Viney Heir Hunters

Heir hunters spend their lives

tracking down families of people who've died without leaving a will.

They hand over thousands of pounds to long-lost relatives who'd no idea they were in line for a windfall.

Could they be knocking at your door?

Today on Heir Hunters:

the team have an overwhelming sense of deja-vu.

It's very rare that we get people we've contacted before.

We've got the whole family tree here.

And how a man who lived like this...

..had a secret no-one would have ever guessed.

Plus a list of unclaimed estates worth over £120,000.

Could you be due to inherit some money?

Every year in Britain

over 300,000 people die without leaving a will.

When no family is found, their money goes to the government.

That's where the heir hunting companies step in.

Using birth, death and marriage records,

they race each other to be the first to track down any long-lost relatives entitled to inherit.

But so often, the estates the heir hunters investigate

are people who have died alone, with no apparent family.

But appearances can be deceptive.

Sometimes people can be surrounded by family and not even know it!

Southampton, on the south coast, was home to Frank Viney

who died alone in 2007.

He lived in this house from the age of 17 for nearly 66 years.

Frank was a private man who had worked for many years as a postal engineer

before retiring.

The highlight of his week was a trip to the local Asda.

With no will and no near kin,

his name found its way onto the Government's list of unclaimed estates.

And Fraser & Fraser, one of the most experienced firms of heir hunters in the country,

are now on the case.

Using the powerful combination of research skills

and a crack team of mobile agents...

-Mr Barlow?

-Yes.

-I'm David Mansell from Fraser & Fraser.

Strategically placed throughout the UK,

they plan to keep ahead in the race with rival firms

to find Frank Viney's heirs.

It's 7.30am on Thursday.

The day the Treasury publishes the list of unclaimed estates.

And on the A3, Sussex-based travelling heir hunter Bob Barrett

is on his way to investigate the Viney case.

I'm going down to Southampton this morning

to make some enquiries and see if I can find something about the family

of a guy who died last year, Frank Viney.

So far, it's a really nice journey. There's not much traffic about.

A nice bright day.

Fingers crossed, the day carries on like this.

While Bob's having a pleasant start to the day, in the central offices, the heat is on.

Big boss partner Neil Fraser thinks they'll have to move quickly on the Frank Viney estate.

Value-wise on that, it could be between 300 and 400,000.

So it's looking very positive.

But, at the same time as us looking at it, I'm guessing quite a few other people will.

So we're working on that quite rapidly.

With such a lot of money at stake,

Neil decides to throw all the researchers and several case managers onto the search.

-Aren't any other William H's.

-In that case I'll kill William H's.

Over the years, Fraser & Fraser have built up an extensive collection of directories,

basic registers and census records

that provide an invaluable reference for their investigations.

Case manager Marcus Herbert

has been trawling the Southampton directories and has found Viney's address.

He now wants to find out how long he lived there

and if it was the family home.

But more than that, he's found another Southampton address for two Frank Vineys.

We've got a good run of Southampton directories. We've identified the deceased back to 1940, '41.

In 1940 to '41, as well there is a Frank Arthur Viney.

It could be his father. He's disappeared by '48, '49.

So he could be named Frank after his father.

A good chance. We'll look at that.

This could be the breakthrough they're looking for.

Neil and Marcus get straight onto the basic marriage and birth records.

-Both called Frank.

-It's not the family home.

Sure enough, the two Franks are father and son, living at the same address.

They're making good progress. It's just before 9.20

and the team can already start drawing up a family tree.

The heir hunters use family trees like treasure maps.

By laying out each family member, generation by generation,

they can see who is in line to inherit.

The records show that Frank Viney's father was also called Frank

and he was married to Ellen Mayo.

It looks like Frank Junior is an only child

so that rules out the need to search for siblings.

In the hunt for heirs, they will now have to concentrate their search on cousins

and a possible spouse.

Case manager Marcus is full of questions about why Frank Viney died alone

and whether he had many friends.

Quite often, if you get somebody who's been in a house for a long time

for one reason or another have cut themselves off from their family,

um...

the neighbours are often the closest thing they have to family.

This is why the investigations of the travelling heir hunters are so important.

Bob Barrett has arrived at Frank's house.

Frank lived in this house for over 66 years.

There's a good chance his neighbours will know something.

Hello. Sorry to bother you. I'm Bob Barrett from Fraser & Fraser, probate researchers.

We're trying to trace relatives of a gentleman that lived at number one, on the corner.

I wondered if you knew him or knew anything about him.

-No, I just moved in last year.

-So never heard of him?

-Most of us are students.

-I thought that was the case. Thanks very much.

It's frustrating. It seems most of the houses are student flats

and no-one knows their neighbours.

Thankfully, in the office, search for the Viney clan is bearing fruit.

The heir hunters have identified an address for Frank's grandfather

and senior researcher Gareth is checking it on the 1901 census.

At the moment, I'm looking for the census on the father's side.

The census is a national population survey conducted by the government every ten years

since 1841.

Gareth hopes he'll get a picture of the entire Viney family at this address.

It's a good call.

Most of it's fallen out very easily. It cracked it when we got the 1901 census.

Frank's grandparents were Thomas Viney and Sarah Wise.

Frank's mother was the last of her family

but his father, also Frank Viney,

is the youngest of seven children.

The team have worked out that four of his brothers and sisters produced offspring.

Each of these stems is due a quarter of the inheritance.

Going down a generation, this money will be divided by the number of children

and again by the number of grandchildren.

This is the next area the heir hunters will investigate.

In Southampton, travelling heir hunter Bob Barrett follows one more lead.

At last, he's found someone that knew him.

Charlie Shaw owns the lock-up garages at the end of the road.

-He was single.

-Right.

-No children?

-He lived with somebody else for quite a long time.

-Did he?

-Yeah.

-As in partner?

-And she died about eight years ago or something like that.

-But not married.

-Not married. Not as far as I know.

Right.

Was he a local chap?

-He lived here all his life.

-Born and bred?

-It was his grandfather's house.

-Oh.

Apparently.

Any idea about relatives?

Um... He had a heart bypass at one time.

He had to go back into the South Hants hospital because of infection.

-Right.

-While he was in there, his cousin was in there.

-Pure chance?

-Yeah.

-Right.

His house, as far as you're aware, and family home for years and years.

Yeah. All his life.

-Lovely. Thanks ever so much. Nice to meet you.

-All right.

That was a lucky break.

The chat confirmed what the heir hunters suspected,

that Frank Viney was never married.

While Bob Barrett's made headway,

in the London office Gareth's been looking into Frank's Uncle George

who was born in 1870.

He's trying to track down any grandchildren

and it seems he's struck gold.

Basically, we've got two very elderly people.

That's what's made it easy. They're born 1920 and 1928.

They both appear to be alive.

From our point of view, that's reduced the searching we need to do.

We've been able to get them up-to-date quite quickly.

But they're not on the phone, which is a bit of a problem.

It seems the Viney family were fond of calling their sons after themselves.

George Viney had a son also called George, who has now passed away.

He had two sons, George Viney and Roy Viney.

They are Frank's first cousins once removed.

It's great news as both cousins are based in Southampton.

Bob Barrett will be able to visit the addresses.

But the question is, did they know their cousin Frank

and did they know he lived just minutes away?

Bob is on the phone to Neil.

I've found out that he's lived in this house all his life.

Think it was his grandfather's house. It's been a family home for years and years.

That's about it.

If you want to go down and see George's children.

Will do.

Bob needs to get over to see George Viney, and fast,

before another firm pips him to the post.

In the office, the team effort is producing real results.

It's a fairly sizeable family, just on this stem alone.

Looks like we might have up to 20 beneficiaries, a fairly sizeable stem.

We've got quite a few other stems coming along as well.

We'll see how they go later. It's gonna be a busy day, I think!

In Southampton, Bob has arrived at the first heir's house,

George Viney, Frank's cousin once removed.

But no-one is in.

So he uses his nouse, and tries the neighbours.

Hello. Sorry to bother you. I'm Bob Barrett from Fraser & Fraser.

We're probate researchers. I'm making enquiries. I want to see Mr George Viney at number eight.

-Right.

-Does he still live there?

-Yes.

Perhaps he's just not in.

What day is it today? Tuesday.

He may have gone shopping. If not, he hasn't been well lately.

-Does he live on his own?

-No, he's with his wife, Joan.

I've confirmed Mr Viney does live there.

But his neighbour has checked the back and he's probably out shopping

so I'll come back later.

In the meanwhile, go and see his brother who lives round the corner.

The pressure is really on now.

George Viney is their first heir, and they need that signature.

But will the competition get there first?

Coming up: as the race heats up,

it seems the Viney family may have some skeletons in the closet.

What William Henry failed to do, when he married Ethel,

is divorce from Emily!

And why would a man in possession of a small fortune

choose to live like this?

Every week in Britain,

hundreds of people like Frank Viney pass away without leaving a will.

The Government has stacks of cash waiting to be claimed.

Perhaps some of it could be yours!

Renee Levy passed away in Hackney, London, aged 78, in 2005.

She left an estate of £23,000.

Are you related to Renee?

Could her money go to you?

Joyce Dorothy Clements died in Isleworth, Middlesex, aged 84.

She left a legacy of £20,000.

Did you know Joyce?

Frank Ewart Wilson died on Hayling Island, Hampshire.

He was 80 years old when he passed away.

He left over £19,000 in cash.

If you're related to Frank and can prove it,

the money could be yours.

If you have any information which could help solve any of these cases,

take a look at our website.

Follow the instructions on what to do next.

It's ten o'clock and the heir hunters are three hours into the case of Frank Viney,

a pensioner who lived in this house in Southampton.

He died in 2007 at the age of 80 without leaving a will.

Neil thinks they'll have a lot of competition on the case.

Value-wise on that one, it could be anywhere between 300 and 400,000.

The heir hunters know they are investigating four branches of the tree.

Bob's arrived at Roy Viney's house.

He's Frank's cousin once removed and an heir.

He'll be the first person they've seen.

Will he sign to Fraser's, or has the competition got there first?

-Hello. Mr Viney?

-Yes.

It's good news. Bob is the first heir hunter to reach them.

In the London office, the boss, partner Neil Fraser,

has made a staggering discovery.

It seems they investigated the Viney family before.

The case of Viney before, Frederick William S.Viney,

it's case number 660.

We're on almost 9,000 cases at the moment.

So we've worked quite a few cases since then.

Looks like we worked in '81.

So quite a few years ago, as well.

It's a real boost

as they will have already worked up a detailed family tree in 1981.

At that time, the team investigated Frederick Viney, Frank's cousin.

There's a good chance that Roy Viney, Frank's cousin once removed,

may already have had a visit from Fraser & Fraser 27 years ago.

Did Roy and his wife know about Frank Viney?

It seems not.

-Is it because one of Roy's dad's cousins has passed away?

-Yes.

-Oh!

-Without leaving a will.

-Oh.

Um, and at the time,

no-one could find next-of-kin, in the local authority.

Which is always a bit sad

when you think the local authority had to deal with all the disposal of the body.

-Where did they live?

-In Southampton.

They lived in Southampton? Well, I never!

The other thing I don't know is how many people are gonna share it

because it's a pretty big family.

-It'll take a lot of working out!

-It does take a lot of working out!

As there are so many cousins on Roy's stem of the family tree,

he is only entitled to 112th of the estate.

Roy knows just how the system works from their previous encounter with Fraser's.

Many years ago, that happened.

We thought we were gonna be millionaires then, but I'm afraid it didn't.

There was quite a big family of us in them days.

By the time they all had their little bit, I ended up with about £25!

As the estate itself is somewhere within 200 and 400,000,

it looks like Roy's in for a much bigger windfall this time.

But until the heir hunters find all the heirs to Frank's estate,

it's impossible to guess how much it will be.

With one heir signed, Bob heads back to see Roy's brother George Viney,

another heir. In the office,

the news that they are working the same case 27 years on

has bolstered the troops.

They've been able to pull out the original family tree.

Anyway, I'll leave you to worry about that bit.

I'll be here worrying about this bit!

It's not only saved them precious hours in the hunt for the Viney heirs,

but also given them a huge advantage over the competition.

For Neil, there is a sad irony to this second case.

The deceased must have got money from an estate before.

So it's very strange

if your deceased gets money and still doesn't make a will...

Usually, we think when we contact people,

it'll be the encouragement for them to make a will. But that's how it goes.

Heir hunter Bob Barrett has arrived at George Viney's house.

With one brother signed, he's hoping for a double result.

I've just been round to see Roy.

-Oh, yeah, my brother?

-Yes, your brother.

I came round a couple of hours ago and you were out shopping.

-We were shopping.

-I took the liberty of calling next door

to see your neighbour who looked out the back and said you were out.

But in the office, the Viney tale is about to take an unexpected turn.

Neil's uncovered a shocking secret.

It seems that one of Frank's uncles was a bigamist.

He's seeking advice from fellow partner, his cousin Charles.

So he married...

He was married a second time bigamously and has issue.

Right.

Are those issue now entitled?

Yes. The fact that it's a bigamous marriage is irrelevant.

Whether somebody has a legitimate child,

an illegitimate child or adopts a child,

they're all treated as his child.

OK.

It's an astounding revelation.

It seems that another sibling of Frank Viney's father, William,

was a colourful character!

He married Emily in Southampton in 1898.

And then 17 years later, he married another woman called Ethel

and they went on to have seven children.

But it seems he forgot to divorce his first wife,

making his marriage to Ethel bigamous.

When the heir hunters investigated the case in 1981,

this stem wasn't entitled, according to illegitimacy laws.

But as the law changed in 1985, they now are.

Bye-bye, Mr Viney. Nice to meet you. Cheerio!

And back at George Viney's house,

Bob has just finished and phones into the office.

What have you got?

I've been to see the Viney brothers.

George and Roy. George is not very well.

He's had a stroke or something

so I left agreements with him.

-OK.

-But Roy has signed.

Neil's delighted that Bob's signed an heir.

But the discovery of the new stem has shifted his focus.

He wants Bob to visit one of the grandchildren of the bigamous William Viney,

the son of Bernard, who is Brian.

He is Frank's first cousin once removed and will be an heir.

And there's an added urgency.

We think Brian is... He's the only beneficiary we can find on this stem.

-Right.

-'Now, if our calculations are correct,

'and if everything's looking good,'

he's entitled to the fair packet.

As Frank Viney's uncle, William is entitled to one quarter of the estate.

As it looks like there are no further heirs on this stem,

William's grandson Brian will be entitled to the full quarter.

That could be nearly £100,000.

With such a large inheritance, and their commission to consider,

it's crucial that the Fraser team get this heir's signature.

Bob needs to get a move on.

In the office, Neil's on tenterhooks.

This third beneficiary looks like it's gonna be the most valuable bit of the case

which is why we want him to see that.

It's someone we can't speak to cos the phone number we've got doesn't work any more.

It's an old number.

Um...

So fingers crossed on that bit, that he gets in.

It's nerve-racking for Bob, too.

At midday, it's possible the heir will be at work.

But it's vital they get hold of him.

Fingers crossed that he'll be in. Fraser & Fraser had dealings with this family 20 years ago

with a cousin dying, and Brian Viney missed out then

for legal reasons.

The inheritance law has changed a bit since.

So now he will inherit.

He's arrived at Brian's house.

It's a nail-biting moment.

This one heir could be entitled to a whole £100,000

and he missed out on the last inheritance.

But will he be home?

Coming up: With a fortune in the balance,

will Bob get to Brian Viney?

It's not only the professionals that can crack a case.

Could it be that you are entitled to an unclaimed estate?

Or could you help solve a riddle of a missing family member?

David Shepherd passed away in Wythenshawe, Manchester,

aged just 53 years.

He left behind £20,000.

If you are a relative and can prove it,

the money could go to you.

William Charles Meehan died in Bilston, Wolverhampton, aged 74.

He left a legacy of £19,000.

Did you know William, or could you be one of his relations?

Queenie Thompson died in Headington, Oxford, in 2005.

She passed away at 85 years of age

leaving £20,000.

Are you related to Queenie?

Could her cash belong to you?

If you have any information which could help solve these cases,

take a look at our website:

Follow the instructions on what to do next.

A common theme emerges in many cases the heir hunters investigate.

Often those that have passed away without a will

are quiet, solitary folk that have lost touch with their family.

But sometimes, the team come across a case

where the central figure is a well-known personality, even if a little eccentric!

Someone like this man, Josef Stawinoga,

who died in October 2007.

Case manager Frances Brett specialises in Polish estates

and she wasn't surprised when the case fell into her lap.

The name itself didn't ring any bells until I started looking into his background

and realised that this was one and the same man

that I had previously seen on the news several years ago.

We'll have to look up in our archives and sort it all out.

At the time, I thought to myself, "He's going to turn out to be one of our cases."

Josef had been on the news because he was a modern-day hermit.

He had set up camp on a roundabout on one of Wolverhampton's busiest roads.

Josef Stawinoga, also known as Fred, was a Polish emigre

who had arrived in the UK just after the Second World War.

He moved to Wolverhampton and worked in the local steelworks.

But some time in the 1970s,

something happened that made him decide to opt out of society.

The roundabout that was Josef's home is currently being redeveloped.

But what seems the most incredible part of the story

is that while Josef was living in this,

he was also sitting on thousands of pounds-worth of unclaimed pension.

Peter Bilson, deputy leader of Wolverhampton Council,

knew Fred well.

Fred first appeared on the ring road in the city

around the end of the 1970s,

so some 30-odd years ago now.

It was actually on the central reservation of the main ring road,

the stretch between the Birmingham New Road and the Penn Road islands.

And so it was quite a busy stretch of road, to say the least!

He was certainly a character

and I suppose a well-recognised character

walking as he did both along the ring road and along some of the main highways.

Very often, of course, spotted certainly by motorists

with his broom sweeping up leaves on the central reservation.

In that respect, I suppose he ensured that his particular lawn

and turf was kept fairly clean and tidy.

With his wild hair and long beard, Fred certainly stood out.

Local journalist Daniel Wainwright

thinks he was a living landmark.

I've known about Fred pretty much my entire life.

My earliest memory of him would probably be

being driven into town by my parents and my mother saying, "Oh, look, it's Fred!"

There's always been this strange, hunched over, bearded fellow

with a broom, standing there sweeping up leaves

or looking at traffic or standing having a cigarette.

And Tom Stokes of Beacon Radio also recalls Fred as something of a local mystery.

Fred was pretty much the name ever since I was growing up.

He was called Fred the tramp.

I don't know exactly how he came to be on the roundabout.

I pretty much know when I was about five or six years old,

driving by, seeing this tent.

That's where I've known him to be ever since.

Rather than move him on, the council took care of Fred's needs,

putting his pension in a bank account for him.

Not that he ever used it.

His unusual existence had marked him out as someone special to the local Hindu community.

He would get flasks of tea, cigarettes, meals brought to him

by the Sikh and Hindu community who believed his decision to spurn material wealth

made him something of a holy man.

Fred would light up his cigarette

and they would back away, bending to touch his feet

as they believed that in doing so they would be in some way blessed.

And Fred was happily puffing away on his cigarette!

And the council kept him topped up as well.

We realised that Fred might need some support

so our Meals-on-Wheels service provided a sterling support service

to him on a daily basis for all of that period

to ensure that Fred was at least getting fed.

For delivery lady Wendy Thomas,

Fred was part of her routine for years.

We'd park up across the road and go up to Josef's tent.

Sometimes he'd be out and about sweeping

so you'd wave so he knew his dinner was coming.

Other times he'd be sitting inside the tent.

You always opened the tent

and placed his meal on top of the old calor gas heater

that was full of old newspapers.

Sometimes he'd nod, sometimes he wouldn't.

But I always made eye contact with him to make sure he was OK.

I'd say in-between the tree and the digger

was where Josef's tent used to be.

That's where we'd take his meal.

I think everybody in Wolverhampton misses him.

People drive past and they'll still look at the spot where he used to live.

As he was such a prominent figure,

Fred's background became the subject of local legend

and there were many stories as to why he had chosen his way of life.

One that seems more plausible was to do with a lost love.

We believe it was to do with his wife.

Josef Stawinoga had been married to an Austrian lady

and they shared a room in Bilston while Josef was working at Stewarts and Lloyds.

One day, we don't know why, but he got home from work and found she was no longer there. She'd gone.

There are some who suggest he took to this lifestyle out of a broken heart.

Everybody had a theory about Fred's lifestyle.

Some of the speculations were more than a little wild!

There were all sorts.

Everything from, "He moved onto the roundabout because he was a prisoner of war

who was claustrophobic and couldn't live indoors."

There were others that he was a member of the Polish 2nd Corps,

the resistance movement that fought alongside the Allies in Italy.

Then others, more unfortunate, that he was a member of Hitler's SS

and that he'd been involved in some of the appalling atrocities committed by the Nazis.

As far as we were concerned, he was the man who lived on the ring road,

known far more by his nickname Fred than by his real name Josef Stawinoga.

Whatever his reason for living where he did,

he was certainly a local hero.

When he died, the public reaction was immense.

The petition for the memorial was set up after his passing on Facebook.

We invited people to sign up and join the petition

to put forward to the council

to arrange a memorial service to mark him and where he stayed on the ring road.

On the very first day alone, we had 346 comments on our website

paying tribute to him.

We had to set up a dedicated section of the site for Fred's story

so people could pay their respects.

We had over 1,000 in the end, just wanting to leave a message of support.

If you add to that all the people who joined his Facebook group as well,

we're talking thousands and thousands of people

who wanted to leave a message or tribute online.

The council quickly responded to the public reaction.

We were concerned that

what was a story which had quickly captured the imagination,

not just here in Wolverhampton but across the UK and even colloquially

didn't turn out to be a circus

and that Fred would get a chance

to be buried or cremated with some dignity.

And therefore it was the council who took on the responsibility

to ensure that the funeral was organised

to reflect what was assumed to have been his wishes.

But after Josef, or Fred's, funeral,

there came some unexpected news.

After 22 years of not claiming his pension,

he had a small fortune building in his bank account.

It was left where it was for all those years

and obviously will have amassed a lot in a bank account.

We could be talking in the region of maybe 80 to £100,000 by now.

If it's £100,000,

that's a huge amount.

But with no known relatives,

Josef's name was listed on the Bona Vacantia,

the weekly list of unclaimed estates.

And that's when Frasers stepped in.

Case manager Frances knew straight away she had a big job on her hands.

There were so many rumours and legends

and myths about Josef.

Probably because nobody knew the truth.

But Frasers have to work with the facts.

Frances spent two days solid on the phone to Poland,

tracking down Josef's family.

And slowly but surely she was able to sort the truth from the fiction.

He was born in the province of Posen

in present-day Poland.

He did, in fact, marry an Austrian lady.

There was no record of any divorce between the couple

nor could we find her currently alive.

Unable to track down Josef's wife Hermione,

the next step was to find close kin.

Using Josef's birthplace, the team were able to trace Josef's parents,

Jozefa and Robert Stawinoga,

and a sister, Angela.

Angela had three children

and Frances placed a call to one of them,

Josef's niece, Renata, in Germany.

But she was in for a surprise.

Josef's family had already heard about his death

and had initiated a claim by themselves.

Understandably, Frances felt a little flat.

Having gone to a lot of work and effort,

it was a real bitter blow and disappointment

that they didn't need our help.

And so Frazers won't be helping the heirs to put in a claim.

It seems also there is still a mystery hanging over the case.

What happened to Josef's wife, Hermione?

Until Josef's niece and nephews know for sure,

the can't rule her out of the claim.

As for Josef, or Fred as he was fondly known,

it seems that his estate is not his only legacy.

He was very much part of Wolverhampton's character.

He was probably our most famous landmark.

I think Fred will be missed.

Every day when you go past the site where his tent used to be,

you remember that's where Fred used to live, where his tent was.

And you don't see that any more.

Today the heir hunters are following the case of Frank Viney,

a retired postal engineer who lived most of his life in this house in Southampton.

-He was single.

-Right.

-No children?

-He lived with somebody for quite a long time, I think.

-As in partner?

-Yeah. And she died about eight years ago. Something like that.

Neil thinks the case could be anywhere from 200 to £400,000.

It's a large amount, and an even larger family.

The good news is that they worked the same family tree over 27 years ago.

The bad news is that this is a huge family

with more than 30 heirs to trace.

So far, they've signed up one,

Roy Viney, who received an inheritance the first time round.

There was quite a big family of us in them days.

By the time they all had their bit, I ended up with about £25!

Travelling heir hunter Bob Barrett is at the house of Brian,

another heir.

A first cousin once removed,

he is one of the last heirs on his stem.

Because of this he is due one fourth of the 200 to £400,000 estate.

-Hi.

-Hello. I'm Bob Barrett from Fraser & Fraser.

We're probate researchers.

-I'm trying to trace a Brian Viney.

-Yeah, he lives here.

-Is he in?

-No, he's at work.

-Oh, I thought that might be the case.

It's disappointing, but Bob isn't giving up hope.

He phones the news into the office.

Hi, Gareth.

-I've just been to see Brian Viney.

-Yep. Was he in?

-No, he wasn't.

-But I spoke to his wife.

-Right.

She telephoned him while I was there.

He won't be back till about six o'clock this evening.

I asked if it would be convenient to see him then.

He said not really. He would rather I left some correspondence.

OK.

Bob will leave the paperwork for Brian to consider.

But in the meantime, there could be a chance they can salvage something from the visit.

Gareth wants to know what happened to Brian's uncle, Kenneth.

Bob has a brilliant idea.

He goes back to ask Brian's wife Sue if she knows.

Do you know what happened to Uncle Kenneth?

Yes, I do. I've just found that out recently.

Did he have a family?

A keen family historian,

Sue has uncovered the story of the bigamous marriage in her own research.

What we didn't know was that Brian's dad's dad had been married before.

And he didn't get divorced, and wasn't widowed!

Nobody knew any of this.

You wouldn't talk about things like this even in this day and age, let alone then!

Kenneth Viney.

-So he was living with your husband and his mother.

-When Brian was young.

-He didn't have any family then?

-No.

-So he probably died a bachelor, then.

-Yeah.

I don't think he ever married. I can't find anything that says he got married.

-He was a real loner, actually.

-Was he?

Thanks ever so much for that.

I'll get out of the way, now. Thanks a lot. Bye-bye.

Sue's passion for family history has confirmed once and for all

that there are no more heirs on this stem.

Brian is definitely the one they want to speak to.

It's a shame Bob couldn't see him.

But the office have plenty more Vineys for Bob to visit.

I've got three other addresses to try.

In London, the paperwork is flying.

-Who's the deceased?

-The deceased is Frederick William Sidney Viney.

He died in...

It doesn't fill that tree.

We're getting a bit snowed under with all these people.

The Vineys are a prolific family.

Across the four stems, there are 24 children,

35 grandchildren

and 11 great grandchildren to investigate.

It's 3.00pm and Neil has made a discovery that throws a new light on things.

We think the estate could be in the region of 200 to £400,000.

Probably around the £300,000 mark.

What we've been trying to do all day is ascertain a value on the estate

and see how it was.

This morning I thought it could be between two, three, 400,000.

I was hoping near 300,000.

Maybe I was really hopeful and hoping for the 400,

but I was expecting near the three.

I've had a closer look at some of the figures, a feeling on it,

I think it's gonna be nearer the 200 actually.

It'll be 200, 250, maybe.

Round about that sort of mark.

Not quite the three to four,

but probably nearer the two-and-a-half.

It's still a quarter of a million pounds.

£250,000 is still a fantastic sum.

In Southampton, Bob's still going.

I'm stopping off in Chandler's Ford

to see a Michael Viney who is a cousin once removed from the deceased.

He's on his sixth visit of the day.

We're probate researchers. We think it's happened to you about 20 years ago.

-It was us that dealt with it then.

-Oh, yes.

-The same thing has happened again with another relative.

Well, it wasn't convenient for Mr Viney to see me now

so I've left him some details

and I'll tell them in the office and they can write to him.

In the office, it's 5.00pm.

After working a tree with over 120 people on it,

and contacting upwards of 30 beneficiaries,

Neil is counting his blessings.

It was getting a bit heady. Luckily we managed to find this case which we've done before.

That's solved everything, really.

We've still had an awful amount of research to do.

A huge amount of numbers and people to find and written down.

But the family tree is fairly complete.

I've lost count of how many beneficiaries we've got

or how many we've spoken to, Frances, myself and Tony.

We've spoken to tens of beneficiaries.

But it's not only the office that have been run ragged.

Poor old Bob has done more than his fair share.

One, two, three...

..four heirs.

Called on three or four more and they haven't been in.

Only managed to sign one heir out of all that

but I'm sure other agreements will follow.

So, um...

It's now half past five.

At least another hour and a half before I get home.

Seven o'clock. It's quite a long day.

But at least the weather's been quite nice.

At the end of the day, the majority of heirs have asked Frasers to help submit a claim.

It's been a massive job

that has thrown up more questions than it's answered.

It seems amazing that a man like Frank Viney,

who was surrounded by family, died alone.

Even though Frank had inherited money from his cousin 27 years ago,

there is still something that is niggling at Neil.

You'd think that may have been the kick-start for him to write a will.

Unfortunately it wasn't.

It just goes to show it doesn't matter how much persuasion you give some people,

they just don't write wills.

Subtitles by Moira Diamond Red Bee Media - 2008