0:00:02 > 0:00:05Every year, thousands of people die without leaving a will.
0:00:05 > 0:00:09If no relatives come forward, then their estates will go to the government.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13Keeping this money in the family is a job for the heir hunters.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35On today's programme, the heir hunters have to crack one of their toughest cases yet...
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Clutching at straws, basically.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41..as they battle to find the heirs to a £200,000 estate.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45We missed these births first go round. It's a really red-hot name.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47It was a slow start but I think we're on it.
0:00:47 > 0:00:52And a vicar stakes his claim to a very unusual inheritance.
0:00:52 > 0:00:58There are still six empty spaces in this twelve-person brick-lined vault.
0:00:58 > 0:01:04I thought I might get buried one day, as opposed to cremated, and, who knows, that could be a slot.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10Plus, how you may be entitled to inherit some of the unclaimed estates held by the Treasury.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Could thousands of pounds be heading your way?
0:01:17 > 0:01:21In the UK, two thirds of people don't have a will.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25When they die, the law states that unless the authorities can find an obvious heir,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27their money goes to the government.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32Last year, the Treasury pocketed a staggering £18 million in unclaimed estates.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35That's where the heir hunters step in.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Bob Barratt, Fraser & Fraser.
0:01:37 > 0:01:44There are over 30 companies who make it their business to trace the rightful heirs to this money
0:01:44 > 0:01:46and help them claim it back.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49Fraser & Fraser is one of the oldest firms of heir hunters in Britain.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53It's owned by Andrew, Charles and Neil Fraser.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58They make their commission by solving cases and signing up heirs.
0:01:58 > 0:02:04Over the last 10 years, they have enabled over 50,000 heirs to claim over £100 million.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14It's 7.00am on Thursday at the company's central London office
0:02:14 > 0:02:18and the Treasury has just published its weekly list of unclaimed estates.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26Neil Fraser's first task is to identify those with an obviously high value,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28which will earn his company a commission
0:02:28 > 0:02:31and this morning one case leaps out at him.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37Robin Hardy Palmer, who died, aged 58, in West London.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40He died in Isleworth but very, very recently.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45It looks like he owned the property, which will be anywhere between £100,000 and £200,000.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50It's definitely worth us pursuing. We'll have a lot of people working on this today.
0:02:50 > 0:02:56£200,000 is a very large estate and there's likely to be a lot of interest from rival companies
0:02:56 > 0:03:01so the team are anxious to get started on this investigation.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Robin Palmer was born with learning difficulties
0:03:04 > 0:03:11and by the time of his death he was living in supported independence in this property in south-west London.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15One of the strange things on this case is the date of death.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20It's very, very recent, which means it's very hard to get the information for us.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25That means we are working on a speculative birth. It's a bit of a gamble. Fingers crossed, it pays off.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34Because Robin has only recently passed away, his death certificate has not yet been registered,
0:03:34 > 0:03:38so the team can't immediately get hold of an accurate date of birth for him,
0:03:38 > 0:03:43which would give them a clear starting point for their investigation.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47So Neil decides to send Bob Smith, a senior researcher on the road,
0:03:47 > 0:03:52round to where Robin used to live to see what he can find out on the ground.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Bob's job, like all the company's travelling researchers,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02is to pursue any lead, no matter where it takes them.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06They make sure that when the heirs are eventually found,
0:04:06 > 0:04:08they're the first company at their door
0:04:08 > 0:04:11and the one the heir decides to sign up with.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20But on the case of Robin Palmer, there's a long way to go before that.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23As yet, the office haven't even got a death certificate for him,
0:04:23 > 0:04:28so any information Bob can get will help get the ball rolling.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Hello, sir. Do you live here at all?
0:04:30 > 0:04:33You don't? OK, thanks.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37There's no-one around and Bob quickly realises that he's not going to have much joy.
0:04:37 > 0:04:43- But at least he's been able to size up the deceased's old property. - Quite a nice little flat actually.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47It's in a lovely part of Twickenham so I would imagine that's got a bit of value.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51It makes me think that certainly this would be an estate that is worth us pursuing.
0:04:53 > 0:05:00Robin had lived all his life in the family home in Kew until his mother died in 1987.
0:05:00 > 0:05:06The house was then sold and, because of his learning difficulties, Robin was taken into residential care.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13However, in 1993, with some of the proceeds of the sale of his former home,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16Robin then bought his own property in Twickenham.
0:05:18 > 0:05:19Although he lived on his own,
0:05:19 > 0:05:24he was helped in most aspects of his daily life by Richmond Social Services
0:05:24 > 0:05:28as part of their policy of supported independence.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Hello, Community Support Services.
0:05:30 > 0:05:36Sue and Julia looked after Robin for many years.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39We were both very fond of Robin.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42He was a huge part of both our lives, really.
0:05:42 > 0:05:49He was such a lovely character, such a pleasant man to be with.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51He is a huge part that is missing now.
0:05:52 > 0:05:58I think Robin, having been an only child, he was very much a loner.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01It did take a long time for Robin to come out of his shell.
0:06:01 > 0:06:02He was an incredibly shy person.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Through having more regular contact with different people
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and simply getting out and about more with his carers,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Robin gradually became more sociable,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16which included becoming a regular at the local pub.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19As he got to know us all and befriend us,
0:06:19 > 0:06:21he would often sit down and have chats with us
0:06:21 > 0:06:24and call us over to give him some help with the crossword
0:06:24 > 0:06:28or perhaps turn the television show over to the show that he wanted to watch.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31He became more than just a customer, he was a friend to us.
0:06:33 > 0:06:41To see him on a Sunday, sitting down and having Sunday dinner with a couple of pints and chatting away -
0:06:41 > 0:06:44it was a joy and I know he got so much from that
0:06:44 > 0:06:48because he would say, "I must go to that pub on Sunday."
0:06:51 > 0:06:55Robin's other great passion in life was the railway.
0:06:59 > 0:07:07He had a huge interest in steam trains, trains of any kind, really, but steam trains particularly.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09He went to the Bluebell Railway several times
0:07:09 > 0:07:13and with Mencap holidays he would go to other steam railways.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18He loved anything like that.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23We used to bring him magazines with steam trains.
0:07:23 > 0:07:29I still have trouble going past Tesco's magazine rack without picking up the railway magazine.
0:07:29 > 0:07:35That's probably harder than anything. I still see them there because you can't...
0:07:35 > 0:07:39Other people probably have to look for them but they just boom out at me.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41So, um... Yeah.
0:07:43 > 0:07:48Twickenham took him to their heart and everybody knew Robin.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53If he was walking down the street, people stopped to chat with him. Everybody knew and loved him.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56They miss him now throughout Twickenham.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00You go down Barclays Bank - "Where's Mr Palmer?"
0:08:00 > 0:08:04Yeah, he was a huge part of the local community.
0:08:09 > 0:08:15Back in the office, in the absence of any certificates, Dave Milchard, aka Grimble,
0:08:15 > 0:08:21has managed to piece together Robin's family tree using the census and online records.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25I'm not sure that's the birth there.
0:08:25 > 0:08:31He thinks Robin's parents were Reginald George Palmer and Constance Raymont.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Robin was an only child
0:08:33 > 0:08:37so the team will need to look back to aunts, uncles and cousins to find his heirs.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42The main thing we're going to need is the birth of Robin Hardy Palmer.
0:08:42 > 0:08:43Yep.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45David's straight on phone to Bob.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48He now desperately needs Robin's date of birth
0:08:48 > 0:08:51and his parents' marriage certificates to back up his research.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58Most vital would be the marriage in September, 1940, in Surrey North East.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00OK, bye.
0:09:02 > 0:09:09Bob's got his work cut out for him tracking down those certificates so, first off, he tries a short cut.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12'Hello, Sutton Registry Office, how can I help you?'
0:09:12 > 0:09:19We're trying to obtain copies of two certificates that took place in the 1940s in Surrey North East.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23Are you able to tell me which office we should go to?
0:09:23 > 0:09:26'Not really, no, there are various offices.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29'You're going to need more information. Surrey is...'
0:09:29 > 0:09:32A nightmare, I know!
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Bob's short cut has turned out to be a dead end.
0:09:36 > 0:09:43So he heads off to the first of many Surrey register offices to begin his search for the vital certificates.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Once we've got those certificates,
0:09:45 > 0:09:49it gives us something to work with and confirm we have the right family.
0:09:49 > 0:09:56Meanwhile, in the office, Neil has been doing some detective work of his own,
0:09:56 > 0:09:58researching the maternal side of Robin's family tree.
0:09:58 > 0:10:04Looking at the mother of the deceased, her surname is Raymont, which is quite a good name.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07However, all indications are that she was an only child,
0:10:07 > 0:10:12which means there won't be any first cousins on the mother's side of the family.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15We are relying, therefore, on the Palmer side,
0:10:15 > 0:10:19the father's side of the family, which is quite a hard name to research.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24We are relying on cousins on his side and if we can't find any then that's as far back as we can go
0:10:24 > 0:10:27and it looks like the government will get it.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31The law in England and Wales states that in the search for heirs,
0:10:31 > 0:10:36you can only go back as far as the descendants of the deceased's grandparents,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39so if Robin really didn't have any aunts or uncles,
0:10:39 > 0:10:45then the heir hunt would end right there and his £200,000 estate would be absorbed by the Treasury.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53The team are now focused on finding some heirs on his father Reginald's side.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Still fishing around for Reginald's birth.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00I'm now looking at overseas births. Clutching at straws, basically.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03We're having a bit of a problem identifying the father.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07We tried a couple of possibilities but we've got nothing concrete at the moment.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09It's just not moving, is it?
0:11:09 > 0:11:11It's total stalemate.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14The maternal side is a non-starter
0:11:14 > 0:11:20and, without a date of birth for Robin's father, the team can't identify which Reginald Palmer he is
0:11:20 > 0:11:25so any family trees they come up with will ultimately be based on guesswork.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30And Bob still can't find that marriage certificate.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35They can't find it here
0:11:35 > 0:11:41but the trouble is, it could be at Sutton, it could be at Kingston, it could be at Morden.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44All right, then. Cheers, mate. Bye.
0:11:48 > 0:11:56Poor Bob is going to have to go to each register office one by one to try and locate the certificate.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00Frasers have ordered a copy from the General Register Office as a back up
0:12:00 > 0:12:02but that won't arrive until tomorrow.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06The team are relying on Bob to track down the real thing today.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15Right from the beginning, Neil assigned a lot of people to work on this case
0:12:15 > 0:12:17because of its potential high value.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20It's a slow start but I think we're on it now.
0:12:20 > 0:12:26So the heir hunters are all feeling the pressure to deliver and earn the company some commission.
0:12:27 > 0:12:33Researcher, Dominic, has come across something that he thinks might just be the breakthrough they need.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Gareth? Right, come and have a look at this.
0:12:37 > 0:12:43This is the most speculative thing you'll ever see in your life but he's up to date on the phone.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45- Do you want to talk to Grimble about it?- OK.
0:12:45 > 0:12:52Out of all the potential fathers for Robin, Dominic has found one who he THINKS could be their man.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57If so, he was married to another woman before Robin's mother.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01There's a George Reginald Palmer marrying Molly E Moore.
0:13:01 > 0:13:08It looks like it produces one issue, Eileen J Palmer, who would obviously be the half-blood sister.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13Dominic is hoping that Eileen's son will prove to be Robin's nephew and their first heir.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17At this stage, they'll give anything a go.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21- Are you going to call it or...? - I'll give it a call. It's totally wrong but...
0:13:21 > 0:13:24We were tracing down through a family name of Palmer.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29I believe that would have been your mother's maiden name. Was she Eileen?
0:13:29 > 0:13:32Elaine? And your dad was Raymond Wright?
0:13:32 > 0:13:37He wasn't. Oh, right. Looks like I've got that wrong!
0:13:37 > 0:13:39Were you born in Basingstoke?
0:13:39 > 0:13:42All right. I'm sorry to have troubled you.
0:13:42 > 0:13:49As David thought, the information that Dominic had provided was indeed wrong.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Once again, it's back to the drawing board.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54This case is proving to be a very hard nut to crack.
0:13:57 > 0:13:58Coming up...
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Wait, sorry. I'm reading this totally wrong.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05Neil uncovers a mistake that could cost the heir hunters dear.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08We've made quite a disastrous oversight.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11But at last they get the breakthrough they've been waiting for.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14I've got another one here as well.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16It's a really red-hot name.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Inheritance doesn't just mean money.
0:14:31 > 0:14:37Sometimes heirlooms, cars, pets and, of course, property make up an estate.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42But occasionally something very out of the ordinary is passed down to future generations.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51Heir hunters, Hoopers, are often contacted by solicitors looking for heirs.
0:14:51 > 0:14:52Hold on, is that it there?
0:14:52 > 0:15:00But in 2009, Mike Tringham received a very odd request from a very old friend.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03This case came to my attention through a friend.
0:15:03 > 0:15:09A slightly unusual situation but it did involve a question of inheritance.
0:15:09 > 0:15:15This friend was hoping he was the heir to one particular family heirloom - a grave.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22I've been asked some weird and wonderful questions and been posed some fascinating problems
0:15:22 > 0:15:27but never been asked to actually discover who might be entitled
0:15:27 > 0:15:30to be buried in a particular plot in a cemetery.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35So, in that respect, it really got my interest right from the beginning.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46The plot in question contained the remains of a renowned Victorian family, the Bantings,
0:15:46 > 0:15:52and lay in West London's famous Kensal Green Cemetery, known as the Valhalla of England
0:15:52 > 0:15:58because it provided the final resting place for the great and the good of Victorian England.
0:15:58 > 0:16:05Dukes, generals and even princes were buried here in splendid marble tombs and mausoleums.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12We discovered that there was plenty of interest in the surname, Banting.
0:16:12 > 0:16:20One of the intriguing things we found was this twelve-person brick-lined vault there in Kensal Green.
0:16:20 > 0:16:25The Reverend David Banting is a vicar of the Church of England and a keen amateur genealogist.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29He was convinced that he was related to the Banting family,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33who owned and were buried in this impressive vault.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35There are still six empty spaces.
0:16:35 > 0:16:41That's always been an intriguing question to me, who's going use it, who owns it?
0:16:41 > 0:16:48I thought I might get buried one day, as opposed to cremated, and, who knows, that could be a slot.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54But David was unclear how he could discover if he was entitled to a space in the vault,
0:16:54 > 0:16:59so that's when he decided to call on his friend's genealogical experience.
0:16:59 > 0:17:05Mike decided to treat this like a normal heir-hunting case.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09I needed to discover who was entitled to what could be termed an asset,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12even though it wasn't a monetary asset.
0:17:12 > 0:17:18I thought I would tackle it in that way by using my genealogical skills
0:17:18 > 0:17:22to establish a link between my client and the plot of land.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26David had done a fair bit of research into his background
0:17:26 > 0:17:32and had drawn up a family tree linking himself to the Bantings, who owned the grave site.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35David is one of three brothers
0:17:35 > 0:17:39whose great-great-grandfather was Thomas Banting.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43Thomas's brother, William, had a son called William Westbrook Banting
0:17:43 > 0:17:47and it was he who had built the vault.
0:17:47 > 0:17:54In his research, David came across William Westbrook's grandfather, also called William.
0:17:54 > 0:18:01There he uncovered a fascinating connection between the Bantings and their splendid final resting place.
0:18:03 > 0:18:09We discovered that his job was as an undertaker but not just any old undertaker,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11he was undertaker to the Crown.
0:18:11 > 0:18:17Bantings had had the Royal Warrant to bury royal bodies as and when needed.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Between them, the Bantings were involved in
0:18:21 > 0:18:26some of the most important and celebrated funerals of the day,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28including George III
0:18:28 > 0:18:34and the great war heroes, Admiral Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington.
0:18:34 > 0:18:39Bantings were also involved in the first great public funeral of the 20th century.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Queen Victoria's funeral was a shambles.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45All sorts of things went wrong.
0:18:45 > 0:18:53Horse harnesses broke and people had to jump in and stop the coffin from skidding backwards and so on.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56Poor planning had dogged this momentous occasion
0:18:56 > 0:19:01because the Queen would not permit anyone to discuss her death while she was still alive.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04But Bantings and the Royal Family learned their lesson
0:19:04 > 0:19:08and, in 1910, Edward VII's funeral went off without a hitch
0:19:08 > 0:19:13and became the benchmark for future royal state occasions,
0:19:13 > 0:19:19although Bantings were initially barred from Buckingham Palace, by a grief-stricken Queen Alexandra.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26She was unable to let the body go
0:19:26 > 0:19:32so Banting and all his men and horses and carts were dismissed.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37The ledger says, "Went, not needed, fifty guineas."
0:19:37 > 0:19:40It happened three times, charging fifty guineas a go,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43which, in 1910, is an enormous amount of money.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48In the early years of the 20th century,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52William Westbrook Banting brought the art of burial to its peak.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57The hallmark of a Banting funeral was grandeur and finery
0:19:57 > 0:20:00and what became known as the gorgeousness of grief.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08Many of these burials were taking place at the new and fashionable Kensal Green Cemetery.
0:20:08 > 0:20:15Kensal Green opened in 1833 but it didn't catch on with the public until many years later.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17When Frederick the Duke of Sussex died,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20one of the children of King George III,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22then it became very popular.
0:20:22 > 0:20:29There was almost snobbery in death, everybody wanted to be near the royal tomb, in Kensal Green Cemetery.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32After that it became the home of the great and the good,
0:20:32 > 0:20:37particularly up to the last 50 years or so and we still do many prestigious funerals to this day.
0:20:38 > 0:20:45For Lee, the Banting family tomb is a fascinating reminder of how things used to be done.
0:20:45 > 0:20:51Because of the current scarcity of land, something like the Banting vault is quite unusual nowadays.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53It would be very rare to have it now.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57First of all because of the cost implication in buying a plot of land of that size,
0:20:57 > 0:21:00it would be extremely expensive.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06In all, six members of the Banting family were buried in this vault.
0:21:06 > 0:21:11The last one, over 70 years ago, was Cecil Banting, William's brother
0:21:11 > 0:21:17and since then it has lain undisturbed, so Lee was surprised when David came to see him.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Here we are.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25These are the grave details here. The grave is a large, brick-lined grave...
0:21:25 > 0:21:30'It was a little bit unusual in that nobody's been buried in the grave since the 1930s.'
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Usually interest would have waned by now and people are into new graves
0:21:33 > 0:21:36where there would just be a husband and wife put there.
0:21:36 > 0:21:42However, if there's remaining space in a family grave, and you still have the right of burial in the grave,
0:21:42 > 0:21:44there's no reason why that can't happen.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50William Westbrook Banting had made his fortune from burying the dead,
0:21:50 > 0:21:54so he wasn't going to skimp when it came to his own arrangements.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59In 1901, he bought a large plot in the most prestigious part of the cemetery.
0:21:59 > 0:22:07Everybody who was anybody was buried in Central Avenue, right outside the magnificent Anglican chapel,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09which has the royal graves opposite.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11- They're certainly impressive. - They are.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Like all the graves in Kensal Green cemetery,
0:22:17 > 0:22:21the Banting plot was assigned a 999-year lease.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26William Westbrook spent what would then have been the princely sum of £24,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29constructing the tomb out of the highest quality materials
0:22:29 > 0:22:36as this was the best way he knew to secure his family's position in society, in perpetuity.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44You were telling me the quality of this... What can you tell professionally?
0:22:44 > 0:22:47This is a granite monument, which is why it's lasted as long as it has
0:22:47 > 0:22:50and yet it's still in fine condition.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54If we wanted to use this again, any member of the Banting family...
0:22:54 > 0:22:59You could do that. The first thing you'd have to sort out would be the issue of ownership.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02David's connection with the Banting family was only distant,
0:23:02 > 0:23:07so were his dreams of eternal rest in Kensal Green dead and buried
0:23:07 > 0:23:11or could Mike Tringham's research hand him the keys to the family vault?
0:23:12 > 0:23:17There are descendants of William Westbrook Banting who could be contacted,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19quite possibly living abroad,
0:23:19 > 0:23:24and I think it would be rather nice if it could be put to good use, still within the family.
0:23:32 > 0:23:33Still to come...
0:23:33 > 0:23:37The heir hunters' research finally begins to pay off.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40What can I tell you, then?
0:23:40 > 0:23:44And the race to find the heirs to Robin Palmer's £200,000 estate is on.
0:23:44 > 0:23:50- We now have a first cousin alive in Tiverton.- Oh, fantastic.
0:23:59 > 0:24:05For every case that is solved, there are still thousands that remain a mystery.
0:24:05 > 0:24:11Currently over 3,000 names drawn from across the country are on the Treasury's unsolved case list.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18With estates valued at anything from 5,000 to millions of pounds,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21the rightful heirs are out there somewhere.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28Today, we've got two cases heir hunters have so far failed to solve.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30Could you be the missing link?
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Could you be in line for a payout?
0:24:34 > 0:24:41Wincenty Luksza died in Newton Abbott, Devon, on the 27th March, 2002.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43Was he a friend or colleague of yours?
0:24:43 > 0:24:48Could you even be related to him and entitled to his estate?
0:24:49 > 0:24:57Joan Malkin nee Pelais passed away on the 30th November, 2007 in Waterlooville, Hampshire.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02If no relatives come forward, her money will go to the government.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09If the names Wincenty Luksza or Joan Malkin mean anything to you or someone you know,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12you could have a fortune coming your way.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Unusually for heir hunter, Mike Tringham,
0:25:26 > 0:25:31on the Banting case he's not dealing with a financial settlement at all.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Could I get you to look something up for me?
0:25:34 > 0:25:41He's tracing the heirs to a family tomb and after checking back through public records, wills and probate,
0:25:41 > 0:25:48he's finally settled the question of whether or not David had inherited a right to be buried in the vault.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Hold on, is that it there?
0:25:53 > 0:25:59There is an obvious link between David Banting's family and the family of William Westbrook Banting,
0:25:59 > 0:26:03but one has to go back quite a number of generations.
0:26:03 > 0:26:10They are related, but to such a remote degree, that he wouldn't have any claim as the next of kin.
0:26:12 > 0:26:13This was a blow.
0:26:13 > 0:26:18Mike had just confirmed that David was not directly entitled to be buried in the vault
0:26:18 > 0:26:20but he didn't intend to stop there.
0:26:20 > 0:26:26His next step was to find out who, if anyone, had inherited the rights to the grave,
0:26:26 > 0:26:32seeing as its builder, William Westbrook, had died a bachelor in 1932.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37I discovered that William Westbrook Banting was one of five brothers
0:26:37 > 0:26:41and two of his brothers survived him.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44They were the important elements of this inquiry.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48The two brothers who survived William Westbrook
0:26:48 > 0:26:50were Edgar and Cecil Banting.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54They were both named as his heirs in his will, so anything they received,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58including the rights to the grave, would have passed to their children.
0:26:58 > 0:27:03Edgar's two children, Lawrence and Gladys, both died unmarried
0:27:03 > 0:27:07but Cecil Banting's line proved to be more interesting.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11There are descendants of William Westbrook Banting who could be contacted,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14quite possibly living abroad.
0:27:14 > 0:27:20So the likelihood of them desiring the use of that plot here
0:27:20 > 0:27:21is unlikely.
0:27:21 > 0:27:27I think it would be rather nice if it could be put to good use, still within the family.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35Mike decided that his next step should be to meet up with his friend, David.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38- Hello, David.- Hello, Mike.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41- Fancy seeing you!- Very good to see you, come on in.- Thank you.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46He wanted to present him with his findings, so that between the two of them
0:27:46 > 0:27:50they could compare notes and work out a plan of action.
0:27:50 > 0:27:51We've established that
0:27:51 > 0:27:56you are related to William Westbrook Banting and his family
0:27:56 > 0:28:02but not really so directly that would give you direct rights
0:28:02 > 0:28:04to the vault in Kensal Green.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08Professionally you're saying this is quite a distant connection.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11And, in legal terms, it is quite distant
0:28:11 > 0:28:14but here are we thinking, "Goodness me, this is family!"
0:28:14 > 0:28:18Yes. If we were talking in legal terms about inheritance,
0:28:18 > 0:28:24- third cousins, or even second cousins wouldn't feature at all.- Yeah.
0:28:24 > 0:28:25Not in English law.
0:28:25 > 0:28:32Mike then revealed that even though David didn't have a direct claim to the family vault,
0:28:32 > 0:28:34he had discovered someone who did.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38William Westbrook's heir was one Christopher Banting,
0:28:38 > 0:28:42grandson of his brother, Cecil Banting.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47But you flutter that maybe we've got a proper name, Christopher, not just William.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49Yes, Christopher William Villiers.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54Mike had managed to trace Christopher to South Africa but there the trail ran cold.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57I couldn't find him in South Africa.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01I know there was a lot of immigration from South Africa to Australia.
0:29:01 > 0:29:06I had a look in Australia and, in fact, Christopher William Villiers Banting,
0:29:06 > 0:29:10who would be a great nephew to William Westbrook Banting,
0:29:10 > 0:29:14is alive and well and living in Western Australia.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16That is big news.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20Mike's established that the rights to be buried in the Kensal Green vault
0:29:20 > 0:29:23have passed to Christopher Banting.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26Now David needs to get in touch with his long-lost cousin
0:29:26 > 0:29:29and find out if those rights could be transferred to him.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34There is now a possible plan of campaign.
0:29:34 > 0:29:40I could send these Christmas cards to say, "Do you realise you have the best right to this?
0:29:40 > 0:29:43"What's your response to that? Are you interested in it?"
0:29:43 > 0:29:46I'm sure as a distant member of the Banting family
0:29:46 > 0:29:53and being instrumental in bringing to everyone's attention this vault,
0:29:53 > 0:29:56I think you have a strong case.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02Even though David is not legally entitled to be buried in the grave,
0:30:02 > 0:30:07thanks to Mike's research he can now pursue his wish to be interred alongside his ancestors
0:30:07 > 0:30:12in the magnificent Banting family vault - cost permitting, of course.
0:30:14 > 0:30:20When I went to look at it, it would just cost an arm and a leg to open it up and use it again,
0:30:20 > 0:30:22- because it's so big and so fine.- Yes.
0:30:22 > 0:30:27I mean, the lump of granite on top of it is, we reckon, three tonnes, five tonnes?
0:30:27 > 0:30:28I don't know, to lift it off...?
0:30:28 > 0:30:32You'd have to be fairly determined to make use of it again.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34That's a wonderful phrase to use!
0:30:37 > 0:30:42The case of the Banting vault has been a truly unusual one for Mike.
0:30:42 > 0:30:43But what next for David?
0:30:44 > 0:30:48Not only has he been given the chance to resurrect an old family tradition,
0:30:48 > 0:30:53he's also got a long-lost relative in Australia to contact.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57The next step for me is to be in touch with him and if he's not interested,
0:30:57 > 0:31:02who knows, one day I might be buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in a vault.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04I'd better start saving.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07Pity that vicars are not paid overtime, isn't it?
0:31:17 > 0:31:21Fraser & Fraser have been investigating the case of Robin Palmer,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24who died aged 59 in Twickenham in London,
0:31:24 > 0:31:29leaving an estate that could be worth up to £200,000.
0:31:29 > 0:31:34Because of the size of the inheritance, the team have high hopes for this case.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39There's always a little edge to a case that you're working on
0:31:39 > 0:31:42when you know there's probably going to be a value.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46But the search hasn't got off to a good start.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49They couldn't find any relations on his mother's side
0:31:49 > 0:31:54and trying to pinpoint Robin's father was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
0:31:54 > 0:31:55Palmer's such a bad name.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59We're just getting lots of marriages all over the place.
0:32:03 > 0:32:08Neil's double-checking the birth record he had found for Robin's mother in Devon,
0:32:08 > 0:32:11when he suddenly gets a nasty shock.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15Wait a minute. No, I'm sorry, I'm reading this totally wrong.
0:32:15 > 0:32:16Ignore what I've said.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20Neil had thought that Robin's mother was an only child,
0:32:20 > 0:32:26so he'd told the team to stop searching for heirs on her side of the family.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29So we've got Raymont, Raymond...
0:32:29 > 0:32:33But it turns out she was actually one of five.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36The other four had been registered as Raymond rather than Raymont.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40They'd been missed because the team had forgotten to do a routine check
0:32:40 > 0:32:43for alternative spellings of unusual surnames.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47I've got another one here, as well.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49We missed these births first go round.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52That's a really red-hot name.
0:32:52 > 0:32:57Robin's grandparents were Richard Raymont and Frances Maud Kentills,
0:32:57 > 0:33:01who married in Devon in 1907 and had six children,
0:33:01 > 0:33:04including his mother, Constance.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06All these children and their children
0:33:06 > 0:33:10are heirs to Robin's £200,000 estate.
0:33:13 > 0:33:17Dave gets on the phone to speak to the heirs and make some appointments.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20And you've a brother, Robert?
0:33:20 > 0:33:23Rodney, sorry, yeah?
0:33:23 > 0:33:28All the family seem to have stayed in Devon so they need to get someone down there as quickly as possible.
0:33:28 > 0:33:33Neil calls senior researcher, Paul Matthews, who is already on the road.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37- Paul, Neil.- Hi.- Although I said there weren't any issue on that mother's side,
0:33:37 > 0:33:41there are births, aunts and an uncle of the deceased.
0:33:41 > 0:33:46- And we have now got a first cousin alive in Tiverton.- Oh, fantastic.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52Really, I wanted to find out how far away he is from Tiverton.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54He's 45 minutes away. That's quite good on those.
0:33:54 > 0:34:01And just overhearing on Dave as well, it doesn't sound like anyone else has contacted this beneficiary,
0:34:01 > 0:34:03which is a bit of luck, really.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07We've made quite a disastrous oversight on that
0:34:07 > 0:34:11but it appears it hasn't hurt us too much.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15It's still only 10 o'clock and with Paul on his way down to Devon,
0:34:15 > 0:34:20this case could still have a positive outcome for the team after all.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26The first heir that they've traced is Stephen Raymont, Robin's first cousin,
0:34:26 > 0:34:28who, along with his two sisters,
0:34:28 > 0:34:33stands to inherit a share of Robin's £200,000 fortune.
0:34:33 > 0:34:38Pleased to meet you. Paul Matthews from Fraser & Fraser. How are you getting on?
0:34:38 > 0:34:43First of all, Paul has to establish that Stephen is actually Robin's heir.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46- It's like a big jigsaw.- Yeah, yeah.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49I just find out what, you know, proves you're the right person.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53- Number of children in your parents' marriage, how many are there?- Three.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55- Three of you. Was your dad married more than once?- No.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00Paul's satisfied he's got the right person.
0:35:00 > 0:35:06And Stephen's happy to sign up with him and delighted to hear he's coming into some money.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08So, good news all round.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Thank you very much for your time. Nice meeting you.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16- I hope you get a nice sum of money and all the best for the future. - Bye, then.- Bye.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20Paul can't afford to hang about.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25It turns out that the team have found 17 of Robin Palmer's maternal cousins and heirs
0:35:25 > 0:35:27living in the Devon area.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32I'm now off to see another cousin of the deceased and his brother,
0:35:32 > 0:35:38and when I've seen them, apparently I've got another three cousins to see together,
0:35:38 > 0:35:41so it's even more chaotic than normal.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45With a bit of luck and a lot of legwork,
0:35:45 > 0:35:51the team have managed to transform this case from a lost cause into an heir fest.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54Doris, yeah? And Amelia I...
0:35:54 > 0:35:56There's so many of them that Paul's swamped,
0:35:56 > 0:36:01so Dave gets on the phone to another senior researcher, Ewart Lindsay.
0:36:01 > 0:36:02- Ewart?- Hi, Dave.
0:36:02 > 0:36:09I was going to get Paul to see this one tonight but he's already seen two groups of people.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12All right, Dave, good stuff.
0:36:12 > 0:36:18- Ewart sets out for Devon. - I'm going to Newton Abbot, nice place, been there many, many times.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20It'll be several hours before he gets there,
0:36:20 > 0:36:25but if he's going to make it for a 7.00pm appointment, there's no time to lose.
0:36:28 > 0:36:35Meanwhile, Bob Smith is still looking for that elusive marriage certificate for Robin's parents
0:36:35 > 0:36:38that the team hope will unlock the paternal side of this case.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41I'd like a copy of a marriage certificate, if I may.
0:36:41 > 0:36:42But he's not having much luck.
0:36:42 > 0:36:47Quite often you can pick up stuff on the day but if you can't find it, fine.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49- Cheers. Bye.- Bye.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51Again, we've had no luck.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55I'll let the office know and we'll have to apply for it in the normal way
0:36:55 > 0:36:56and wait till tomorrow.
0:36:58 > 0:37:04The team are now relying on the General Register Office to send the marriage certificate tomorrow.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10But they continue to work up leads in the meantime.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13Gareth's come up with another potential father for Robin.
0:37:13 > 0:37:19This Reginald George Palmer was also born in Devon and was part of a large family.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22I'm quite confident now it is right.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25So we're working all these Palmers.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29He's got seven brothers and sisters if it's the right family, hopefully it is.
0:37:29 > 0:37:34The signs are looking good but David is still feeling cautious.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38- So these go together.- OK.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43If it is right, well, we've got all the work done.
0:37:43 > 0:37:50If it turns out to be wrong, then we're back at the drawing board and we'll have to look elsewhere.
0:37:50 > 0:37:55So until we get the certificates back, there's no way we can say we're right or wrong.
0:37:55 > 0:38:00At least the maternal side of this case is progressing well.
0:38:00 > 0:38:05Ewart's arrived in Newton Abbot, just in time to see another of Robin's cousins.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12Veronica Elliott, known in the family as Sally,
0:38:12 > 0:38:15is one of two surviving daughters of Robin's aunt Zena,
0:38:15 > 0:38:21both of whom stand to inherit a share of their cousin Robin's £200,000 estate.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25Hello, Mrs Elliot, how are you?
0:38:25 > 0:38:27- I'm fine, thank you. - Nice to meet you.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29- Come in.- Thank you very much.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31What can I tell you then?
0:38:31 > 0:38:36Sally is eager to give Ewart as much information as he wants about her family and childhood,
0:38:36 > 0:38:40growing up in rural Devon surrounded by her cousins.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46Keith would be 60, 59?
0:38:46 > 0:38:51But there is one cousin that she fell out of touch with a long time ago.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54The last time I saw Robin
0:38:54 > 0:38:58would be maybe almost a year after his mum died.
0:38:58 > 0:39:04He's always been an unusual child but a loving boy.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Very loving boy. Big chap.
0:39:06 > 0:39:11It turns out Sally hasn't seen Robin since his mother died.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15He was a very, very rich man the last time I saw him.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17Very rich man.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21- You say rich man?- Well, the house was sold and he had all the money and...
0:39:21 > 0:39:27- His parents' house? - Yeah, they both had died. And, yeah, I mean, hundreds of thousands.
0:39:27 > 0:39:28If you sign there.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31After she's heard Ewart's presentation,
0:39:31 > 0:39:36Sally decides she's happy to let Frasers represent her and signs up.
0:39:36 > 0:39:37Thank you very much.
0:39:37 > 0:39:42In total, the team have managed to represent six of Robin's cousins
0:39:42 > 0:39:45from the maternal side of his family.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49But what will the new day bring for the paternal side of the investigation?
0:39:58 > 0:40:03First thing in the morning and Neil is standing by the fax machine,
0:40:03 > 0:40:07ready to receive the marriage certificate from the General Register Office.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11The problem when we work without certificates is it's a real gamble.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13Although the mother was from Devon,
0:40:13 > 0:40:18it was always a little bit of a gamble that the father was from Devon.
0:40:18 > 0:40:23Sadly, it turns out that their speculative family tree for Robin's father was wrong.
0:40:23 > 0:40:28Unlike his mother's family, Robin's father wasn't from Devon.
0:40:30 > 0:40:35His marriage and birth certificates show that he was actually born in Willesden in London.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38But there is some small consolation for Gareth.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45Look at this lovely tree. There's only going to be two people on it, maybe three.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48The one we did yesterday had hundreds of people.
0:40:48 > 0:40:53Robin's father, Reginald Palmer had three brothers and sisters.
0:40:53 > 0:40:59His sister, Winifred, married Duncan McPherson Skene and they had one son, Duncan.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02I've got a phone number!
0:41:02 > 0:41:04What's the time in Australia?
0:41:04 > 0:41:07Victoria's about ten hours plus.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11Suddenly, the search moves even further away from Devon.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15It turns out that Duncan had emigrated to Australia.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18But that isn't going to stop the heir hunters.
0:41:18 > 0:41:25They managed to track him down to Victoria where he had married in 1969.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28Sadly, Duncan died in 2004,
0:41:28 > 0:41:33but the team have discovered that he has three living children.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36They are first cousins, once removed, to the deceased.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38So they're beneficiaries.
0:41:38 > 0:41:43We now represent them and I'm quite pleased, really, with the outcome,
0:41:43 > 0:41:45having been able to find them all the way in Australia.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52In the end, Robin's estate was officially valued by the Treasury at £190,000,
0:41:52 > 0:41:56which will be split between his 21 heirs.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00Although at the time he died Robin had no contact with his family,
0:42:00 > 0:42:05he was looked after and treasured, not only by his official carers,
0:42:05 > 0:42:08but by the community as a whole.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11The funeral went beautifully.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14It was a really lovely send-off for Robin.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19Sue had arranged for a tree to be planted in Robin's memory at his parents' grave,
0:42:19 > 0:42:22where his ashes had been scattered.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26All his friends gathered at his favourite pub to toast their good friend
0:42:26 > 0:42:28and one of Twickenham's favourite sons.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33It was a lovely day, very special.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37It was a very nice day. He would have enjoyed it.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39He would have had a pint with us, wouldn't he?
0:42:39 > 0:42:41Yes, most definitely.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44He'd have certainly raised his glass and said, "Cheers."
0:42:53 > 0:43:00If you would like advice about building your family tree or making a will, go to bbc.co.uk.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:43:24 > 0:43:27E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk