0:00:02 > 0:00:07Heir Hunters track down the families of people who died without leaving a will.
0:00:07 > 0:00:13They hand over thousands of pounds to long-lost relatives who had no idea they were due a windfall.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Could they be knocking at your door?
0:00:32 > 0:00:38On today's programme - the heat is on when the Heir Hunters tackle an estate
0:00:38 > 0:00:44worth a whopping sum of £1 million, but they're not the only ones on the case.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48She had a phone call at 7.30 this morning. Didn't say who they were.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51So she's given them the daughter's details.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56And the mysterious case of a Polish princess and her unclaimed fortune.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Craven Street. It's a very, very grand address.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03So if she owned that address, this estate could be worth a lot of money.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08Plus, with thousands of pounds sitting unclaimed in the Treasury vaults,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11could you be a beneficiary?
0:01:17 > 0:01:23Unbelievably, over two-thirds of people in the UK die each year without leaving a will.
0:01:23 > 0:01:29If no heirs come forward, their money goes straight into the Treasury's coffers.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34In 2008 alone, a massive £18 million went unclaimed.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37That's when the probate research companies step in
0:01:37 > 0:01:43and compete with each other to find and sign up long-lost relatives, hoping to gain a commission.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46- Hello. Sheila Kingsland?- Yes. - Hello there.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Fraser & Fraser have been tracing beneficiaries for over 30 years.
0:01:50 > 0:01:56In that time, the company has successfully reclaimed a massive £100 million for heirs.
0:01:56 > 0:02:02But solving these cases can use up many hours of manpower and resources.
0:02:02 > 0:02:08The work we have to do, whether a case is worth £5 or £5,000 or £5 million, is exactly the same.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13With small cases, we don't want to throw resources at it because we won't have the return.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17This is because the Heir Hunters work on commission
0:02:17 > 0:02:21and a large estate can make a big difference to their overheads.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29It's 7am at Frasers' central London office.
0:02:29 > 0:02:35Partner Neil Fraser is going through the list of unclaimed estates just issued by the Treasury.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38He's come across a case that looks promising.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42We're just gonna start looking at Armer. It's a Ronald Armer.
0:02:42 > 0:02:48I can see his property has recently been sold and that's been sold for £1 million.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51I expect to get a lot of competition.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56By a lot, I mean possibly four, maybe five firms looking at it, all very cut-throat.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01So... We haven't really got much time to waste.
0:03:03 > 0:03:09Bachelor Ronald Jackson Armer died alone in March 2008 in Lancaster.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14Born in 1945, Ronald was a young man in the '60s.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18Like many of his contemporaries, he embraced the spirit of the times,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22pursuing an alternative lifestyle and eastern philosophies.
0:03:22 > 0:03:28Local publican Alex Carswell remembers him as an original free spirit.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30Thank you.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35He used to go to the Far East and Thailand and Hong Kong and these places
0:03:35 > 0:03:40long before anybody else went on package tours, long before anybody else went there.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45In his later years, he settled into a frugal and quiet lifestyle
0:03:45 > 0:03:48in this cottage in the affluent village of Ambleside,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52and over time, he began to withdraw into himself.
0:03:52 > 0:03:58Although everybody knew him in the village, he was always on his own. He was a loner to a large degree.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02There was just Ronnie. He would come in, he would have his drink,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05join in the conversation, put his input in,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09but never actually with anybody as such, you know what I mean?
0:04:09 > 0:04:14He had a fall about 18 months before he died
0:04:14 > 0:04:17and he seemed to go down quickly from then.
0:04:17 > 0:04:24Little things. He would come in sometimes and maybe he hadn't washed and different things like that.
0:04:24 > 0:04:30A few little things like that, but it's sad because it happens to a lot of people, not just Ronnie.
0:04:30 > 0:04:36You get to a stage in life, if you've been on your own, and he couldn't do the travelling he used to do,
0:04:36 > 0:04:42where you maybe get to think, "What's the point?" And he just sort of drifted down that route.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Ronald passed away at the age of 64.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50Although he was a well-known character in the local community,
0:04:50 > 0:04:56the authorities were unable to find any close relations, which is why his name is on the Treasury list.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00Because the estates are published without the values,
0:05:00 > 0:05:05the Heir Hunters must make an educated guess as to their worth.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09Ronald's home in Ambleside is in the heart of the Lake District.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13This resort has been popular since Victorian times.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19In the mid-Victorian era, the Industrial Revolution had wreaked a terrible toll on the towns.
0:05:19 > 0:05:25Factories belched filthy smoke into the sky and the cities had become crowded and stressful places.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30Wealthy Victorians searched for a more idyllic environment to escape to
0:05:30 > 0:05:33where they could find nature at its most pure.
0:05:33 > 0:05:39They flocked to the Lake District which until then had been a remote outpost.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44The powerful industrialists built fabulous holiday homes on the shores of the lakes
0:05:44 > 0:05:50and ever since then, the area has been a magnet to wealthy visitors and retirees.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Today, property prices in the region are amongst the highest in the UK.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04With such a potentially valuable case to work, the race is on.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08- Can you update them with the Richard Manley business?- Yeah, I just have.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13If the Heir Hunters are to trace Ronald's heirs before the competition,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16case manager Tony Pledger must work fast.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20- Can we see if the grandmother remarried?- Yeah.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24He mobilises the team of researchers.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28Using the birth, death and marriage records they have on file,
0:06:28 > 0:06:33the team have already identified Ronald's father as Thomas William Armer
0:06:33 > 0:06:35who was born in Kendal in 1925.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40But they're having difficulty isolating who he was married to.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Tell them to re-check that marriage. That one.
0:06:43 > 0:06:49- Debbie's done it.- And...?- Comes up just as Elizabeth. Elizabeth Stabler.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53Yeah, but what does it say under him?
0:06:53 > 0:06:57- You checked his entry, didn't you, Armer?- It was just Stabler.- Stabler.
0:06:57 > 0:07:03How many Armers are there? Can you do the printout for the Armer bit?
0:07:04 > 0:07:08Tracing heirs using the records they have on file can take time.
0:07:08 > 0:07:14Sometimes the best way to find out information is to speak to people who knew the deceased.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Tony has got hold of the number of an ex-neighbour of Ronald's.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23Sorry to wake you. I was hoping you might tell me something about Mr Armer.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Did you know any member of his family or...?
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Oh, I see.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33It seems that Tony is not the first to have been in touch.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Well, no, I appreciate that. OK, thanks. Bye.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41This could be a big setback.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46Not only does the neighbour refuse to talk, but even though it is only 7.40 in the morning,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49a competitor has already been in contact.
0:07:49 > 0:07:56On the plus side, whilst Tony has been on the phone, the team have made a valuable breakthrough.
0:07:56 > 0:08:03They believe they have identified all of Ronald's family tree using existing records
0:08:03 > 0:08:06and it's a small family.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11What we're saying is that the mother...is Elizabeth. Right?
0:08:11 > 0:08:15The dad dies in 1928, right?
0:08:15 > 0:08:21- Thomas William Armer...- Same address, OK?- Yeah. Died 15th of December.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24No brothers and sisters on this side.
0:08:24 > 0:08:29Looks like he could well be an only child, so the only chance we're gonna get is on that side.
0:08:29 > 0:08:35The team have confirmed there are no heirs on the father's side of the tree.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Ronald had only one sibling, a little sister called Melody,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42who sadly passed away at the age of four.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47So the focus has shifted to Ronald's mother, Elizabeth Stabler.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49It seems she has two siblings -
0:08:49 > 0:08:54a sister, Margaret Stabler, who died a spinster in 1952,
0:08:54 > 0:08:59and a brother, Tom Stabler, who was married to a woman called Jean in 1949.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03Tom and Jean would be Ronald's uncle and aunt.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11We want phone numbers of these people up in the area, if there's anybody around there.
0:09:12 > 0:09:18Tom Stabler's wife Jean lives in Whitehaven, just 44 miles from Ambleside.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23As a young woman, she spent a lot of time with her sister-in-law Elizabeth
0:09:23 > 0:09:26and would have known her nephew Ronald well.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31As Jean is a relative through marriage, she is not entitled to inherit,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35but if she and Tom had any children, they would be heirs.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39The researchers have tracked down a number for Tony to call.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44This lady is in her 80s and may not know her nephew Ronald is dead,
0:09:44 > 0:09:47so Tony will need to break the news gently.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49Good morning. Is that Mrs Stabler?
0:09:49 > 0:09:55Now, we've been researching into the family of the late Ronald Armer
0:09:55 > 0:09:58who passed away in 2008.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02Tony is hoping Jean Stabler can confirm their findings so far.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Did your husband have any other brothers and sisters?
0:10:06 > 0:10:11He was the eldest. He was the eldest and he just had the two sisters.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15It seems the Frasers team have the correct family tree,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18but do Jean and Tom have any children?
0:10:18 > 0:10:23Ah, good. So this is obviously by your husband. Sorry to say this.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25They've hit the jackpot.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30Jean and Tom have a daughter Alyson, an only child living in Sheffield.
0:10:30 > 0:10:35After just an hour, the Heir Hunters now have their first and only heir.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37But the news is a mixed blessing.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42With only one heir, the stakes are now incredibly high.
0:10:42 > 0:10:48We don't think we've got any other aunts or uncles on the paternal side. She could be the sole beneficiary.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52If that's true, she's entitled to a million pounds,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55or the best part of it if our calculations have been right,
0:10:55 > 0:10:59so it's looking like she's the only beneficiary.
0:10:59 > 0:11:05We know we're the second people to make this enquiry and we need to get someone to Sheffield quickly.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11Frasers employ a team of travelling Heir Hunters.
0:11:11 > 0:11:18Highly qualified researchers, they play a vital role in gathering intelligence.
0:11:18 > 0:11:24Every Thursday, they are poised to travel the length and breadth of Britain in search of heirs.
0:11:24 > 0:11:30Neil will need two travellers on this case - one to go to Sheffield to sign the heir
0:11:30 > 0:11:34and another to go to the Lake District to speak to Jean Stabler.
0:11:36 > 0:11:42Jean Stabler lives in Whitehaven and Manchester-based Dave Mansell is on his way to talk to her.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45There's hardly anything on this road
0:11:45 > 0:11:50and if the sun would shine, it would be like heaven.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53This is what the London people don't see.
0:11:53 > 0:12:00They don't get this. They haven't got our beautiful countryside we've got in the Lake District.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04And Neil is now on the line to Birmingham-based Paul Matthews.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09Hi, mate. Neil. Can you make your way to Sheffield post-haste?
0:12:09 > 0:12:12- I think we've got a million-pound beneficiary.- Okey-cokey.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16- I'll speak to you soon. - Cheers, Neil. Bye.- Bye.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Somebody's got some good news coming today.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Absolutely. What a result!
0:12:22 > 0:12:24I wish it was me. I'd retire.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28With the commission on a million pounds at stake,
0:12:28 > 0:12:32it's vital that the travellers meet face to face with the family,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36especially as the competition are hot on their heels.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40Frasers weren't the first firm to contact Jean, Alyson's mother.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45She had a phone call at half past seven this morning...
0:12:45 > 0:12:48who didn't say who they were.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52So she's given them the daughter's details.
0:12:52 > 0:12:59Now the office team can only sit back and wait for the travellers to contact Jean and daughter Alyson.
0:12:59 > 0:13:05It's a nail-biting time and with only one heir, they only have one chance at the commission.
0:13:05 > 0:13:11It's a million pounds. It's gonna have a lot of competition, so we're working on it more urgently.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13To solve it makes no difference.
0:13:13 > 0:13:19The thrill of what we do is finding the beneficiary, whether that's for £5 or £1 million.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25But with everyone in the office holding their breath,
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Dave Mansell phones in.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31- Right, we've just left Mrs Stabler now.- 'Yeah.'
0:13:31 > 0:13:35- The deceased lived in a rented house.- 'Yeah.'
0:13:35 > 0:13:42Before that, the family lived in a rented cottage. They've never owned a property. He worked on the buses.
0:13:42 > 0:13:48Could it be that the Armer estate is a case of all that glitters is not gold?
0:13:59 > 0:14:05Royalty is not something you come across every day in the heir hunting business, but in 2008,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09a name cropped up on the Treasury's list of unclaimed estates
0:14:09 > 0:14:14which took research director Gareth Langford on a fascinating ride
0:14:14 > 0:14:17that spanned a continent and a family's fortune.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21The case of Olga Dembinska, or Princess Dembinska.
0:14:21 > 0:14:27I've got the death certificate here. We know that she died on the 28th of September, 1986, in hospital.
0:14:29 > 0:14:36And on the death certificate it says she died as Countess Olga Natalie Von Dane Dembinska.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44Princess Olga Von Dembinska died alone in hospital at the age of 74.
0:14:44 > 0:14:49Her death certificate was witnessed by a hospital employee.
0:14:49 > 0:14:54That was over 20 years ago and Olga's life was to prove something of a riddle.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57There wasn't even a photograph left of her.
0:14:57 > 0:15:03Most importantly, as the value of the estate was not included on the Treasury list,
0:15:03 > 0:15:07the Heir Hunters didn't know its worth, but it did look promising,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10not least because of her last registered address.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Craven Street. It's very central London. It's a very grand address.
0:15:14 > 0:15:20So if she owned that address, this estate could be worth an awful lot of money.
0:15:20 > 0:15:26The actual property itself is going to be amazing because of the location where it is.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28It's a very, very prestigious area.
0:15:30 > 0:15:36Every good heir hunter knows that property constitutes most of the value of a person's fortune.
0:15:36 > 0:15:42Olga's flat in Craven Street is just around the corner from the Houses of Parliament
0:15:42 > 0:15:46and close to the heart of London's West End.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Properties on this street range from £500,000 for a two-bedroom flat
0:15:50 > 0:15:54to £9 million for a townhouse at today's prices.
0:15:54 > 0:15:59On the face of it, this estate looked very valuable indeed.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04The name Dembinska is Polish and it's the feminine version of Dembinski.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08It's a name that should also have been easy to work,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11but things weren't so straightforward.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16The first problem we had was a birth certificate for Olga. We didn't have one.
0:16:16 > 0:16:23So that meant we didn't know her parents' names. We didn't know her father's name or her mother's name.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27Without that basic information, it's very difficult for us to move on.
0:16:27 > 0:16:33This was such a blow because the first rule of heir hunting is to work up a family tree.
0:16:33 > 0:16:39The team use the information from birth and death certificates to find parents and children.
0:16:39 > 0:16:45They can then use this as a map to trace each generation until they find an heir.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50But with no certificates, Gareth had to try other avenues of research.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55We started looking to see what we could dig up about the Dembinskas.
0:16:55 > 0:17:01Now, unusually, from our point of view, this meant that we got to know them a little bit better
0:17:01 > 0:17:04because we found personal accounts of the family.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Normally, we would just have a birth and death certificate.
0:17:08 > 0:17:14Now we were getting what people thought of them when they met them and what they said to them.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19So we're getting a much better picture of what Olga was like.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24The first reference they found to the Dembinski family was by a Canadian academic.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28John Frederick Heard was a celebrated Canadian astronomer.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33His detailed and humorous account of the time he spent with the Dembinskis
0:17:33 > 0:17:38was a rich source of information for the Heir Hunters.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42John Frederick Heard's account of the family is very interesting
0:17:42 > 0:17:48because we only had the deceased's name. We didn't know she had any brothers and sisters.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51He knew the family so well because he lodged with them
0:17:51 > 0:17:56when they were living in this impressive house in Chiswick in the 1930s.
0:17:56 > 0:18:03So the first thing that this told us is that she had a brother and a sister. That was very useful.
0:18:03 > 0:18:09It also told us that her father had recently died and she was living with her mother.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Through this, the team could confirm a family tree.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16Olga Dembinska had a sister Madelaine and a brother Eric.
0:18:16 > 0:18:22Her mother was born in Yorkshire with the exotic name Carmen de Tesca Bates.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Her father was EVS Von Dembinski.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27The family were impressively titled.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34One of the early things that he's talking about the family,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37"They took the Royal Highness bit very seriously
0:18:37 > 0:18:43"and expected their friends to use Princess and Prince as forms of address."
0:18:43 > 0:18:49Surely, with the royal title, Olga Dembinska's lineage would be easy to trace.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53Dr Richard Butterwick is a lecturer in Eastern European Studies.
0:18:53 > 0:19:00The Polish nobility was by far the largest nobility in Europe down to the 18th century.
0:19:00 > 0:19:07In fact, older estimates would have put it at something like 10% of the population as a whole.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12And because they were so numerous, there was immense disparity of wealth between them.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16The vast majority of Polish nobles were extremely poor.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Dembinska is the female version of Dembinski.
0:19:19 > 0:19:26And the name Dembinski is one of the more commonly encountered names of Polish nobles over many centuries.
0:19:26 > 0:19:32But there were many different Dembinski families. They weren't necessarily related to each other.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37In the late 1700s, Poland was partitioned between Russia, Prussia and Austria.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41After an unsuccessful uprising against Russia in 1831,
0:19:41 > 0:19:47thousands of Poles escaped to France where they established a thriving emigre community.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51The exodus continued for another 50 years.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54The Dembinski family were living in France,
0:19:54 > 0:20:00but in 1914, the looming threat of war spurred them on to move to the UK
0:20:00 > 0:20:04and they settled in the large house they bought in Chiswick.
0:20:04 > 0:20:09The family certainly seemed rich in property.
0:20:09 > 0:20:15Ten years after the father died, the family bought land and a couple of cottages in Suffolk.
0:20:16 > 0:20:23Local resident Davina Garner met the Dembinskis when they moved to the village of Long Melford.
0:20:23 > 0:20:28Just known as the Prince and Princess. That was their name - Von Dembinski.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31That's a name you don't forget.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34She is visiting the cottages where they used to live.
0:20:34 > 0:20:40- Do you know the name "Von Dembinski"?- Yes, it does ring a bell.- It does ring a bell.- Yeah.
0:20:40 > 0:20:48It was definitely... That was the person that actually purchased quite a huge chunk of North End.
0:20:48 > 0:20:54- When we bought the property, we obtained all the deeds documentation.- Yes.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58And when I see that name of royal connection, I was really chuffed
0:20:58 > 0:21:01that we had bought a property
0:21:01 > 0:21:05with some sort of very interesting history about it.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09And the evidence of wealth just kept building
0:21:09 > 0:21:14when, with more information from the Treasury, Gareth found out something
0:21:14 > 0:21:17that would appear tantalising to any heir hunter.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22The new information from the Treasury solicitor was interesting.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26They basically indicated that there were new assets.
0:21:26 > 0:21:32Now, from our point of view, we don't know if this is a small amount of money or a large amount.
0:21:32 > 0:21:39The signs were all very positive, but how large would the fortune Olga left behind turn out to be?
0:21:49 > 0:21:54For every case that is solved, thousands stubbornly remain a mystery.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Currently, over 3,000 names drawn from across the country
0:21:58 > 0:22:02are on the Treasury's unsolved case list.
0:22:04 > 0:22:10Their assets will be kept for up to 30 years in the hope that eventually someone will remember
0:22:10 > 0:22:14and come forward to claim their inheritance.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20With estates valued at anything from £5,000 to millions,
0:22:20 > 0:22:25the rightful heirs are out there somewhere.
0:22:26 > 0:22:33Dorothy Rose Brewer died in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on 30th August, 2006.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37Was Dorothy a friend or neighbour of yours?
0:22:37 > 0:22:41Could you even be related to her and entitled to her legacy?
0:22:41 > 0:22:47James Arthur Nash passed away on 10th January, 2004, in Tooting, South London.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51So far, every attempt to find his rightful heir has failed.
0:22:51 > 0:22:57If no relatives can be found, his money will go to the government, but could it be meant for you?
0:22:57 > 0:23:01With thousands of estates lying unclaimed every year,
0:23:01 > 0:23:06your information could help millions of pounds reach its rightful heirs.
0:23:12 > 0:23:19In London, the Fraser and Fraser team are working the case of Ronald Armer, who died in Ambleside,
0:23:19 > 0:23:23leaving assets they believe are worth a massive £1 million.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27So far they've made good progress and found an heir.
0:23:27 > 0:23:33There's nobody on the father's side. Probably one person on the mother's side. She'd be the only heir.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38She lives in Sheffield. Hopefully, we'll see her later today.
0:23:38 > 0:23:44But travelling Heir Hunter Dave Mansell is beginning to have doubts about the worth of the estate.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48They've never owned a property. He worked on the buses.
0:23:51 > 0:23:58It looks like the sole heir to Ronald Armer's estate is his maternal cousin Alyson Stabler,
0:23:58 > 0:24:04but this information ups the ante further. Whether it's worth £5,000 or £1 million,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08if they don't sign Alyson, they lose their chance of commission.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13There's only going to be one heir. It's possibly a substantial sum.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18And so, obviously, we would like to come to an arrangement with the heir.
0:24:18 > 0:24:24Tony's pinning his hopes on travelling Heir Hunter Paul Matthews.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29He's arrived in Sheffield. The heir is at work. Paul hopes to talk to her husband.
0:24:29 > 0:24:35Her husband will be at home. We're hoping he does manage to track her down and she does call us
0:24:35 > 0:24:41and I get to go and see her. Obviously, it's a decent-sized estate.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46And we'd certainly like something out of it.
0:24:46 > 0:24:51Meanwhile, Dave Mansell has arrived in Ambleside.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53Hello.
0:24:53 > 0:24:59He's hoping to speak to Ronald's neighbours to find out once and for all
0:24:59 > 0:25:03if his estate could be worth £1 million.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14With none of the neighbours in, Dave visits the cafe next door.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26And he's found out something that could really help the case.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34We've come to do an inquiry at the deceased's last known address.
0:25:34 > 0:25:40There's nobody in any of the properties adjacent to it, so I inquired at the nearest cafe.
0:25:40 > 0:25:46And the girl in there was an Armer, so we're about to go to her house and meet her mother,
0:25:46 > 0:25:50to check if she knew a Ronald Armer lived at this address.
0:25:50 > 0:25:55We'll see if there's any connection between the deceased and her family.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Armer is a common name in the area.
0:26:00 > 0:26:07The woman Dave's going to see is too distantly related to be Ronald's heir,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11but she might have valuable information about him.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15- Did you know Ronald well?- Well... - Did he have any money?
0:26:15 > 0:26:21- I'm told he worked on the buses. - He had enough to go to the pub
0:26:21 > 0:26:27and he lived very quietly and frugally. He didn't spend... He wasn't a big spender.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31Right. There was no rumours about him having a lot of dosh, then?
0:26:31 > 0:26:34Well...no.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39That conversation has backed up what Ronald's aunt has said.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43It looks more and more likely he didn't have a lot of cash.
0:26:43 > 0:26:50120 miles away in Sheffield, Paul has pipped the competing Heir Hunters to the post.
0:26:50 > 0:26:57- He's the first to see Malcolm Fender, husband of Ronald's heir. - We think it's a substantial estate.
0:26:57 > 0:27:03There was a property involved that was sold for a lot of money. We'd like to claim for your wife.
0:27:03 > 0:27:09- My wife is very surprised at that. She thought he didn't own his house. - Was he renting it?
0:27:09 > 0:27:13All we know is that the property where he was before has been sold.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15And it sold for this huge amount.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20Malcolm is not an heir and cannot sign on his wife's behalf,
0:27:20 > 0:27:25but he's phoned her at work to tell her about Fraser's.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28There's a leaflet about Fraser's.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32She did express a preference that she would probably go with you.
0:27:32 > 0:27:39That's good news! The trip up the M1 hasn't been wasted, hopefully. All for 10p!
0:27:39 > 0:27:44I hope it is a decent-sized estate, obviously. We'd get a nice wedge out of it.
0:27:44 > 0:27:52It's a great result. It's looking like the absent Alyson may sign to Fraser's,
0:27:52 > 0:27:58but the picture of Ronald's finances is not so hot. From what people are saying, he was not a millionaire.
0:27:58 > 0:28:04Back in London, Neil realises he's made a terrible mistake.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06It's worth 5K.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Yeah.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17Looks like I didn't read the property page this morning correctly.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21I've read an entry for the sale
0:28:21 > 0:28:27which was linked to that property, but it looks like someone bought the whole block, shops and everything.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32So we're dealing with a little tiny flat connected to that.
0:28:32 > 0:28:39It's not worth any money at all. So... A bit of a mistake by me misreading it this morning.
0:28:39 > 0:28:44It's a huge disappointment, especially as the team have put such hard work into it,
0:28:44 > 0:28:49but the devil is in the detail and mistakes can happen.
0:28:49 > 0:28:55£5,000 is the minimum value of unclaimed estates advertised by the Treasury.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59It's clear now that Ronald never owned his modest terrace.
0:28:59 > 0:29:06The sale that Neil had found was, in fact, for the entire block of houses,
0:29:06 > 0:29:12- but Tony is philosophical. - You never know where it'll go until you get there.
0:29:12 > 0:29:19It's best not to go making assumptions or public statements too early.
0:29:20 > 0:29:26In the end, Alyson did sign to Fraser's. Although she'd lost touch with her cousin,
0:29:26 > 0:29:28she had fond memories of him.
0:29:28 > 0:29:34He gave me my first records when I got my first record player.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36So I remember that about him.
0:29:36 > 0:29:41He quite liked music. As an adult, I didn't really know him,
0:29:41 > 0:29:45but I guess he was quite... solitary.
0:29:45 > 0:29:50He never married. His parents died in the '80s.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53And we just basically lost touch.
0:29:55 > 0:30:00I suppose that's what happens. He was a very quiet sort of...
0:30:00 > 0:30:03individual, kept himself to himself.
0:30:03 > 0:30:09Alyson was surprised when Fraser's told her Ronald had an estate of potentially £1 million.
0:30:09 > 0:30:15It does get your mind going and you think, "Perhaps I always had it wrong.
0:30:15 > 0:30:20"Perhaps I'm going to get £900,000. Wouldn't that be lovely?"
0:30:20 > 0:30:23Ronald's case had taken on a life of its own
0:30:23 > 0:30:27and suddenly everyone was chasing the mirage of a £1 million fortune.
0:30:27 > 0:30:32My mum actually texted me - she's quite good for 82 -
0:30:32 > 0:30:34to say, "Ring. I have news."
0:30:34 > 0:30:39She said that four probate companies had phoned her that morning.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43The first one rang at 7.30, which was a bit of a shock for her.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47And, yes, four companies got in touch.
0:30:49 > 0:30:55And what would Ronald Armer have thought of all these Heir Hunters believing he was a millionaire?
0:30:55 > 0:30:59He would have stood here laughing because...
0:30:59 > 0:31:05I don't think Ronnie ever, in his lifetime, would ever envisage having that kind of money.
0:31:05 > 0:31:12I don't think there would be much left if Ronnie got his hands on it! In a nice way, you know.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17Until the case is fully worked, Alyson won't know how much the estate is worth,
0:31:17 > 0:31:21but she has thought about how to use the money.
0:31:21 > 0:31:26If it had been a large amount, I'd have felt quite confused.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30But if it's a small amount, Ronald liked going on holidays.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35He went on holidays before going on package holidays was popular.
0:31:35 > 0:31:40So I think I'll go on holiday and think of him.
0:31:55 > 0:32:01Ronald Armer's story just goes to show that not everything is as it seems.
0:32:01 > 0:32:08This was to prove the case when the Heir Hunters looked into the estate of Princess Olga von Dembinski,
0:32:08 > 0:32:12who died in 1986 leaving an unspecified sum.
0:32:12 > 0:32:21Initially, the investigation suggested she was property-rich in Westminster and Suffolk,
0:32:21 > 0:32:28but as Gareth continued the investigation, he began to realise her life was something of an enigma.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33We looked at it on the basis that she lived at a nice address in Westminster.
0:32:33 > 0:32:38So we tried to look at whether she owned the property
0:32:38 > 0:32:44and we spoke to neighbours, but nobody really knew her. She died in 1986.
0:32:44 > 0:32:50Olga was the youngest of three children. She had a sister Madelaine and a brother Eric.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54All three carried the title of Prince and Princess.
0:32:54 > 0:33:01Davina Garner was a little girl when she met Olga's siblings, Princess Madelaine and Prince Eric,
0:33:01 > 0:33:06when they moved into the village of Long Melford.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10I always sort of surmised that they were Russian.
0:33:10 > 0:33:18I vaguely remember somebody saying something about they had been wealthy but they were just ordinary people.
0:33:18 > 0:33:23And I think she had a black car. That's all I can remember then.
0:33:23 > 0:33:29In 1941, Olga was in London, but her sister Madelaine, brother Eric and their mother, Carmen,
0:33:29 > 0:33:36had moved on. It was the height of the Blitz and Long Melford in Suffolk was a safer place to be.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39Davina remembers they quickly became part of the community.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43I think Eric was a gentleman. He was a perfect gentleman.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46He did have beautiful skin!
0:33:46 > 0:33:50He would doff his hat and that sort of thing, yeah.
0:33:50 > 0:33:56But while her family enjoyed a quiet life in the country, Olga was on a mission.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59In 1946 she went to France
0:33:59 > 0:34:05where she went through a lengthy court battle to claim the rights to ancestral land in Poland.
0:34:05 > 0:34:10According to them, it was a Polish family of great antiquity.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13And they claimed direct lineage from King Canute.
0:34:13 > 0:34:18And apparently until the death of Prince von Dembinski,
0:34:18 > 0:34:23they'd been merely a Count and Countess,
0:34:23 > 0:34:27but a relative died and they got the Prince's title.
0:34:27 > 0:34:32Olga's great-great-grandfather was Ernst von Dembinski.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36Dr Richard Butterwick has his obituary.
0:34:36 > 0:34:45What this says is that a representative of the Dembinski family had done well in Prussia.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49He had adopted the "von" prefix to his name,
0:34:49 > 0:34:55which would qualify him as a German noble as well as a Polish noble.
0:34:55 > 0:35:02And he'd become the governor of a circle in Prussia for a period of about 13 years.
0:35:02 > 0:35:07And he'd been decorated. He was an officer in the Prussian army.
0:35:07 > 0:35:13He found himself very well in the new realities, but when it comes to his son,
0:35:13 > 0:35:19we find him serving in the cavalry of the German Legion of the British Army during the Crimean War.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23And then afterwards settling in Britain.
0:35:25 > 0:35:31In 1854, with the Crimean War in full swing, the British were desperately short of troops.
0:35:31 > 0:35:37So they formed a British Foreign Legion and a large contingent volunteered from Germanic states.
0:35:37 > 0:35:44After the war, these young men could not return home as they'd sworn allegiance to another country.
0:35:44 > 0:35:50Many were shipped off to South Africa. Some, like Olga's grandfather, Ernst Charles,
0:35:50 > 0:35:52stayed in the UK.
0:35:52 > 0:35:59Could it be that at that time he had to renounce his rights to an inheritance in Prussian Poland?
0:36:02 > 0:36:07In any case, Olga's attempt to claim her inheritance failed.
0:36:07 > 0:36:14And after years of court battles to claim her inheritance, Olga was declared bankrupt in 1953.
0:36:15 > 0:36:20At roughly the same time, her mother passed away
0:36:20 > 0:36:24and Olga's siblings moved out of the family cottage.
0:36:24 > 0:36:29Was the cottage sold to pay Olga's legal fees? We may never know.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34But suddenly Madelaine and Eric were in reduced circumstances
0:36:34 > 0:36:40and Madelaine hit upon a novel way of finding accommodation - she moved into a local railway cottage.
0:36:40 > 0:36:45In lieu of rent, her job was to open the gate for the daily trains.
0:36:45 > 0:36:52A princess on the railway caused quite a stir and she was filmed for a Pathe newsreel.
0:36:52 > 0:36:59For the past three years, the Princess is on duty from 6am until the last train after 9pm
0:36:59 > 0:37:02six days a week.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15Neighbour Dick Barbour remembers the Princess at work.
0:37:15 > 0:37:21This is the old railway crossing. The lines used to run across the road here.
0:37:21 > 0:37:28The Princess had to come out of her house there to open the gates...
0:37:28 > 0:37:34across here to stop the traffic on the road to let the trains through.
0:37:34 > 0:37:40Madelaine became something of a local legend. Dick kept his donkey in a field close by.
0:37:42 > 0:37:47I walked down here one evening, as I very often did, and saw her out in the road
0:37:47 > 0:37:52closing or opening the gates and I said, "Good evening," to her.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55I could see she wasn't her normal self.
0:37:55 > 0:38:00I said, "Are you all right?" She said, "No, you're in my bad books."
0:38:00 > 0:38:04I said, "Oh? How come?" She said, "Not you, but the donkey."
0:38:04 > 0:38:08I said, "How come the donkey's in the bad books?"
0:38:08 > 0:38:14She said, "I generally set my alarm early in the morning to get the early goods train
0:38:14 > 0:38:18"so it doesn't knock the gates down like it's done in the past.
0:38:18 > 0:38:24"I thought I'd overslept because I heard this peculiar noise, which I thought was the train.
0:38:24 > 0:38:29"I shot down in my pyjamas and opened the gates and no train came."
0:38:29 > 0:38:34She said, "I thought that's peculiar. Then your donkey hee-hawed
0:38:34 > 0:38:40"and I realised that's what got me out of bed, not the train!" She wasn't very amused.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43They were certainly characters.
0:38:43 > 0:38:51In Chiswick, a long time before their recent money troubles, they had unusual ways to earn pin money.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55Quite eccentric. The mother of the deceased is described as a seer.
0:38:56 > 0:39:01Apparently that's how she earned a bit of money. Quite interesting.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05Not something you'd expect a princess to be.
0:39:05 > 0:39:11Her sister as well. They were working as tourist guides to earn some money.
0:39:11 > 0:39:18It sounds like they were real characters. I want to have met them. An interesting bunch, I think.
0:39:18 > 0:39:26In 1966, Olga's sister Madelaine passed away and her brother Eric no longer had a reason to stay here.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32After that, Davina heard from Eric from time to time.
0:39:32 > 0:39:38This is to Mrs Davina Garner. From von Dembinski. A Christmas card.
0:39:38 > 0:39:46And a letter saying that he bought this Christmas card for the verse on the inside
0:39:46 > 0:39:54"to please your young daughters". "The last four cards have been posted today, Christmas Day.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57"The rest will have to have New Year Christmas cards.
0:39:57 > 0:40:03"I have spent the last three years in London. I am still trying to move to Bath in Somerset.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06"With love from Eric."
0:40:06 > 0:40:13In the early '80s, Eric passed away and Olga lived on for another six years in a flat in Craven Street.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17For the Heir Hunters, this case had been full of tantalising details.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21Did the family have some assets tucked away somewhere?
0:40:21 > 0:40:25What had happened to the money from the various properties?
0:40:25 > 0:40:31But the investigation came to an abrupt halt when the team made a surprising discovery.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37Well, essentially, we think it's a dead case.
0:40:37 > 0:40:44We've got a grant from the High Court of Justice saying there's no family or heirs.
0:40:44 > 0:40:49No grandparents, no uncles, no cousins, no nephews, no nieces.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53So from our point of view, it's a dead case. No heirs.
0:40:53 > 0:40:59So that's it, really, for us. It's case closed.
0:40:59 > 0:41:04Neither Olga, Madelaine or Eric had married, nor had they had any children.
0:41:04 > 0:41:10After such a rich and varied family history, this branch of the family tree died with Olga
0:41:10 > 0:41:16in a London hospital. It was now clear that her estate would go to the Treasury.
0:41:17 > 0:41:22So how large was the Dembinski fortune? We may never know.
0:41:22 > 0:41:28Even if Olga had owned her London property, when she died she was penniless.
0:41:28 > 0:41:34The slings and arrows of modern history may have taken their toll on their assets.
0:41:34 > 0:41:41It was a real challenge to hold on to your status and your wealth in the 19th and early 20th centuries
0:41:41 > 0:41:46with the chance of falling on the wrong side of the regime.
0:41:46 > 0:41:51So if a noble family made it through the First World War
0:41:51 > 0:41:55into independent Poland in the 1920s and 1930s,
0:41:55 > 0:42:01and was still in possession of most of its wealth, it was doing extremely well.
0:42:01 > 0:42:06When the team started on this case, they may have seen pound signs,
0:42:06 > 0:42:13but in the end it was the family's story that left an impact on partner Neil Fraser.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17We all thought we were dealing with the case of a lifetime.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21We probably have dealt with the case of a lifetime.
0:42:21 > 0:42:28I don't think we'll ever again research into a countess with possible royal Polish links.
0:42:28 > 0:42:35It's not all about the money, but sometimes the most interesting bit is the social side.
0:42:35 > 0:42:40If we learned anything, not all countesses are rich.
0:42:41 > 0:42:48If you would like advice about building a family tree or making a will, go to bbc.co.uk
0:42:56 > 0:43:00Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd - 2009
0:43:01 > 0:43:03Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk