0:12:14 | 0:12:19 | |
But will the competition get there first? | 0:12:19 | 0:12:21 | |
Coming up: as the race heats up, | 0:12:22 | 0:12:26 | |
it seems the Viney family may have some skeletons in the closet. | 0:12:26 | 0:12:30 | |
What William Henry failed to do, when he married Ethel, | 0:12:30 | 0:12:34 | |
is divorce from Emily! | 0:12:34 | 0:12:36 | |
And why would a man in possession of a small fortune | 0:12:36 | 0:12:39 | |
choose to live like this? | 0:12:39 | 0:12:42 | |
Every week in Britain, | 0:12:47 | 0:12:49 | |
hundreds of people like Frank Viney pass away without leaving a will. | 0:12:49 | 0:12:53 | |
The Government has stacks of cash waiting to be claimed. | 0:12:53 | 0:12:56 | |
Perhaps some of it could be yours! | 0:12:56 | 0:12:58 | |
Renee Levy passed away in Hackney, London, aged 78, in 2005. | 0:12:59 | 0:13:05 | |
She left an estate of £23,000. | 0:13:05 | 0:13:08 | |
Are you related to Renee? | 0:13:08 | 0:13:10 | |
Could her money go to you? | 0:13:10 | 0:13:12 | |
Joyce Dorothy Clements died in Isleworth, Middlesex, aged 84. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:17 | |
She left a legacy of £20,000. | 0:13:17 | 0:13:20 | |
Did you know Joyce? | 0:13:20 | 0:13:21 | |
Frank Ewart Wilson died on Hayling Island, Hampshire. | 0:13:23 | 0:13:26 | |
He was 80 years old when he passed away. | 0:13:26 | 0:13:28 | |
He left over £19,000 in cash. | 0:13:28 | 0:13:31 | |
If you're related to Frank and can prove it, | 0:13:31 | 0:13:34 | |
the money could be yours. | 0:13:34 | 0:13:36 | |
If you have any information which could help solve any of these cases, | 0:13:36 | 0:13:41 | |
take a look at our website. | 0:13:41 | 0:13:44 | |
Follow the instructions on what to do next. | 0:13:46 | 0:13:48 | |
It's ten o'clock and the heir hunters are three hours into the case of Frank Viney, | 0:13:55 | 0:14:00 | |
a pensioner who lived in this house in Southampton. | 0:14:00 | 0:14:02 | |
He died in 2007 at the age of 80 without leaving a will. | 0:14:02 | 0:14:07 | |
Neil thinks they'll have a lot of competition on the case. | 0:14:07 | 0:14:11 | |
Value-wise on that one, it could be anywhere between 300 and 400,000. | 0:14:11 | 0:14:15 | |
The heir hunters know they are investigating four branches of the tree. | 0:14:17 | 0:14:21 | |
Bob's arrived at Roy Viney's house. | 0:14:22 | 0:14:25 | |
He's Frank's cousin once removed and an heir. | 0:14:25 | 0:14:28 | |
He'll be the first person they've seen. | 0:14:28 | 0:14:31 | |
Will he sign to Fraser's, or has the competition got there first? | 0:14:31 | 0:14:35 | |
-Hello. Mr Viney? -Yes. | 0:14:38 | 0:14:40 | |
It's good news. Bob is the first heir hunter to reach them. | 0:14:40 | 0:14:44 | |
In the London office, the boss, partner Neil Fraser, | 0:14:45 | 0:14:48 | |
has made a staggering discovery. | 0:14:48 | 0:14:50 | |
It seems they investigated the Viney family before. | 0:14:50 | 0:14:54 | |
The case of Viney before, Frederick William S.Viney, | 0:14:54 | 0:14:57 | |
it's case number 660. | 0:14:57 | 0:15:01 | |
We're on almost 9,000 cases at the moment. | 0:15:01 | 0:15:04 | |
So we've worked quite a few cases since then. | 0:15:04 | 0:15:07 | |
Looks like we worked in '81. | 0:15:07 | 0:15:09 | |
So quite a few years ago, as well. | 0:15:09 | 0:15:12 | |
It's a real boost | 0:15:12 | 0:15:14 | |
as they will have already worked up a detailed family tree in 1981. | 0:15:14 | 0:15:19 | |
At that time, the team investigated Frederick Viney, Frank's cousin. | 0:15:19 | 0:15:24 | |
There's a good chance that Roy Viney, Frank's cousin once removed, | 0:15:24 | 0:15:28 | |
may already have had a visit from Fraser & Fraser 27 years ago. | 0:15:28 | 0:15:32 | |
Did Roy and his wife know about Frank Viney? | 0:15:32 | 0:15:35 | |
It seems not. | 0:15:35 | 0:15:37 | |
-Is it because one of Roy's dad's cousins has passed away? -Yes. | 0:15:37 | 0:15:41 | |
-Oh! -Without leaving a will. -Oh. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:44 | |
Um, and at the time, | 0:15:44 | 0:15:47 | |
no-one could find next-of-kin, in the local authority. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:50 | |
Which is always a bit sad | 0:15:50 | 0:15:53 | |
when you think the local authority had to deal with all the disposal of the body. | 0:15:53 | 0:15:58 | |
-Where did they live? -In Southampton. | 0:15:58 | 0:16:00 | |
They lived in Southampton? Well, I never! | 0:16:00 | 0:16:04 | |
The other thing I don't know is how many people are gonna share it | 0:16:04 | 0:16:07 | |
because it's a pretty big family. | 0:16:07 | 0:16:10 | |
-It'll take a lot of working out! -It does take a lot of working out! | 0:16:10 | 0:16:15 | |
As there are so many cousins on Roy's stem of the family tree, | 0:16:15 | 0:16:19 | |
he is only entitled to 112th of the estate. | 0:16:19 | 0:16:22 | |
Roy knows just how the system works from their previous encounter with Fraser's. | 0:16:23 | 0:16:28 | |
Many years ago, that happened. | 0:16:29 | 0:16:31 | |
We thought we were gonna be millionaires then, but I'm afraid it didn't. | 0:16:31 | 0:16:37 | |
There was quite a big family of us in them days. | 0:16:37 | 0:16:41 | |
By the time they all had their little bit, I ended up with about £25! | 0:16:41 | 0:16:46 | |
As the estate itself is somewhere within 200 and 400,000, | 0:16:48 | 0:16:52 | |
it looks like Roy's in for a much bigger windfall this time. | 0:16:52 | 0:16:57 | |
But until the heir hunters find all the heirs to Frank's estate, | 0:16:57 | 0:17:00 | |
it's impossible to guess how much it will be. | 0:17:00 | 0:17:03 | |
With one heir signed, Bob heads back to see Roy's brother George Viney, | 0:17:05 | 0:17:09 | |
another heir. In the office, | 0:17:09 | 0:17:11 | |
the news that they are working the same case 27 years on | 0:17:11 | 0:17:15 | |
has bolstered the troops. | 0:17:15 | 0:17:16 | |
They've been able to pull out the original family tree. | 0:17:16 | 0:17:20 | |
Anyway, I'll leave you to worry about that bit. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:25 | |
I'll be here worrying about this bit! | 0:17:25 | 0:17:27 | |
It's not only saved them precious hours in the hunt for the Viney heirs, | 0:17:27 | 0:17:31 | |
but also given them a huge advantage over the competition. | 0:17:31 | 0:17:34 | |
For Neil, there is a sad irony to this second case. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:38 | |
The deceased must have got money from an estate before. | 0:17:38 | 0:17:44 | |
So it's very strange | 0:17:44 | 0:17:46 | |
if your deceased gets money and still doesn't make a will... | 0:17:46 | 0:17:50 | |
Usually, we think when we contact people, | 0:17:50 | 0:17:53 | |
it'll be the encouragement for them to make a will. But that's how it goes. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:58 | |
Heir hunter Bob Barrett has arrived at George Viney's house. | 0:18:02 | 0:18:06 | |
With one brother signed, he's hoping for a double result. | 0:18:06 | 0:18:10 | |
I've just been round to see Roy. | 0:18:10 | 0:18:12 | |
-Oh, yeah, my brother? -Yes, your brother. | 0:18:12 | 0:18:15 | |
I came round a couple of hours ago and you were out shopping. | 0:18:15 | 0:18:19 | |
-We were shopping. -I took the liberty of calling next door | 0:18:19 | 0:18:23 | |
to see your neighbour who looked out the back and said you were out. | 0:18:23 | 0:18:28 | |
But in the office, the Viney tale is about to take an unexpected turn. | 0:18:28 | 0:18:32 | |
Neil's uncovered a shocking secret. | 0:18:33 | 0:18:35 | |
It seems that one of Frank's uncles was a bigamist. | 0:18:35 | 0:18:38 | |
He's seeking advice from fellow partner, his cousin Charles. | 0:18:38 | 0:18:42 | |
So he married... | 0:18:42 | 0:18:45 | |
He was married a second time bigamously and has issue. | 0:18:45 | 0:18:49 | |
Right. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:51 | |
Are those issue now entitled? | 0:18:51 | 0:18:53 | |
Yes. The fact that it's a bigamous marriage is irrelevant. | 0:18:53 | 0:18:58 | |
Whether somebody has a legitimate child, | 0:18:58 | 0:19:02 | |
an illegitimate child or adopts a child, | 0:19:02 | 0:19:05 | |
they're all treated as his child. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:08 | |
OK. | 0:19:08 | 0:19:10 | |
It's an astounding revelation. | 0:19:11 | 0:19:14 | |
It seems that another sibling of Frank Viney's father, William, | 0:19:14 | 0:19:17 | |
was a colourful character! | 0:19:17 | 0:19:19 | |
He married Emily in Southampton in 1898. | 0:19:19 | 0:19:23 | |
And then 17 years later, he married another woman called Ethel | 0:19:23 | 0:19:27 | |
and they went on to have seven children. | 0:19:27 | 0:19:29 | |
But it seems he forgot to divorce his first wife, | 0:19:29 | 0:19:33 | |
making his marriage to Ethel bigamous. | 0:19:33 | 0:19:36 | |
When the heir hunters investigated the case in 1981, | 0:19:36 | 0:19:39 | |
this stem wasn't entitled, according to illegitimacy laws. | 0:19:39 | 0:19:43 | |
But as the law changed in 1985, they now are. | 0:19:43 | 0:19:46 | |
Bye-bye, Mr Viney. Nice to meet you. Cheerio! | 0:19:48 | 0:19:51 | |
And back at George Viney's house, | 0:19:51 | 0:19:55 | |
Bob has just finished and phones into the office. | 0:19:55 | 0:19:58 | |
What have you got? | 0:19:58 | 0:20:00 | |
I've been to see the Viney brothers. | 0:20:00 | 0:20:03 | |
George and Roy. George is not very well. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:08 | |
He's had a stroke or something | 0:20:08 | 0:20:10 | |
so I left agreements with him. | 0:20:10 | 0:20:12 | |
-OK. -But Roy has signed. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:15 | |
Neil's delighted that Bob's signed an heir. | 0:20:16 | 0:20:19 | |
But the discovery of the new stem has shifted his focus. | 0:20:19 | 0:20:22 | |
He wants Bob to visit one of the grandchildren of the bigamous William Viney, | 0:20:22 | 0:20:27 | |
the son of Bernard, who is Brian. | 0:20:27 | 0:20:29 | |
He is Frank's first cousin once removed and will be an heir. | 0:20:29 | 0:20:33 | |
And there's an added urgency. | 0:20:33 | 0:20:35 | |
We think Brian is... He's the only beneficiary we can find on this stem. | 0:20:35 | 0:20:40 | |
-Right. -'Now, if our calculations are correct, | 0:20:40 | 0:20:43 | |
'and if everything's looking good,' | 0:20:43 | 0:20:46 | |
he's entitled to the fair packet. | 0:20:46 | 0:20:48 | |
As Frank Viney's uncle, William is entitled to one quarter of the estate. | 0:20:49 | 0:20:54 | |
As it looks like there are no further heirs on this stem, | 0:20:54 | 0:20:58 | |
William's grandson Brian will be entitled to the full quarter. | 0:20:58 | 0:21:02 | |
That could be nearly £100,000. | 0:21:02 | 0:21:05 | |
With such a large inheritance, and their commission to consider, | 0:21:05 | 0:21:10 | |
it's crucial that the Fraser team get this heir's signature. | 0:21:10 | 0:21:13 | |
Bob needs to get a move on. | 0:21:13 | 0:21:15 | |
In the office, Neil's on tenterhooks. | 0:21:16 | 0:21:19 | |
This third beneficiary looks like it's gonna be the most valuable bit of the case | 0:21:19 | 0:21:23 | |
which is why we want him to see that. | 0:21:23 | 0:21:26 | |
It's someone we can't speak to cos the phone number we've got doesn't work any more. | 0:21:26 | 0:21:30 | |
It's an old number. | 0:21:30 | 0:21:32 | |
Um... | 0:21:32 | 0:21:33 | |
So fingers crossed on that bit, that he gets in. | 0:21:33 | 0:21:37 | |
It's nerve-racking for Bob, too. | 0:21:38 | 0:21:40 | |
At midday, it's possible the heir will be at work. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:44 | |
But it's vital they get hold of him. | 0:21:44 | 0:21:46 | |
Fingers crossed that he'll be in. Fraser & Fraser had dealings with this family 20 years ago | 0:21:46 | 0:21:52 | |
with a cousin dying, and Brian Viney missed out then | 0:21:52 | 0:21:59 | |
for legal reasons. | 0:21:59 | 0:22:01 | |
The inheritance law has changed a bit since. | 0:22:01 | 0:22:05 | |
So now he will inherit. | 0:22:05 | 0:22:08 | |
He's arrived at Brian's house. | 0:22:08 | 0:22:11 | |
It's a nail-biting moment. | 0:22:11 | 0:22:13 | |
This one heir could be entitled to a whole £100,000 | 0:22:13 | 0:22:17 | |
and he missed out on the last inheritance. | 0:22:17 | 0:22:20 | |
But will he be home? | 0:22:20 | 0:22:21 | |
Coming up: With a fortune in the balance, | 0:22:24 | 0:22:26 | |
will Bob get to Brian Viney? | 0:22:26 | 0:22:29 | |
It's not only the professionals that can crack a case. | 0:22:34 | 0:22:38 | |
Could it be that you are entitled to an unclaimed estate? | 0:22:38 | 0:22:41 | |
Or could you help solve a riddle of a missing family member? | 0:22:41 | 0:22:44 | |
David Shepherd passed away in Wythenshawe, Manchester, | 0:22:44 | 0:22:48 | |
aged just 53 years. | 0:22:48 | 0:22:50 | |
He left behind £20,000. | 0:22:50 | 0:22:53 | |
If you are a relative and can prove it, | 0:22:53 | 0:22:55 | |
the money could go to you. | 0:22:55 | 0:22:58 | |
William Charles Meehan died in Bilston, Wolverhampton, aged 74. | 0:22:58 | 0:23:02 | |
He left a legacy of £19,000. | 0:23:02 | 0:23:05 | |
Did you know William, or could you be one of his relations? | 0:23:05 | 0:23:09 | |
Queenie Thompson died in Headington, Oxford, in 2005. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:13 | |
She passed away at 85 years of age | 0:23:13 | 0:23:16 | |
leaving £20,000. | 0:23:16 | 0:23:18 | |
Are you related to Queenie? | 0:23:18 | 0:23:20 | |
Could her cash belong to you? | 0:23:20 | 0:23:22 | |
If you have any information which could help solve these cases, | 0:23:22 | 0:23:26 | |
take a look at our website: | 0:23:26 | 0:23:30 | |
Follow the instructions on what to do next. | 0:23:30 | 0:23:33 | |
A common theme emerges in many cases the heir hunters investigate. | 0:23:39 | 0:23:43 | |
Often those that have passed away without a will | 0:23:43 | 0:23:46 | |
are quiet, solitary folk that have lost touch with their family. | 0:23:46 | 0:23:50 | |
But sometimes, the team come across a case | 0:23:50 | 0:23:53 | |
where the central figure is a well-known personality, even if a little eccentric! | 0:23:53 | 0:23:59 | |
Someone like this man, Josef Stawinoga, | 0:24:00 | 0:24:03 | |
who died in October 2007. | 0:24:03 | 0:24:05 | |
Case manager Frances Brett specialises in Polish estates | 0:24:05 | 0:24:09 | |
and she wasn't surprised when the case fell into her lap. | 0:24:09 | 0:24:12 | |
The name itself didn't ring any bells until I started looking into his background | 0:24:12 | 0:24:18 | |
and realised that this was one and the same man | 0:24:18 | 0:24:21 | |
that I had previously seen on the news several years ago. | 0:24:21 | 0:24:26 | |
We'll have to look up in our archives and sort it all out. | 0:24:26 | 0:24:31 | |
At the time, I thought to myself, "He's going to turn out to be one of our cases." | 0:24:32 | 0:24:38 | |
Josef had been on the news because he was a modern-day hermit. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:42 | |
He had set up camp on a roundabout on one of Wolverhampton's busiest roads. | 0:24:42 | 0:24:47 | |
Josef Stawinoga, also known as Fred, was a Polish emigre | 0:24:47 | 0:24:51 | |
who had arrived in the UK just after the Second World War. | 0:24:51 | 0:24:54 | |
He moved to Wolverhampton and worked in the local steelworks. | 0:24:54 | 0:24:58 | |
But some time in the 1970s, | 0:24:58 | 0:25:01 | |
something happened that made him decide to opt out of society. | 0:25:01 | 0:25:05 | |
The roundabout that was Josef's home is currently being redeveloped. | 0:25:05 | 0:25:09 | |
But what seems the most incredible part of the story | 0:25:09 | 0:25:12 | |
is that while Josef was living in this, | 0:25:12 | 0:25:14 | |
he was also sitting on thousands of pounds-worth of unclaimed pension. | 0:25:14 | 0:25:19 | |
Peter Bilson, deputy leader of Wolverhampton Council, | 0:25:20 | 0:25:24 | |
knew Fred well. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:26 | |
Fred first appeared on the ring road in the city | 0:25:26 | 0:25:31 | |
around the end of the 1970s, | 0:25:31 | 0:25:34 | |
so some 30-odd years ago now. | 0:25:34 | 0:25:38 | |
It was actually on the central reservation of the main ring road, | 0:25:38 | 0:25:43 | |
the stretch between the Birmingham New Road and the Penn Road islands. | 0:25:43 | 0:25:49 | |
And so it was quite a busy stretch of road, to say the least! | 0:25:49 | 0:25:53 | |
He was certainly a character | 0:25:53 | 0:25:54 | |
and I suppose a well-recognised character | 0:25:54 | 0:25:58 | |
walking as he did both along the ring road and along some of the main highways. | 0:25:58 | 0:26:04 | |
Very often, of course, spotted certainly by motorists | 0:26:04 | 0:26:07 | |
with his broom sweeping up leaves on the central reservation. | 0:26:07 | 0:26:11 | |
In that respect, I suppose he ensured that his particular lawn | 0:26:11 | 0:26:15 | |
and turf was kept fairly clean and tidy. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:19 | |
With his wild hair and long beard, Fred certainly stood out. | 0:26:19 | 0:26:23 | |
Local journalist Daniel Wainwright | 0:26:23 | 0:26:26 | |
thinks he was a living landmark. | 0:26:26 | 0:26:28 | |
I've known about Fred pretty much my entire life. | 0:26:28 | 0:26:31 | |
My earliest memory of him would probably be | 0:26:31 | 0:26:33 | |
being driven into town by my parents and my mother saying, "Oh, look, it's Fred!" | 0:26:33 | 0:26:38 | |
There's always been this strange, hunched over, bearded fellow | 0:26:38 | 0:26:43 | |
with a broom, standing there sweeping up leaves | 0:26:43 | 0:26:45 | |
or looking at traffic or standing having a cigarette. | 0:26:45 | 0:26:49 | |
And Tom Stokes of Beacon Radio also recalls Fred as something of a local mystery. | 0:26:49 | 0:26:54 | |
Fred was pretty much the name ever since I was growing up. | 0:26:55 | 0:26:59 | |
He was called Fred the tramp. | 0:26:59 | 0:27:01 | |
I don't know exactly how he came to be on the roundabout. | 0:27:01 | 0:27:04 | |
I pretty much know when I was about five or six years old, | 0:27:04 | 0:27:08 | |
driving by, seeing this tent. | 0:27:08 | 0:27:09 | |
That's where I've known him to be ever since. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:12 | |
Rather than move him on, the council took care of Fred's needs, | 0:27:12 | 0:27:16 | |
putting his pension in a bank account for him. | 0:27:16 | 0:27:19 | |
Not that he ever used it. | 0:27:19 | 0:27:21 | |
His unusual existence had marked him out as someone special to the local Hindu community. | 0:27:21 | 0:27:26 | |
He would get flasks of tea, cigarettes, meals brought to him | 0:27:26 | 0:27:31 | |
by the Sikh and Hindu community who believed his decision to spurn material wealth | 0:27:31 | 0:27:37 | |
made him something of a holy man. | 0:27:37 | 0:27:40 | |
Fred would light up his cigarette | 0:27:40 | 0:27:42 | |
and they would back away, bending to touch his feet | 0:27:42 | 0:27:45 | |
as they believed that in doing so they would be in some way blessed. | 0:27:45 | 0:27:49 | |
And Fred was happily puffing away on his cigarette! | 0:27:49 | 0:27:53 | |
And the council kept him topped up as well. | 0:27:53 | 0:27:56 | |
We realised that Fred might need some support | 0:27:56 | 0:28:00 | |
so our Meals-on-Wheels service provided a sterling support service | 0:28:00 | 0:28:05 | |
to him on a daily basis for all of that period | 0:28:05 | 0:28:08 | |
to ensure that Fred was at least getting fed. | 0:28:08 | 0:28:11 | |
For delivery lady Wendy Thomas, | 0:28:11 | 0:28:13 | |
Fred was part of her routine for years. | 0:28:13 | 0:28:16 | |
We'd park up across the road and go up to Josef's tent. | 0:28:16 | 0:28:20 | |
Sometimes he'd be out and about sweeping | 0:28:20 | 0:28:23 | |
so you'd wave so he knew his dinner was coming. | 0:28:23 | 0:28:26 | |
Other times he'd be sitting inside the tent. | 0:28:26 | 0:28:29 | |
You always opened the tent | 0:28:29 | 0:28:31 | |
and placed his meal on top of the old calor gas heater | 0:28:31 | 0:28:35 | |
that was full of old newspapers. | 0:28:35 | 0:28:37 | |
Sometimes he'd nod, sometimes he wouldn't. | 0:28:37 | 0:28:40 | |
But I always made eye contact with him to make sure he was OK. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:44 | |
I'd say in-between the tree and the digger | 0:28:44 | 0:28:48 | |
was where Josef's tent used to be. | 0:28:48 | 0:28:50 | |
That's where we'd take his meal. | 0:28:50 | 0:28:53 | |
I think everybody in Wolverhampton misses him. | 0:28:53 | 0:28:56 | |
People drive past and they'll still look at the spot where he used to live. | 0:28:56 | 0:29:00 | |
As he was such a prominent figure, | 0:29:02 | 0:29:04 | |
Fred's background became the subject of local legend | 0:29:04 | 0:29:07 | |
and there were many stories as to why he had chosen his way of life. | 0:29:07 | 0:29:11 | |
One that seems more plausible was to do with a lost love. | 0:29:11 | 0:29:14 | |
We believe it was to do with his wife. | 0:29:14 | 0:29:18 | |
Josef Stawinoga had been married to an Austrian lady | 0:29:18 | 0:29:22 | |
and they shared a room in Bilston while Josef was working at Stewarts and Lloyds. | 0:29:22 | 0:29:26 | |
One day, we don't know why, but he got home from work and found she was no longer there. She'd gone. | 0:29:26 | 0:29:32 | |
There are some who suggest he took to this lifestyle out of a broken heart. | 0:29:32 | 0:29:37 | |
Everybody had a theory about Fred's lifestyle. | 0:29:37 | 0:29:40 | |
Some of the speculations were more than a little wild! | 0:29:40 | 0:29:43 | |
There were all sorts. | 0:29:43 | 0:29:45 | |
Everything from, "He moved onto the roundabout because he was a prisoner of war | 0:29:45 | 0:29:50 | |
who was claustrophobic and couldn't live indoors." | 0:29:50 | 0:29:54 | |
There were others that he was a member of the Polish 2nd Corps, | 0:29:54 | 0:29:58 | |
the resistance movement that fought alongside the Allies in Italy. | 0:29:58 | 0:30:02 | |
Then others, more unfortunate, that he was a member of Hitler's SS | 0:30:02 | 0:30:06 | |
and that he'd been involved in some of the appalling atrocities committed by the Nazis. | 0:30:06 | 0:30:12 | |
As far as we were concerned, he was the man who lived on the ring road, | 0:30:12 | 0:30:16 | |
known far more by his nickname Fred than by his real name Josef Stawinoga. | 0:30:16 | 0:30:21 | |
Whatever his reason for living where he did, | 0:30:21 | 0:30:24 | |
he was certainly a local hero. | 0:30:24 | 0:30:26 | |
When he died, the public reaction was immense. | 0:30:26 | 0:30:30 | |
The petition for the memorial was set up after his passing on Facebook. | 0:30:30 | 0:30:35 | |
We invited people to sign up and join the petition | 0:30:35 | 0:30:40 | |
to put forward to the council | 0:30:40 | 0:30:42 | |
to arrange a memorial service to mark him and where he stayed on the ring road. | 0:30:42 | 0:30:46 | |
On the very first day alone, we had 346 comments on our website | 0:30:46 | 0:30:51 | |
paying tribute to him. | 0:30:51 | 0:30:53 | |
We had to set up a dedicated section of the site for Fred's story | 0:30:53 | 0:30:57 | |
so people could pay their respects. | 0:30:57 | 0:30:59 | |
We had over 1,000 in the end, just wanting to leave a message of support. | 0:30:59 | 0:31:04 | |
If you add to that all the people who joined his Facebook group as well, | 0:31:04 | 0:31:08 | |
we're talking thousands and thousands of people | 0:31:08 | 0:31:11 | |
who wanted to leave a message or tribute online. | 0:31:11 | 0:31:14 | |
The council quickly responded to the public reaction. | 0:31:14 | 0:31:18 | |
We were concerned that | 0:31:18 | 0:31:20 | |
what was a story which had quickly captured the imagination, | 0:31:20 | 0:31:24 | |
not just here in Wolverhampton but across the UK and even colloquially | 0:31:24 | 0:31:29 | |
didn't turn out to be a circus | 0:31:29 | 0:31:33 | |
and that Fred would get a chance | 0:31:33 | 0:31:35 | |
to be buried or cremated with some dignity. | 0:31:35 | 0:31:42 | |
And therefore it was the council who took on the responsibility | 0:31:42 | 0:31:46 | |
to ensure that the funeral was organised | 0:31:46 | 0:31:49 | |
to reflect what was assumed to have been his wishes. | 0:31:49 | 0:31:54 | |
But after Josef, or Fred's, funeral, | 0:31:56 | 0:31:58 | |
there came some unexpected news. | 0:31:58 | 0:32:01 | |
After 22 years of not claiming his pension, | 0:32:01 | 0:32:04 | |
he had a small fortune building in his bank account. | 0:32:04 | 0:32:07 | |
It was left where it was for all those years | 0:32:09 | 0:32:11 | |
and obviously will have amassed a lot in a bank account. | 0:32:11 | 0:32:14 | |
We could be talking in the region of maybe 80 to £100,000 by now. | 0:32:14 | 0:32:20 | |
If it's £100,000, | 0:32:20 | 0:32:22 | |
that's a huge amount. | 0:32:22 | 0:32:24 | |
But with no known relatives, | 0:32:24 | 0:32:26 | |
Josef's name was listed on the Bona Vacantia, | 0:32:26 | 0:32:29 | |
the weekly list of unclaimed estates. | 0:32:29 | 0:32:31 | |
And that's when Frasers stepped in. | 0:32:33 | 0:32:35 | |
Case manager Frances knew straight away she had a big job on her hands. | 0:32:36 | 0:32:40 | |
There were so many rumours and legends | 0:32:42 | 0:32:46 | |
and myths about Josef. | 0:32:46 | 0:32:48 | |
Probably because nobody knew the truth. | 0:32:48 | 0:32:53 | |
But Frasers have to work with the facts. | 0:32:53 | 0:32:56 | |
Frances spent two days solid on the phone to Poland, | 0:32:56 | 0:32:59 | |
tracking down Josef's family. | 0:32:59 | 0:33:01 | |
And slowly but surely she was able to sort the truth from the fiction. | 0:33:01 | 0:33:06 | |
He was born in the province of Posen | 0:33:07 | 0:33:10 | |
in present-day Poland. | 0:33:10 | 0:33:13 | |
He did, in fact, marry an Austrian lady. | 0:33:13 | 0:33:17 | |
There was no record of any divorce between the couple | 0:33:17 | 0:33:20 | |
nor could we find her currently alive. | 0:33:20 | 0:33:25 | |
Unable to track down Josef's wife Hermione, | 0:33:25 | 0:33:29 | |
the next step was to find close kin. | 0:33:29 | 0:33:31 | |
Using Josef's birthplace, the team were able to trace Josef's parents, | 0:33:31 | 0:33:36 | |
Jozefa and Robert Stawinoga, | 0:33:36 | 0:33:38 | |
and a sister, Angela. | 0:33:38 | 0:33:40 | |
Angela had three children | 0:33:40 | 0:33:42 | |
and Frances placed a call to one of them, | 0:33:42 | 0:33:44 | |
Josef's niece, Renata, in Germany. | 0:33:44 | 0:33:47 | |
But she was in for a surprise. | 0:33:47 | 0:33:49 | |
Josef's family had already heard about his death | 0:33:53 | 0:33:56 | |
and had initiated a claim by themselves. | 0:33:56 | 0:33:58 | |
Understandably, Frances felt a little flat. | 0:33:58 | 0:34:01 | |
Having gone to a lot of work and effort, | 0:34:03 | 0:34:06 | |
it was a real bitter blow and disappointment | 0:34:06 | 0:34:09 | |
that they didn't need our help. | 0:34:09 | 0:34:11 | |
And so Frazers won't be helping the heirs to put in a claim. | 0:34:12 | 0:34:15 | |
It seems also there is still a mystery hanging over the case. | 0:34:15 | 0:34:19 | |
What happened to Josef's wife, Hermione? | 0:34:19 | 0:34:22 | |
Until Josef's niece and nephews know for sure, | 0:34:22 | 0:34:25 | |
the can't rule her out of the claim. | 0:34:25 | 0:34:27 | |
As for Josef, or Fred as he was fondly known, | 0:34:29 | 0:34:32 | |
it seems that his estate is not his only legacy. | 0:34:32 | 0:34:35 | |
He was very much part of Wolverhampton's character. | 0:34:36 | 0:34:39 | |
He was probably our most famous landmark. | 0:34:39 | 0:34:43 | |
I think Fred will be missed. | 0:34:43 | 0:34:45 | |
Every day when you go past the site where his tent used to be, | 0:34:45 | 0:34:49 | |
you remember that's where Fred used to live, where his tent was. | 0:34:49 | 0:34:52 | |
And you don't see that any more. | 0:34:52 | 0:34:54 | |
Today the heir hunters are following the case of Frank Viney, | 0:35:01 | 0:35:05 | |
a retired postal engineer who lived most of his life in this house in Southampton. | 0:35:05 | 0:35:10 | |
-He was single. -Right. | 0:35:10 | 0:35:12 | |
-No children? -He lived with somebody for quite a long time, I think. | 0:35:12 | 0:35:15 | |
-As in partner? -Yeah. And she died about eight years ago. Something like that. | 0:35:15 | 0:35:21 | |
Neil thinks the case could be anywhere from 200 to £400,000. | 0:35:22 | 0:35:27 | |
It's a large amount, and an even larger family. | 0:35:27 | 0:35:30 | |
The good news is that they worked the same family tree over 27 years ago. | 0:35:30 | 0:35:35 | |
The bad news is that this is a huge family | 0:35:36 | 0:35:40 | |
with more than 30 heirs to trace. | 0:35:40 | 0:35:43 | |
So far, they've signed up one, | 0:35:43 | 0:35:45 | |
Roy Viney, who received an inheritance the first time round. | 0:35:45 | 0:35:49 | |
There was quite a big family of us in them days. | 0:35:49 | 0:35:52 | |
By the time they all had their bit, I ended up with about £25! | 0:35:52 | 0:35:57 | |
Travelling heir hunter Bob Barrett is at the house of Brian, | 0:35:59 | 0:36:03 | |
another heir. | 0:36:03 | 0:36:04 | |
A first cousin once removed, | 0:36:04 | 0:36:06 | |
he is one of the last heirs on his stem. | 0:36:06 | 0:36:09 | |
Because of this he is due one fourth of the 200 to £400,000 estate. | 0:36:09 | 0:36:15 | |
-Hi. -Hello. I'm Bob Barrett from Fraser & Fraser. | 0:36:16 | 0:36:19 | |
We're probate researchers. | 0:36:19 | 0:36:22 | |
-I'm trying to trace a Brian Viney. -Yeah, he lives here. | 0:36:22 | 0:36:25 | |
-Is he in? -No, he's at work. -Oh, I thought that might be the case. | 0:36:25 | 0:36:29 | |
It's disappointing, but Bob isn't giving up hope. | 0:36:29 | 0:36:33 | |
He phones the news into the office. | 0:36:33 | 0:36:35 | |
Hi, Gareth. | 0:36:35 | 0:36:37 | |
-I've just been to see Brian Viney. -Yep. Was he in? -No, he wasn't. | 0:36:37 | 0:36:42 | |
-But I spoke to his wife. -Right. | 0:36:42 | 0:36:44 | |
She telephoned him while I was there. | 0:36:44 | 0:36:49 | |
He won't be back till about six o'clock this evening. | 0:36:49 | 0:36:52 | |
I asked if it would be convenient to see him then. | 0:36:52 | 0:36:57 | |
He said not really. He would rather I left some correspondence. | 0:36:57 | 0:37:01 | |
OK. | 0:37:01 | 0:37:02 | |
Bob will leave the paperwork for Brian to consider. | 0:37:02 | 0:37:06 | |
But in the meantime, there could be a chance they can salvage something from the visit. | 0:37:06 | 0:37:10 | |
Gareth wants to know what happened to Brian's uncle, Kenneth. | 0:37:10 | 0:37:14 | |
Bob has a brilliant idea. | 0:37:14 | 0:37:17 | |
He goes back to ask Brian's wife Sue if she knows. | 0:37:17 | 0:37:20 | |
Do you know what happened to Uncle Kenneth? | 0:37:20 | 0:37:23 | |
Yes, I do. I've just found that out recently. | 0:37:23 | 0:37:27 | |
Did he have a family? | 0:37:27 | 0:37:28 | |
A keen family historian, | 0:37:28 | 0:37:31 | |
Sue has uncovered the story of the bigamous marriage in her own research. | 0:37:31 | 0:37:36 | |
What we didn't know was that Brian's dad's dad had been married before. | 0:37:36 | 0:37:42 | |
And he didn't get divorced, and wasn't widowed! | 0:37:42 | 0:37:45 | |
Nobody knew any of this. | 0:37:45 | 0:37:47 | |
You wouldn't talk about things like this even in this day and age, let alone then! | 0:37:47 | 0:37:52 | |
Kenneth Viney. | 0:37:54 | 0:37:56 | |
-So he was living with your husband and his mother. -When Brian was young. | 0:37:56 | 0:38:00 | |
-He didn't have any family then? -No. | 0:38:00 | 0:38:02 | |
-So he probably died a bachelor, then. -Yeah. | 0:38:02 | 0:38:05 | |
I don't think he ever married. I can't find anything that says he got married. | 0:38:05 | 0:38:09 | |
-He was a real loner, actually. -Was he? | 0:38:09 | 0:38:11 | |
Thanks ever so much for that. | 0:38:11 | 0:38:13 | |
I'll get out of the way, now. Thanks a lot. Bye-bye. | 0:38:13 | 0:38:16 | |
Sue's passion for family history has confirmed once and for all | 0:38:16 | 0:38:21 | |
that there are no more heirs on this stem. | 0:38:21 | 0:38:23 | |
Brian is definitely the one they want to speak to. | 0:38:23 | 0:38:26 | |
It's a shame Bob couldn't see him. | 0:38:27 | 0:38:29 | |
But the office have plenty more Vineys for Bob to visit. | 0:38:29 | 0:38:33 | |
I've got three other addresses to try. | 0:38:33 | 0:38:38 | |
In London, the paperwork is flying. | 0:38:44 | 0:38:47 | |
-Who's the deceased? -The deceased is Frederick William Sidney Viney. | 0:38:47 | 0:38:52 | |
He died in... | 0:38:52 | 0:38:53 | |
It doesn't fill that tree. | 0:38:55 | 0:38:57 | |
We're getting a bit snowed under with all these people. | 0:38:57 | 0:39:01 | |
The Vineys are a prolific family. | 0:39:01 | 0:39:03 | |
Across the four stems, there are 24 children, | 0:39:03 | 0:39:07 | |
35 grandchildren | 0:39:07 | 0:39:08 | |
and 11 great grandchildren to investigate. | 0:39:08 | 0:39:12 | |
It's 3.00pm and Neil has made a discovery that throws a new light on things. | 0:39:12 | 0:39:16 | |
We think the estate could be in the region of 200 to £400,000. | 0:39:16 | 0:39:21 | |
Probably around the £300,000 mark. | 0:39:21 | 0:39:23 | |
What we've been trying to do all day is ascertain a value on the estate | 0:39:23 | 0:39:27 | |
and see how it was. | 0:39:27 | 0:39:29 | |
This morning I thought it could be between two, three, 400,000. | 0:39:29 | 0:39:33 | |
I was hoping near 300,000. | 0:39:33 | 0:39:35 | |
Maybe I was really hopeful and hoping for the 400, | 0:39:35 | 0:39:39 | |
but I was expecting near the three. | 0:39:39 | 0:39:41 | |
I've had a closer look at some of the figures, a feeling on it, | 0:39:41 | 0:39:45 | |
I think it's gonna be nearer the 200 actually. | 0:39:45 | 0:39:48 | |
It'll be 200, 250, maybe. | 0:39:48 | 0:39:50 | |
Round about that sort of mark. | 0:39:50 | 0:39:52 | |
Not quite the three to four, | 0:39:52 | 0:39:54 | |
but probably nearer the two-and-a-half. | 0:39:54 | 0:39:57 | |
It's still a quarter of a million pounds. | 0:39:57 | 0:39:59 | |
£250,000 is still a fantastic sum. | 0:39:59 | 0:40:03 | |
In Southampton, Bob's still going. | 0:40:03 | 0:40:05 | |
I'm stopping off in Chandler's Ford | 0:40:05 | 0:40:08 | |
to see a Michael Viney who is a cousin once removed from the deceased. | 0:40:08 | 0:40:14 | |
He's on his sixth visit of the day. | 0:40:15 | 0:40:18 | |
We're probate researchers. We think it's happened to you about 20 years ago. | 0:40:23 | 0:40:28 | |
-It was us that dealt with it then. -Oh, yes. -The same thing has happened again with another relative. | 0:40:28 | 0:40:34 | |
Well, it wasn't convenient for Mr Viney to see me now | 0:40:34 | 0:40:38 | |
so I've left him some details | 0:40:38 | 0:40:42 | |
and I'll tell them in the office and they can write to him. | 0:40:42 | 0:40:46 | |
In the office, it's 5.00pm. | 0:40:49 | 0:40:51 | |
After working a tree with over 120 people on it, | 0:40:51 | 0:40:55 | |
and contacting upwards of 30 beneficiaries, | 0:40:55 | 0:40:58 | |
Neil is counting his blessings. | 0:40:58 | 0:41:01 | |
It was getting a bit heady. Luckily we managed to find this case which we've done before. | 0:41:02 | 0:41:08 | |
That's solved everything, really. | 0:41:08 | 0:41:11 | |
We've still had an awful amount of research to do. | 0:41:11 | 0:41:14 | |
A huge amount of numbers and people to find and written down. | 0:41:14 | 0:41:18 | |
But the family tree is fairly complete. | 0:41:18 | 0:41:21 | |
I've lost count of how many beneficiaries we've got | 0:41:21 | 0:41:25 | |
or how many we've spoken to, Frances, myself and Tony. | 0:41:25 | 0:41:28 | |
We've spoken to tens of beneficiaries. | 0:41:28 | 0:41:30 | |
But it's not only the office that have been run ragged. | 0:41:30 | 0:41:33 | |
Poor old Bob has done more than his fair share. | 0:41:33 | 0:41:36 | |
One, two, three... | 0:41:36 | 0:41:38 | |
..four heirs. | 0:41:40 | 0:41:42 | |
Called on three or four more and they haven't been in. | 0:41:42 | 0:41:46 | |
Only managed to sign one heir out of all that | 0:41:48 | 0:41:52 | |
but I'm sure other agreements will follow. | 0:41:52 | 0:41:56 | |
So, um... | 0:41:56 | 0:41:57 | |
It's now half past five. | 0:41:59 | 0:42:02 | |
At least another hour and a half before I get home. | 0:42:02 | 0:42:05 | |
Seven o'clock. It's quite a long day. | 0:42:05 | 0:42:07 | |
But at least the weather's been quite nice. | 0:42:07 | 0:42:11 | |
At the end of the day, the majority of heirs have asked Frasers to help submit a claim. | 0:42:12 | 0:42:17 | |
It's been a massive job | 0:42:17 | 0:42:20 | |
that has thrown up more questions than it's answered. | 0:42:20 | 0:42:23 | |
It seems amazing that a man like Frank Viney, | 0:42:25 | 0:42:28 | |
who was surrounded by family, died alone. | 0:42:28 | 0:42:31 | |
Even though Frank had inherited money from his cousin 27 years ago, | 0:42:32 | 0:42:36 | |
there is still something that is niggling at Neil. | 0:42:36 | 0:42:39 | |
You'd think that may have been the kick-start for him to write a will. | 0:42:41 | 0:42:45 | |
Unfortunately it wasn't. | 0:42:45 | 0:42:46 | |
It just goes to show it doesn't matter how much persuasion you give some people, | 0:42:46 | 0:42:51 | |
they just don't write wills. | 0:42:51 | 0:42:53 | |
Subtitles by Moira Diamond Red Bee Media - 2008 | 0:43:07 | 0:43:11 |