0:00:02 > 0:00:06Heir hunters spend their lives tracking down the families of people who died without leaving a will.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10They hand over thousands of pounds to long-lost relatives
0:00:10 > 0:00:13who had no idea they were in line for a windfall.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Could they be knocking at your door?
0:00:34 > 0:00:40On today's programme, two cases involving adoption threaten to stump the heir hunters.
0:00:40 > 0:00:46With stiff competition on a £100,000 estate they can't afford to waste any time.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50We're the third company to have applied for it and somebody has already been in and got it.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54And in trying to find heirs for Daisy Hart,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58they uncover the story of a woman's hidden sorrow at giving up her only child.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01She'd have loved that baby, I know she would have done.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05It must have been really heartbreaking for her to hand it over like that.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08And we'll have details of some of the hundreds of unclaimed estates.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11Could you be in line for a windfall?
0:01:12 > 0:01:16More than two thirds of people die without leaving a will.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20If they had no obvious relatives, their money goes to the Government
0:01:20 > 0:01:25who last year made a staggering £18 million from unclaimed estates.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28That's where the heir hunters step in.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32Which is why the cousins, such as you, end up inheriting.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37There are more than 30 heir hunting companies who, for a share of the estate,
0:01:37 > 0:01:42make it their business to track down the rightful kin. Last year they claimed back
0:01:42 > 0:01:48five million pounds for unsuspecting heirs who would have otherwise gone empty-handed.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53It's a real life-changing event when that cheque finally does drop on their doorstep.
0:01:57 > 0:02:04It's 6.30am in London at Fraser and Fraser, one of the largest heir hunting companies in the UK.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08The Government list of people who have died without a will has been announced.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12Heir hunters work on commission, so it's all about getting to the heirs
0:02:12 > 0:02:14before the other companies and signing them up.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18The first priority is to quickly work out which cases are of value.
0:02:20 > 0:02:27Today a case worth an estimated £100,000 has caught the eye of partner Neil Fraser.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31We're actually working a case of Bett. B-E-T-T.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35It's up in the Wirral, or Liverpool, area.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39At the moment all we really know is it's Christopher John Bett.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44He's meant to be born in 1945, which is quite young really, it's quite a young deceased.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Christopher Bett died in Liverpool in 2008.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53He's remembered fondly by his friend of 20 years, Michael Kennedy.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57I know we're all unique, it's often said, but he was, you know?
0:02:57 > 0:03:00I mean, his appearance, his mannerisms.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Every time you were seeing him he had a cigarette in one hand
0:03:03 > 0:03:08and a cup of tea in the other hand, covered in oil and grease.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13But he was a very talented man and the main thing is,
0:03:13 > 0:03:18in my view, is this thing of not judging a book by the cover.
0:03:18 > 0:03:25You know, open the book, look inside and when you looked inside on Chris, he was just a gem.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30Chris was gifted at fixing engines, a talent which he was happy to share.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35He was very, very helpful to all us as a group of friends.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39He was always there for us and he was always there to help
0:03:39 > 0:03:43in any problems that we had and we really still miss him.
0:03:43 > 0:03:50Chris died in 2008 without leaving a will and with an estate of £100,000,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54all of which will go to the Government unless heirs can be found.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02Chris spent his life in the Liverpool area and the team know that having someone primed
0:04:02 > 0:04:07for action on location could save hours of research compared to what they can do in the office.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10There are people they can call on for just this purpose.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17The firm employ a squad of travelling heir hunters,
0:04:17 > 0:04:22many of them are ex-policeman and use their skills to interview neighbours,
0:04:22 > 0:04:28get their hands on key documents and find clues to crack the case, hopefully before other companies.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33And when heirs have been found, they speed over to sign them up and get their commission.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42Dave Mansell is one of the company's senior researchers, based in Manchester.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46We're off to Merseyside today.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49We're halfway there. A new case.
0:04:49 > 0:04:55The deceased is called Bett, his surname, B-E-T-T. Christopher.
0:04:55 > 0:04:56Died earlier this year.
0:04:56 > 0:05:03We think there's a property involved so think the case is worth working, so...
0:05:03 > 0:05:09While Dave is en route, in the office they're searching for a record of Chris's birth
0:05:09 > 0:05:11which, so far, they can't find.
0:05:11 > 0:05:17However, they have had some success finding details for Chris's immediate family.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22From the old electoral rolls we can see what appears to be the mother, Emily.
0:05:22 > 0:05:27She possibly dies in 1995, which probably makes her born in 1907.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Upstairs, case manager David Sleegh
0:05:29 > 0:05:34is about to put in some early morning calls to the neighbours.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38It's 7.30am, so he'll need all his charm.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42It's hit and miss with the telephone enquiries, but sometimes you get lucky.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46You might find someone who knew the deceased well.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50I wouldn't bet on it, ho, ho, ho.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55Did you know if he ever had any brothers or sisters?
0:05:55 > 0:05:58He might have been adopted.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Was the family ever visited by other relatives, do you know?
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Cousins or aunts and uncles?
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Oh, so...
0:06:10 > 0:06:13So, his mother had a sister.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Can you remember what her name was?
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Thank you very much indeed for your time. I really appreciate that.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Bye-bye, now. Bye-bye.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28That's about the best enquiry I've done in ages, that.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31David's charm has paid off with several useful pieces of information.
0:06:31 > 0:06:37He has found that Chris had at least one aunt and was adopted.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41He has also found out information about Chris's father.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Father would have died pre-April 1979 - Frank, or...
0:06:45 > 0:06:48John or Frank, but that's...
0:06:48 > 0:06:51If we can find some electoral on it.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53The father's name gives the researchers vital clues to be working
0:06:53 > 0:06:56on building Chris's family tree,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59but his adoption throws up problems.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Christopher has been adopted.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03It means from a legal point of view,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07from a research point of view, we research the adopted family.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11So, we research the Bett family, which is all good with us.
0:07:11 > 0:07:16But, it's very, very hard for us to search for these adoptions.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19We can't search for siblings on an adoption.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23We can't search for other people adopted into the family.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25We're still going to work the Bett family, which is good.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30And it explains why we can't find a birth for it, with him being adopted, so that all ties in.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Ordinarily, heir hunters would use the deceased's birth records
0:07:35 > 0:07:38to find the names of the parents.
0:07:38 > 0:07:44They could then build a family tree to find siblings and work out potential heirs.
0:07:44 > 0:07:45However, as Chris was adopted,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48they can't use his birth certificate to confirm the names
0:07:48 > 0:07:52of his adoptive parents, so they have to search
0:07:52 > 0:07:56using other resources, such as the electoral roll.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Chris found out about his adoption after his mother died.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03The discovery had a powerful impact on him,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06as his friend Michael recalls.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09It was a shattering blow to him, really, you know?
0:08:09 > 0:08:12The realisation of it,
0:08:12 > 0:08:18that it wasn't his actual mother was very difficult for him, you know?
0:08:19 > 0:08:24Although Chris struggled with the news of his adoption, his adopted family, the Betts,
0:08:24 > 0:08:30are legally viewed as blood relatives and will be eligible to inherit his £100,000 estate.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33But with no heirs found yet Neil is sending another traveller,
0:08:33 > 0:08:38Paul Matthews, to hunt down more information.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43So, can you head up to Liverpool and when you get close I'll tell you what you're doing.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46OK, cheers. Bye.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50What we've done there is just double up on our travellers
0:08:50 > 0:08:57and I also want to make sure we've two people on the road to try and beat off some of the competition.
0:08:57 > 0:08:58We are bound to get some.
0:08:58 > 0:09:05So, that's Paul going up there as well, so Paul and Dave both on the road at the minute to Liverpool.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Like Neil, Paul is aware that the stakes are high.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12It won't be a secret by now that it's an estate that's worth looking at.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16So, yeah, we'll be doing it, other companies will be having a look, as well.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18So, the race is on.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22With two travelling heir hunters on their way to the action,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25- the office now need to get down to some hard research.- It is Frank?
0:09:25 > 0:09:28- It is.- It's definitely Frank?
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Yeah.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36The first finding is that the neighbours were right about Chris's adopted father.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38His name was Frank Bett.
0:09:38 > 0:09:44Chris's adopted mother was Emily Settle, whose name the team believe is easier to research.
0:09:44 > 0:09:51They're looking for Settles who'd be in the right period and location to be part of Chris's family.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55Because there's a lot of information on it, we need to throw a lot
0:09:55 > 0:09:57of bodies at it initially,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01but it's all kind of organised panic.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Hopefully it'll settle down in a minute and we'll start to know
0:10:04 > 0:10:08where we stand because a lot of it's very speculative now.
0:10:08 > 0:10:14Some of it we know, and it's tying in stuff we don't know with what we do know.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17So far the researchers have found four Settles
0:10:17 > 0:10:19who could be Chris's aunts
0:10:19 > 0:10:24and uncles on his mother's side - Elsie, William, Frank and Hilda.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Until they get a call from David with the relevant birth certificates
0:10:31 > 0:10:35they can't prove any of it, but before he goes to pick them up,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39he's still got time to do a bit of detective work in Chris's street.
0:10:39 > 0:10:45Well, the Registry Office doesn't open until ten o'clock on a Thursday morning on the Wirral,
0:10:45 > 0:10:49so we've got time to do it. It's only 8.40am now,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52although it looks like midnight with the weather.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57But when he gets there, he realises he's not alone.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Morning.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04- Morning.- He's got a rival.
0:11:04 > 0:11:10- Paul Marks, Celtic Research. - With two people on the same street it's getting quite cosy.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Well, that's a good guess that, seeing as we're stood outside the house, yeah.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17It's going to be a race to meet the neighbours.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19This looks like they're away.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26They are only so many houses to go round.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28- The gent that used to live across the road that died, Chris.- Yes.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31- I believe he used to go sailing with your husband, didn't he? - He did, yeah.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35For David, it's all getting a bit close for comfort.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38We just want to know if you know anything about him.
0:11:38 > 0:11:44Barry was very friendly with him and my husband was, as well, because they were both...
0:11:44 > 0:11:46They shared the cars together...
0:11:46 > 0:11:51While David and the competition are going round the houses, case manager David Milchard
0:11:51 > 0:11:58is already working on trying to confirm the information they've got, starting with Chris's Uncle Frank.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Right, we've got an uncle,
0:12:03 > 0:12:05a maternal uncle of the deceased.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09He's survived by a son called Frank
0:12:09 > 0:12:12and he's living in...
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Wallasey at the moment, so...
0:12:14 > 0:12:20He's not on the telephone so we're trying to contact him and, hopefully, he'll give us a bit
0:12:20 > 0:12:24of information, confirm whether we have the right family or not.
0:12:24 > 0:12:29Frank Settle is a potential cousin and therefore heir, but as he's not on the phone they'll need to send
0:12:29 > 0:12:34someone in person to confirm he's part of the right family.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38I've got a possible cousin, Chris.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42- You're not in earshot of anyone, are you?- I'm just walking to my car now.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45I'll ring you in two secs. Bye.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49He's just walking to his car.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53I can't be doing with that.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00We've discovered that he's got a relative living in Wallasey,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05so we're about to make our way there
0:13:05 > 0:13:07to try and be first.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15Armed with the information, David could be on his way to his first heir,
0:13:15 > 0:13:19but as the competition is hot on his heels, time could be running out.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24With £100,000 at stake, can he get to the heirs first?
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Heir hunting isn't just based in the hustle and bustle of London.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40With potential heirs to be found anywhere up and down the country,
0:13:40 > 0:13:45the race to find beneficiaries to unclaimed estates can take place anywhere.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49In the sleepy suburbs of Burgess Hill, Sussex,
0:13:49 > 0:13:55one independent operation makes a point of taking old cases that other companies have overlooked.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58One is sort of almost doing a service because you probably
0:13:58 > 0:14:02find genealogists won't go after the smaller cases.
0:14:02 > 0:14:08Well, quite a lot of them, you do get letters from them, and say they are grateful you have taken the trouble
0:14:08 > 0:14:10to discover them after all this time.
0:14:10 > 0:14:16Charles, the Lord Teviot, is a hereditary peer with a keen interest in family history.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21He and his wife, Lady Teviot, both run their own heir hunting companies.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24You've got it? You've found the thing?
0:14:24 > 0:14:27- I've found it.- But although Charles tends to go for the smaller cases,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30it doesn't necessarily make his job easier,
0:14:30 > 0:14:35as was proven in the case of Daisy Hart.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39Daisy Hart died in Hartley Nursing Home in Kent in 1996
0:14:39 > 0:14:43leaving a £12,000 estate and no will.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47She outlived her husband and had no children.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Daisy's nephew Peter Hart remembers his aunt,
0:14:50 > 0:14:52although they weren't close.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54Daisy married my uncle,
0:14:54 > 0:14:59who was Harold, but in the family
0:14:59 > 0:15:02was known as Bubbles.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06She was a bit on the timid side.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09She was short.
0:15:10 > 0:15:16Bubbles was considerably taller than her.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20That's all I can say.
0:15:20 > 0:15:27Oh, well, I've looked, but I've got no photographs whatsoever of them.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31Although he doesn't have any photos of her, a visit to the house
0:15:31 > 0:15:36where his Aunt Daisy and his grandparents once lived brings back some memories for Peter.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44Well, this is where my grandparents lived
0:15:44 > 0:15:48and Bubbles and Daisy...
0:15:48 > 0:15:52took the house over...
0:15:52 > 0:15:56after Granddad died.
0:15:56 > 0:16:02And if I remember rightly, down in that room down there,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05there was a table in the window and an aspidistra.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08I haven't been round here for years.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17Heir hunters frequently deal with families who weren't close or have grown apart over time.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20However, in Daisy's case, her heirs would prove to be
0:16:20 > 0:16:25in a different family altogether thanks to a secret in her past.
0:16:27 > 0:16:33At his home office, Charles found the case advertised on the Treasury's list of unclaimed estates
0:16:33 > 0:16:38and began his investigation by looking for Daisy's birth and death details.
0:16:38 > 0:16:43We found that Daisy had died in the Tunbridge Wells district,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46so we applied for that certificate
0:16:46 > 0:16:49and found that Daisy
0:16:49 > 0:16:51was born
0:16:51 > 0:16:54on 20 January 1923,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58and her maiden name was Parkinson.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Once Charles had Daisy's death certificate, the next stage was
0:17:02 > 0:17:08to try and find her birth record so that he could trace her parents and then potential siblings.
0:17:14 > 0:17:20As you can see, in the marked quarter of 1923
0:17:20 > 0:17:25there is no Daisy Parkinson
0:17:25 > 0:17:27being born.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Not being able to find her birth record threw a spanner in the works
0:17:31 > 0:17:34because it's the starting point for all heir hunters.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39Like in all these cases, the first thing you do is you want to find the person's birth.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42And then from the person's birth, their parents' marriage,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45and then brothers and sisters and you go on like that.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49Well, in this case with Daisy Hart you didn't get over the first hurdle.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53You were just stuck and unable to find her birth, which I suppose if
0:17:53 > 0:17:56somebody else had looked at it in the past would have probably given up.
0:17:56 > 0:18:02But Charles refused to admit defeat, and broadened his search to include
0:18:02 > 0:18:06all Daisies born in that year and area, just in case she had changed her name.
0:18:06 > 0:18:12So, therefore one did come up against a Daisy Billings.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17He checked this Daisy Billings' birth certificate and found that
0:18:17 > 0:18:21there were some similarities between her and Daisy Hart.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24That was interesting when one found the certificate.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29She was born on the same birth date, 28th of January 1923.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33At 56 Vale Road, Tunbridge.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Not only did the Daisies share the same name, but they seemed
0:18:36 > 0:18:42to live in the same area and shared the same date of birth, but this was not all the certificate revealed.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Father, blank.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49Mother, Annie Billings, a domestic servant.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Rank or profession of father, blank.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57Well, quite frankly, Daisy was born illegitimate, I suppose you could put it like that.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Charles thought he had found the answer to the mystery.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05He suspected that Daisy was an illegitimate child and that she had been adopted,
0:19:05 > 0:19:10which is why her maiden name was down as Parkinson rather than Billings on her death certificate.
0:19:10 > 0:19:15To confirm his theory, he did more research on the woman he thought
0:19:15 > 0:19:17was Daisy's biological mother, Anne Billings.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21So, the next thing is to find out what happened to the mother.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26One never found a marriage for an Anne Billings or Annie Billings,
0:19:26 > 0:19:30so then one had to look for the poor lady's death.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34Charles found Annie Billings' death certificate.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37The person who provided the information on it was her nephew John Waller.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42If John knew that his Aunt Annie had had a baby girl and given her away,
0:19:42 > 0:19:44this would strengthen Charles' case
0:19:44 > 0:19:47that Annie Billings was Daisy's birth mother.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52It would also mean that John would be a blood cousin of Daisy's.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57When John got the phone call, he was more than a little surprised to hear Daisy's name.
0:19:57 > 0:20:03When he spoke about Annie, Annie Billings and had a daughter
0:20:03 > 0:20:06called Daisy, I thought, blimey O'Reilly.
0:20:06 > 0:20:12Well, if you haven't heard anybody's name mentioned or heard anything from anybody for 30-odd years,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16and suddenly, out of the blue, when you least expect it,
0:20:16 > 0:20:22start talking about somebody, it is a blast from the past and it knocks the stuffing out of you.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26John's Aunt Annie had been a regular visitor in the Waller household,
0:20:26 > 0:20:32but John only found out that she had had a daughter a couple of years after her death in 1970,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35when he was at a family celebration.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Eileen, one of the girls up there, told us.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42My cousins had said about it, that Annie had had this baby and that was the first we knew.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44It doesn't seem as if anybody else knew about it either.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47I spoke to my mother when we came back here and she said her name
0:20:47 > 0:20:51was Daisy and she went to Tunbridge Wells, we thought, to have this baby.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56This information was the first piece of evidence that Charles was right,
0:20:56 > 0:21:02and that Annie Billings had given away her daughter, Daisy, to be adopted into the Parkinson family,
0:21:02 > 0:21:06but would this piece of gossip be enough to make a case,
0:21:06 > 0:21:08and who would inherit her estate?
0:21:08 > 0:21:12Her adoptive nephew Peter or her blood nephew John?
0:21:19 > 0:21:22For every case that is solved,
0:21:22 > 0:21:26there are still those that stubbornly remain a mystery.
0:21:26 > 0:21:33Currently over 3,000 names drawn from across the country are on the Treasury's unsolved case list.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Their assets will be kept for up to 30 years in the hope that eventually
0:21:39 > 0:21:45someone will remember and come forward to claim their inheritance.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52With estates valued at anything from 5,000 to millions of pounds,
0:21:52 > 0:21:57the rightful heirs are out there somewhere.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Maria Esther Gill, born Desilva Garrido, died in Dudley
0:22:01 > 0:22:05in the West Midlands in June 2007.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Is this a name you remember from your family?
0:22:09 > 0:22:12Could she be one of your distant relatives?
0:22:14 > 0:22:23Gladys Mary Glover, otherwise known as Gladys Huxley Jones, died in Clapham in February 2006.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Do you hold the key to the case?
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Could you be in line for a payout?
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Both these cases have unusual names, Desilva Gorrido and Huxley Jones.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37If they belong to your family you could be in line for a windfall.
0:22:41 > 0:22:47The heir hunters are trying to trace the family of Chris Bett,
0:22:47 > 0:22:51who died leaving a £100,000 estate but no will.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56They know other companies are onto the same case so they've got to work fast.
0:22:56 > 0:23:02So far they know Chris was adopted so they are on the trail of his adoptive family, the Betts.
0:23:02 > 0:23:09They think they've found four aunts and uncles on Chris's mother's side, Elsie, William, Frank and Hilda,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13but these are all speculative untill they get proof, either from
0:23:13 > 0:23:16a certificate or a family member.
0:23:16 > 0:23:22It's only 10.00am and already one travelling researcher is on the way to a potential heir, and a second,
0:23:22 > 0:23:28Paul Matthews, has almost arrived in Liverpool and wants to know what his mission will be.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32We're about 30 miles from where we want to be,
0:23:32 > 0:23:37so it's... I don't know which office manager is dealing, so it's a good time to find out
0:23:37 > 0:23:39exactly where they want me
0:23:41 > 0:23:46because things obviously can change while I'm on the way up here.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50The office are still desperate to confirm which of their speculative
0:23:50 > 0:23:53names are right and which aren't, so they need to get some certificates.
0:23:53 > 0:23:58The first thing we need then is the birth of the mother,
0:23:58 > 0:24:02it's Emily Hester Settle.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03Chris's mother's birth certificate
0:24:03 > 0:24:08could be all the team needs to unravel the case.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11That will tell us the name of her parents.
0:24:11 > 0:24:17The office seem to think it's Thomas William Settle and Emily Jane Church.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22Although they are still working without proof, the office are pulling in more potential relatives
0:24:22 > 0:24:24on the mother's side and the approach is yielding results.
0:24:24 > 0:24:31They find a daughter of Chris's Aunt Elsie, Sheila, who would be Chris's cousin.
0:24:31 > 0:24:36We've now just identified our second heir, or second potential heir,
0:24:36 > 0:24:40because we're still working from a top line up here which is incredibly speculative.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45David Milchard is wasting no time in speaking to Sheila to check she's related to Chris.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49Oh, hello. Is this that Mrs Knox?
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Hello, there. I'm sorry to trouble you, my name is David Milchard.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54I'm calling from London.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58I'm trying to trace a family in connection with an estate my company is dealing with.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Did your mum have any brothers or sisters at all?
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Frances, yeah.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09And Cecily.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12It looks like they're on to the right family.
0:25:12 > 0:25:17Sheila has confirmed that her and Emily had two brothers, William and Frank.
0:25:17 > 0:25:23There was no Hilda but there were two more aunts the office hadn't found, Cecily and Frances.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27It's great news, but will it put them ahead of the competition?
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Dave has managed to lose his pursuer and has arrived at the house
0:25:30 > 0:25:34of Frank Settle, who could be Chris's cousin.
0:25:34 > 0:25:39If this is the case, he may be the first heir of the day to sign up.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42How many children did your parents have?
0:25:42 > 0:25:45There was my sister and...
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Four...
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Five, sorry. Four lads and one girl.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54- Five altogether.- Yeah.- Right.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59Frank is definitely part of the same family, but doesn't know anything about Chris.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03He does however have a brother, Tom, who lives just over a mile away.
0:26:03 > 0:26:09- If David can get to him quickly, he could have two heirs signed up in succession.- All the best.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11OK, all the best, yeah.
0:26:11 > 0:26:12- Cheers, now.- OK, bye.- Bye bye.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Bye.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21When David gets to Tom's house he learns that there's an explanation
0:26:21 > 0:26:25for why the brothers know so little about their cousin Chris.
0:26:25 > 0:26:32The real issue is here is that there was trouble between my mother and my father's family
0:26:32 > 0:26:35and we virtually had nothing at all to do with any of them.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39The only one we had anything to do with in particular was Elsie.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44As the family were not close, Tom was unaware of several of his relatives.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Because he's legally adopted into the family he then becomes blood.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53If he's adopted out of the family you cease to be blood, but in this instance he's been adopted in,
0:26:53 > 0:26:58so he then becomes Settle blood, well, the husband's name of course, he would take.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Dave's visit has been an eye-opener.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05As I say, it's been a very interesting morning, I've enjoyed it.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08It's nice to learn about people you didn't know about who were in the family.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11And as well as learning about their cousin Chris,
0:27:11 > 0:27:16Tom and Frank will inherit a part of his £100,000 estate.
0:27:16 > 0:27:22The researchers have now confirmed family members on Chris's mother's side, so the complicated work
0:27:22 > 0:27:28of building up a family tree will have to begin all over again with his father's relatives.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30With the competition in mind,
0:27:30 > 0:27:35all manpower is being put on to the Betts inside and outside the office.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40OK, on the maternal side now, but now I've been
0:27:40 > 0:27:46moved across to the paternal side, where we're not up to speed with, so it's the Registry Office,
0:27:46 > 0:27:48get some certificates and, hopefully,
0:27:48 > 0:27:50we can get an early breakthrough.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54The team needs Paul to get Chris's father's birth certificate.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57The grandparents' names on it will allow them to check that
0:27:57 > 0:28:01all the siblings they found are part of the same family.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Most of our efforts at the moment,
0:28:04 > 0:28:07and I think we have four, five...
0:28:07 > 0:28:11Five or six people looking at the Bett side of the family
0:28:11 > 0:28:15and they are entirely working on speculative information.
0:28:15 > 0:28:20There was quite a few of them and we can't identify
0:28:20 > 0:28:22the siblings of the father like we were able to on the mother's side.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25Neil won't have to wait long.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28Paul is next in the queue at the Registry Office.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32OK, there you go, sir. There's your certificate.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34- OK, that's great.- If you just want to check over before you leave.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37OK, that's fine. Absolutely perfect. Thank you very much indeed.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39Cheers, thank you.
0:28:39 > 0:28:40Hello, Dave, got that birth now.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44We are the third company to have applied for it and somebody has already been in and got it.
0:28:45 > 0:28:50Right, this is 3rd September 1906.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52128 St Anne Street.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56Plain Frank.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58Dad was John Bett.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03Mum was Lydia Bett, formally Maw.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05M-A-W.
0:29:05 > 0:29:10Knowing that two other companies have this information, the researchers will have to work
0:29:10 > 0:29:15quickly to firm up Chris's aunts and uncles on his father's side, the Betts.
0:29:15 > 0:29:21At the moment the father of the deceased has three siblings, so he's one of four children, which,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24in the sort of time period, we're talking, that's perfectly fine.
0:29:24 > 0:29:31They've found that Frank Bett, Chris's father, was the eldest son and had a younger sister, Lydia,
0:29:31 > 0:29:37and two younger brothers, John and William, and they think there may be even more siblings to find.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40It is possible that...
0:29:40 > 0:29:45Frank being born in '06, he's definitely the oldest
0:29:45 > 0:29:51because the marriage is in 1905, it is possible that the next child after is Lydia, born in 1912.
0:29:51 > 0:29:57But I would expect another one. That may one may, of course, die off in infancy, we don't know at the moment.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59To get to the bottom of the age gap,
0:29:59 > 0:30:03the team get Paul, who is still at the Registry Office, on the case.
0:30:03 > 0:30:08A search through the archive proves the heir hunter's hunch was worth following up.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12We've found two of the births.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14OK, which two? Do you know which ones they were?
0:30:14 > 0:30:17- One is Ivy and one is Ellen.- Ellen.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19OK, well, that's a good start, then.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22Now Chris's family tree is filling up.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24His father, Frank, had five siblings
0:30:24 > 0:30:28who would all be Chris's uncles and aunts, and the latest find is that
0:30:28 > 0:30:33one of them, Lydia, had two sons who would be cousins and heirs.
0:30:33 > 0:30:38But these are not candidates for the travelling heir hunters to see.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42We've them up to date and we have them up to date in Australia.
0:30:42 > 0:30:47It's in South Australia, which is the best part of Australia for us because
0:30:47 > 0:30:50it's got a greater time difference, so it means we can now phone them.
0:30:50 > 0:30:58It's 10pm in Australia, but with rivals on the tail, the team can't afford to leave it until tomorrow.
0:30:58 > 0:31:03Oh, hello. Is that Jeffrey Sommers? Hello. I'm sorry to trouble you.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07My name is David Milchard. I'm calling from London in England.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11I don't know if it's too late in the evening there, but I'm trying
0:31:11 > 0:31:16to trace a family by the name of Sommers that originally came from Liverpool.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22Now, would you be a Jeffrey Peter Sommers
0:31:22 > 0:31:25that was born in Birkenhead in 1942?
0:31:25 > 0:31:32- Correct, is it?- Another heir found and he gives David details for his other brother in Australia,
0:31:32 > 0:31:37also entitled to a stake in the £100,000 estate.
0:31:38 > 0:31:44With other heir-hunting companies on their tail, the team are not leaving anything to chance today.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48David Milchard is ditching his plan to write to Chris's cousin Sheila to sign her up
0:31:48 > 0:31:53and instead he's sending a third travelling heir hunter to see her.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58I've phoned Sheila Knox up earlier this morning.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02She's the daughter of the deceased's aunt, Elsie Jones,
0:32:02 > 0:32:10and we're now trying to get back in touch with to see if Dave Hadley, now he's free, can go and see her.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14- Hello, Mrs Knox?- Yes.
0:32:14 > 0:32:15David Hadley from Fraser and Fraser.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17- Do come in.- Thank you very much.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21I've been expecting you.
0:32:21 > 0:32:22Thank you.
0:32:22 > 0:32:27I've got a fair amount of information about you, but what I'd like to do is
0:32:27 > 0:32:30just ask you a few questions about your family background.
0:32:30 > 0:32:36I mean, that will confirm that we've got the right person and that the information we've got is accurate,
0:32:36 > 0:32:41but you might be able to fill in some bits of information that we have got.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45Sheila and her husband know a little bit about Chris's branch of the family and even though
0:32:45 > 0:32:52he spent many years not knowing that he was adopted, it seems that it wasn't a family secret.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56- He was never ever told he was adopted.- Was he not?
0:32:56 > 0:32:59- Everybody knew in the family. - Right.- Even I knew.
0:32:59 > 0:33:05But we think he found out because when Sheila's mother died her brother rang him
0:33:05 > 0:33:07and he was very short.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09- Very short with...- Right.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12So, we don't know... He certainly didn't know.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15For Sheila, Dave's visit has sparked some regrets.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19Having had this surprise,
0:33:19 > 0:33:24it's made me think about my mother and I wish that
0:33:24 > 0:33:27I had sat her down more and talked to her when she lived here.
0:33:27 > 0:33:32She lived here for six years, I ought to have sat her down and had a long conversation with her,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35but I don't think you think about it and it would have been nice to have known.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39She would have been able to tell a lot more than I can.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41- Thank you, bye-bye.- Bye.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44- Bye-bye. - Really nice lady, nice family.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48She's agreed to use our services, so at the end of the day
0:33:48 > 0:33:53I think it's a job well done and I'm just about to make my way home now.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56With another heir signed up the researchers have had
0:33:56 > 0:34:00an extremely successful day, staying well ahead of the competition.
0:34:00 > 0:34:07I think really we've found just probably short of half a... Or about a dozen heirs in total, I think,
0:34:07 > 0:34:13that we'll have on this, and I think we're in contact with or have spoken to probably eight or nine of them.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16One or two we will just have to write to,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20but a dozen heirs in a day is pretty good going.
0:34:20 > 0:34:26We've done more than one heir an hour, so I don't know if that's a stat to be proud of or anything,
0:34:26 > 0:34:28but it seems pretty good to us.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32Paul is on his way to see two final heirs.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36Arthur and Deborah are cousins of Chris on his mother's side.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39Arthur cares for his sister who has cerebral palsy.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44Good afternoon. My name is Paul Matthews from a probate research company called Fraser and Fraser.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46- Mr Hewitt?- It is.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48We're dealing with an estate of somebody who has passed away without
0:34:48 > 0:34:51making a will and we're trying to find relatives.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53- Would you like to come on inside? - Thank you very much, indeed.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00Paul fills Arthur in on the details.
0:35:00 > 0:35:06He and Deborah are both eligible for a stake in Chris's £100,000 estate.
0:35:06 > 0:35:13Some of the relatives I had knowledge of, but only sort of glancing knowledge, no deep insight
0:35:13 > 0:35:20into them at all whatsoever. So, yeah, I was surprised that the family was so far flung, yeah, absolutely.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24Anything that did arrive would be really surplus to requirements
0:35:24 > 0:35:27because basically we have all that we need here.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30It's of no real consequence whatsoever,
0:35:30 > 0:35:34but if it were a substantial sum well, obviously, we would be able
0:35:34 > 0:35:41to go on joint holidays together and have carers go with us, which at the moment were not able to do.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46The fact that Arthur and all Chris's other heirs will benefit
0:35:46 > 0:35:53from his legacy seems fitting given that in his lifetime Chris was known for his willingness to help others,
0:35:53 > 0:35:58a trait that makes his loss keenly felt amongst his friends.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01I mean, there is a sort of, you could say like a selfishness
0:36:01 > 0:36:04because he was so willing to help
0:36:04 > 0:36:07and I miss him. I do miss him because when...
0:36:07 > 0:36:10A friend in need is a friend indeed,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13and, you know, the guy was talented
0:36:13 > 0:36:16and helpful and sometimes in life
0:36:16 > 0:36:22I just can't do certain things and Chris was on the end of the phone,
0:36:22 > 0:36:26and, "Chris, I'm stuck, this is broke", and obviously,
0:36:26 > 0:36:30you know, that is from a selfish point of view,
0:36:30 > 0:36:34I miss that, but I also miss him because, yeah, we all loved him.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36Yeah, we loved him.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47Lord Teviot has been researching the case of Daisy Hart,
0:36:47 > 0:36:50who died intestate, leaving a £12,000 estate.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53He believed that she was given away as a baby
0:36:53 > 0:36:59because she was illegitimate, and has tracked down the nephew of her birth mother, John Waller.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02John was amazed to hear the details of his aunt's secret.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04She didn't have a lot, but apart from her love,
0:37:04 > 0:37:07and she would have loved that baby, I know she would have done.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11It must have been really heartbreaking for her to hand it over like that.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14And when she was with us, with our kids and with Irene
0:37:14 > 0:37:18and her kids and my other sister's kids, it must have gone
0:37:18 > 0:37:21through her mind - I wonder where mine is?
0:37:21 > 0:37:24When Annie fell pregnant with Daisy, she was not married.
0:37:24 > 0:37:29This was in 1922, a time when having a child outside wedlock
0:37:29 > 0:37:34was not acceptable, giving the baby away was often the only option.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36Local newspapers would carry advertisements for babies
0:37:36 > 0:37:43that were up for adoption and there were also adoption societies who found new families for the children.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46The shame of illegitimacy meant the birth of a baby
0:37:46 > 0:37:51like Daisy would be kept a secret and often never talked about again.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53The term of adoption in her case,
0:37:53 > 0:37:56would probably have been an informal one, yes, indeed.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59I mean, they obviously just changed her name.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04She wasn't... She hadn't had her name changed by deed poll or any of that sort of thing at all.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08So, that would have been informal, and I think in fact she was fostered
0:38:08 > 0:38:12as we now know it rather than was, you know, legally adopted.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15There were no formal adoption laws
0:38:15 > 0:38:21until 1926, so when Daisy was taken in by the Parkinsons in 1923,
0:38:21 > 0:38:24it would have been an informal arrangement.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27Well, if somebody who was adopted today,
0:38:27 > 0:38:32they would relinquish all ties with their natural family
0:38:32 > 0:38:39and be with their adoptive family whom they would be entitled to.
0:38:39 > 0:38:44But because Daisy's adoption was never formalised, her inheritance goes to her birth family.
0:38:44 > 0:38:49This means her adoptive nephew Peter would not be eligible to inherit.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53Her biological family would take precedence.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58I knew that Bubbles was adopted, but I certainly didn't know anything
0:38:58 > 0:39:02whatsoever about Daisy's circumstances.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Daisy's birth mother, Annie Billings,
0:39:06 > 0:39:10had seven brothers and sisters and their children would all inherit.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15John Waller is Daisy's cousin and heir.
0:39:15 > 0:39:21He and his wife, Laura, are pleased that Annie's secret has finally come to light.
0:39:21 > 0:39:27I think, in a sense, that this is like a tribute to her,
0:39:27 > 0:39:30and a little compensation,
0:39:32 > 0:39:37for the fact that she was not allowed to openly admit
0:39:37 > 0:39:41that she did have a child.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44John and Laura were very fond of Annie.
0:39:44 > 0:39:49She was very open, very friendly and she always
0:39:51 > 0:39:53played with the children.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57I know when she used to come down and visit us as kids after the war,
0:39:57 > 0:40:02and on the Sunday night she used to go back there was always tears in the house
0:40:02 > 0:40:05when it was time for her to go. Always. I remember that well.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11Charles is on his way to see John and Laura to show them
0:40:11 > 0:40:14the evidence he's accumulated so far,
0:40:14 > 0:40:17but he may still have to find more.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19In this case it's not straightforward.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23There's no absolute proof, no document or anything to give us
0:40:23 > 0:40:26to say that Daisy Billings
0:40:26 > 0:40:29did become Parkinson.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36I have had a word with somebody at the Treasury Solicitor's Office
0:40:36 > 0:40:42and they said, you know, it does look a bit slim, but if one can prove
0:40:42 > 0:40:46absolutely or the likelihood of this happening they would consider it.
0:40:46 > 0:40:52If the Treasury don't accept Charles's case, Daisy's inheritance will remain unclaimed.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57It's a significant day in the Waller household.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59John's sister, Irene, who is also a potential heir,
0:40:59 > 0:41:03has come over to hear how Charles tracked down her cousin Daisy.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05So, how old was she when she had it?
0:41:05 > 0:41:09She was born in 1894. Yes, and Daisy came in 1923.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12- 1923, yeah. So, she was 28, 29.- Yeah.
0:41:12 > 0:41:18Laura remembers the moment she and John talked to his mother about Annie's child.
0:41:18 > 0:41:24And she was very surprised and very, very reluctant
0:41:24 > 0:41:29to even answer, but she did and she said, yes, that is true.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32She had a girl,
0:41:32 > 0:41:35a baby girl. She named her Daisy.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39- Ah.- She named her Daisy and she went to her grandparents'
0:41:39 > 0:41:44in Tunbridge Wells to have her, and that's all I know, she said.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46And we never talked about it again.
0:41:46 > 0:41:52As well as the family history, Charles gets down to discussing the details of Daisy's estate.
0:41:52 > 0:41:59If the Treasury accept the claim there could be 23 relatives eligible for a share.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03I don't think the estate is all that big, it's probably about 12,000 something.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07So, hopefully, quite soon a claim will go in.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10Daisy's estate may provide a small windfall for her family,
0:42:10 > 0:42:16but the greater reward for them is finally being able to learn about her life.
0:42:16 > 0:42:17It's a bittersweet discovery.
0:42:17 > 0:42:23If she'd been miles away at the other end of the country or something,
0:42:23 > 0:42:25then it wouldn't have been so bad,
0:42:25 > 0:42:30but knowing that she was only 13 miles away in Tunbridge Wells, that's a 30-minute drive from here.
0:42:32 > 0:42:38So near, yet so far because we didn't know she existed, or didn't know where she was or where she lived.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40Otherwise, she'd have had another family
0:42:40 > 0:42:43and we'd have had another cousin.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53If you would like advice about building a family tree
0:42:53 > 0:42:56or making a will, go to:
0:43:05 > 0:43:07Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd - 2009
0:43:07 > 0:43:10E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk