Ring/Moore Heir Hunters


Ring/Moore

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Heir hunters track down the families of people who died without leaving a will.

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They hand over thousands of pounds to long-lost relatives

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who had no idea that they were in line for a windfall.

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Could they be knocking at your door?

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On today's programme, the heir hunters' bottom line is at stake as they try to beat the competition.

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It's now when we have to speak to the beneficiaries.

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Good conversation with one of the managers could mean the difference

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between being paid for this case or unfortunately making a big loss.

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And an unusual address sparks a search for a much-missed relative.

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His address was British Home and Hospital for Incurables.

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Plus, how you may be entitled to inherit some of the unclaimed estates held by the Treasury.

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Could thousands of pounds be headed your way?

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Every year in Britain, thousands of people die without leaving a will.

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If no obvious family can be found,

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the money goes straight to the Government,

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who last year made over £18 million in unclaimed estates.

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That's where the heir hunting companies come in.

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Fraser and Fraser is one of the largest probate firms in the world.

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For over 90 years, a member of the Fraser family has been helping trace

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the rightful beneficiaries to thousands of estates.

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Our job is incredibly exciting. We are tracing family trees,

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delving back into people's history, delving back in time,

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looking at the hidden mysteries around people's families.

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It's 7am on Thursday in their central London office,

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and the Treasury's list of unclaimed estates has just been released.

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The team have already scoured the details to establish which ones to investigate,

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and company partner, Neil Fraser, has just identified a potentially valuable estate near Newcastle.

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We're going to start on this case of Jean Louisa Ring.

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Married lady, so her maiden name is Sanderson, which is quite a good name.

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Terraced house, probably in the region of £150,000,

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so a fair value on that.

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Fingers crossed they own it and we can make good progress.

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Jean and her husband, Aiden, lived in Newcastle for many years

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before moving just up the coast to the seaside town of Seahouses, Northumberland.

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Their friend, Joan Archibald, knew them both well.

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They moved to Seahouses because they'd always holidayed up there.

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For a lot of years, they took a cottage beside the harbour for a holiday.

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They had a dog and they used to be able to bring the dog with them.

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And they fell in love with the area and they decided to retire there.

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They had an extremely strong relationship,

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they were a very devoted couple.

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They did everything for each other and everything together.

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Jean and Aiden were happily married for 55 years.

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They never had children.

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They were very quiet but she had a wicked sense of humour.

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She was very loving, very generous,

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just a lovely person to know.

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In October 2007, Aiden sadly passed away

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and Jean was devastated.

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It became very obvious after Aiden died that she was very lonely

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and I really believe that because they'd done everything together

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for over 50 years, that once he died she didn't have the will to live.

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In the office, the team have confirmed

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that Jean Ring did own the property and never made a will.

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And the estate would be worth at least £150,000.

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With such a high value at stake, there will almost certainly be competition on the case,

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so there's pressure to get ahead as soon as possible.

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Case manager David Slee's first job is to try to speak to neighbours of Mrs Ring.

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He's waiting until a reasonable time to call.

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But the competition often aren't so considerate.

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Here we go. I don't like phoning them too early.

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Good morning, I'm very sorry to trouble you so early in the morning.

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I'm making some inquiries about a lady who lived at number 104 Main Street.

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I am sorry about that.

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It's just that we're anxiously trying to trace the next of kin to the lady.

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OK, fine, thank you. Bye-bye.

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The guy's got information but he won't talk to me.

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It's not the start they wanted, as information from neighbours

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can prove a fantastic source of quick leads for the heir hunters.

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But across the office, Gareth Langford is heading up

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the research into the birth, death and marriage records of Jean's family.

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Luckily for him, they are available at any time of day and he's made a breakthrough.

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Basically, we've found a birth. It's in Newcastle in 1931.

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We found also the parents' marriage, Norman and Lilian,

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and that's in 1930.

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It looks like she's an only child, so we're almost certainly going to have to go to cousins on this.

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At the moment, we're trying to find the deaths of Norman and Lilian and then once we've found those,

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then we're going to see if we can find out births and hopefully get on to cousins.

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If Gareth's research is correct,

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Jean is the only child of Norman Sanderson and Lilian O'Neill.

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So the closest relation they expect to find will be cousins.

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The next step for the researchers is to track down the birth records

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of each parent to try to find any uncles and aunts of Jean's.

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But Gareth believes that the team will have their work cut out on Jean's mother, Lilian's side.

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I'm a bit concerned about the O'Neill side of the family because

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O'Neill's one of these surnames that can be chopped and changed around.

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It can be spelt several different ways and also there's a question of whether they drop the O.

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So, sometimes, O'Neill, it can cause a lot of work for us.

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The heir hunters are throwing resources at this tricky £150,000 case to get results.

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They have experienced case managers David Slee and Tony Pledger

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directing operations as well as researchers both in and out of the office.

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They are looking into Jean's family records

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to find the crucial certificates.

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But news has come in that they don't have the luxury of time

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as there are other rival firms also investigating the case.

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Now this is a case with a property on it.

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It's certainly going to be worth in the region of £150,000.

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That's excited people, it's attracted other firms of researchers.

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We know of one other firm.

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However, I do know that one of the death certificates

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was picked up by two people as well, so that makes Frasers and two others.

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Despite an earlier rebuke from a neighbour on the phone,

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David Slee is under pressure to establish a lead

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about Jean's family life.

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The team have competition breathing down their necks.

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He'll need to call some other neighbours

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but will he have better luck?

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Hello, good morning. Sorry to trouble you so early in the morning.

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I'm making some inquiries about a lady who lived at 104 Main Street until she died in January of 2008.

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We think she might have been from the Newcastle area.

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Would that tie in? Was she a Geordie?

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So she lived at the house for over 20 years?

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No children as far as you're aware.

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Did she ever give any indication about brothers and sisters or anything like that?

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Didn't know her that...? No. Well, I really appreciate your time.

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That was my very kind of you. Thank you very much indeed. Take care now. Bye-bye.

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Although no new information has come to light,

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David's phone call has corroborated Gareth's birth record for Jean,

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with a match one of her age and Newcastle birth.

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This means that he can now progress on surer footing for the rest of the search.

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We've found the deaths and the birth of the parents of the deceased now.

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Norman is born in 1908 in Newcastle.

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That's good for us, 1908, because we've immediately been able to get to the 1911 census,

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from which we know that he's got a few siblings.

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So we're working those at the moment.

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Basically, on the top line, we've got William, Frederick, Eleanor and Albert.

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The Sanderson's side of the tree is flourishing.

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Gareth's hit on the census has shown that Norman has four siblings by 1911.

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The five children were all reasonably close in age

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and the records show that they ran a family business together,

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a local butcher shop in Newcastle called Sanderson's.

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None of these paternal uncles and aunts are still alive, so the team must try to find their descendants

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to establish whether there are any living heirs on the case

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and unravel why this once tight-knit family

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were not aware of Jean Ring's death.

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It's just after 9am and Gareth's team are moving forward quickly.

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But Neil is not quite so convinced that they are on the right track.

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It's just Norman Sanderson isn't a unique name.

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There are more people around with that name.

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This just is the best fit and I hope it's the right family.

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With other Norman Sandersons born in Newcastle at the same time,

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the researchers will have to be careful not to mix up all of their families.

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But until they speak to someone who actually is a relative,

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they just won't know if the research about the butcher's family is right or wrong.

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We've looked at the best name in the Sanderson site, which is Eleanor I.

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She's married a Gregory, a chap by the surname of Gregory

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and she's had one child, Norma, who we've got up state.

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Tony's going to give her a call

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and hopefully she's going to be able to confirm that everything that we've been doing is correct.

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Although we think we're right, that we've got the right family, we're not 100% sure.

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This is make or break time.

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Norma could be a paternal first cousin through her mother, Eleanor.

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But is she actually an heir or have the team been barking up the wrong family tree?

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It all rests on case manager Tony Pledger's next phone call.

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Hello. Sorry to bother you. Is that Mrs Reid?

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The reason I'm ringing his I'm hoping you're Norma Reid, formerly Gregory,

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the daughter of Eleanor, whose maiden name was Sanderson.

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Oh, good. I'll cut to the chase here.

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I think your mum would have also had a brother Norman.

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Any idea what happened to Norman?

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No, no, No. It's all a bit of a surprise. That's good.

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So Uncle Norman had a daughter, Jean, and she lived in Seahouses. Right, lovely.

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So we've definitely got the right family.

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It's a success.

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With great relief, Tony realises Norma is indeed the first heir

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on the estate and they have researched the correct family.

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What's more, she knows a lot about her relatives.

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She's got good knowledge of the family, she's got lots of certificates.

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She's given me an address for her cousin, Albert, who lives in Belgium.

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She's given me details of her uncle Fred's children,

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her auntie Lily's children and her uncle William's children, she knew the deceased as well.

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Speaking to Norma has been a revelation as there are now a wealth of leads to chase.

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Despite dying with no obvious family,

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it appears that Jean actually had five uncles and aunts on her father's side,

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who all had their own children, including Lilian, who had an amazing nine sons and daughters.

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Many of these potential heirs have international connections.

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But some stayed close to home, too.

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So the heir hunters need men on the ground in Newcastle

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to help locate and speak to all of the beneficiaries.

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Lilian has nine children, so we're going to need someone else up there.

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Can someone phone Paul, get him up to Newcastle?

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Fraser & Fraser's network of travelling heir hunters

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make door-to-door inquiries, speaking to people who knew the deceased.

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Is that George? OK, cheers.

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Thank you.

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-As well as picking up records.

-Lovely.

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Thank you very much.

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All in the race to find and sign up heirs.

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Paul Matthews' beat is normally Birmingham and the West Country

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but today he's needed a little further afield than usual.

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Company partner, Charles Fraser, has to deliver the good news.

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Hello, Paul. It's Charles.

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Yeah, not too bad, and you?

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Can I ask you to go to Newcastle please?

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Yeah, OK, that should be all right.

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All right? Cheers. Bye.

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Just leaving Birmingham. I'm on the M42.

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I've got a 230-mile drive

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and the M42 is like a car-park.

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So, the start of the journey is not good.

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Paul might be going nowhere fast, but in the office, they are now swamped with information.

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Tony has a lengthy list of heirs' phone numbers,

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but he actually needs to speak to them to have a chance of signing them up.

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I'm trying to ring up the cousin of the cousin that I've just spoken to.

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Basically, it's another paternal heir.

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LINE ENGAGED

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Right, so she's engaged.

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Obviously, being phoned up by the opposition, I would imagine.

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With Tony and Paul seemingly at the back of a queue,

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could the competition be one step ahead of the team on this £150,000 estate?

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This is absolute critical time for us now.

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It's now when we actually try and get paid as a firm.

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We've spent a huge amount of money so far on the research,

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we have to speak to the beneficiaries.

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It's no good just finding the beneficiaries,

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we actually have to take our contract a bit further, so absolute critical time for us.

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A good conversation with one of the managers could mean the difference

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between being paid for this case or unfortunately making a big loss.

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Still to come: Jean Ring's estate becomes even more of an uphill struggle

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for the heir hunters as they locate heirs across the globe.

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It's becoming a real international family.

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If we don't have anybody to talk to,

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then it makes it very difficult for us.

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Some estates demand that the heir hunters travel across the world to find beneficiaries,

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whilst other need more local research, as was the case of Michael Moore.

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When a name appears on the Treasury's list,

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all that the heir hunters have to go on initially is the date and place of death.

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It's their job to use their investigative skills to come up with more information.

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Fraser & Fraser's senior case manager David Milchard,

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known as Grimble to his colleagues, was assigned the case.

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The name Moore is an extremely common name, and of course there's

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variations on the name as well, which complicates it even further.

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So it is, from a research point of view,

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quite a difficult name up to research into.

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The team had very little to go on,

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but they knew for the case to be on the Treasury's list in the first place

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the estate had to be valued at a minimum of £5,000, so decided to delve deeper.

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Michael Moore was born in London in 1948.

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He was 60 years old when he passed away in Croydon in July 2009.

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Sheila Scott met Michael in the 1990s and got to know him well.

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I just thought he was such... a nice man.

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He was very pleasant, never rude,

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very considerate, always put other people's needs first.

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He wasn't selfish, which you find... some people are.

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I mean, everybody is selfish, but he wasn't selfish.

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Michael had no known next of kin, and as he didn't leave a will,

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his money was destined to go into the Government's coffers unless his rightful heirs were found.

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The initial searches brought up no sign of Michael on any records in the office,

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so Grimble enlisted the help of travelling heir hunter Bob Barrett

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to see if he could assist with this puzzling case.

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Bob headed straight to the register office to see what he could find out.

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I'm at Croydon Registry Office, so hopefully they'll be able to help

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and produce us some certificates while I wait.

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Birth, death and marriage certificates are available

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and can often provide the team with the vital leads they need to progress with the case.

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Bob was able to get hold of Michael's death certificate

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and called Grimble with the news.

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Michael Moore, er...

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died 23rd July 2009, Mayday Hospital.

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-Yeah.

-'Born 3rd November 1948...'

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-Yeah.

-'And his address was British Home and Hospital for Incurables.'

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Bob's inquiry uncovered that at the time of his death,

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Michael Moore had been a resident at the British Home and Hospital for Incurables,

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now called the British Home.

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This is an independent charity

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that provides specialised nursing and social care

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for people with long-term medical conditions and severe disabilities.

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Its forerunner was founded as the Royal Hospital for Incurables

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in 1861 by a group of philanthropists

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inspired by the work of Charles Dickens.

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Although originally sited in Clapham,

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by 1894 a new building was established in nearby Streatham.

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Grimble started investigating further and discovered that Michael had been born with Down's syndrome,

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a condition that affects 600 babies every year

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and occurs when a baby inherits an extra chromosome.

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About one in a thousand babies are born with Down's syndrome,

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and it can affect them in various different ways

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depending on the severity.

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Some it will be very mild, but it will still have some impact

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on some of the things they want to do, like reading and writing.

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Others will need help with all the activities of daily living,

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washing, dressing.

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That is quite a challenge for the families,

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and the families need support.

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For Michael and any sufferers of Down's syndrome,

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charitable institutions offered invaluable help,

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but the office's further investigations showed that Michael hadn't always lived at the home.

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He had also lived with his parents until his mother died in 1992.

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Angela Wood was a neighbour and a regular visitor to the house.

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Well, I met Michael when I was in the early years of senior school.

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He was living with his mum and dad, being cared for by them, cos he needed that little bit of extra help.

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So there was quite a bit of an age difference between us,

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but Michael being Michael, being that much younger in his mind, he enjoyed the things I enjoyed doing,

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and it was like two children together playing.

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I think Michael's parents didn't see him any different to any other child that they had.

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He was treated exactly the same.

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They were proud of him, and they wanted the world to see their son.

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At the time when Michael was born in 1948, many families

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put Down's syndrome children into long-term institutions.

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However, a ground-breaking project called the Brooklands Experience,

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run by Mencap in 1958,

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proved that children brought up in family-type environments progressed far better than those in hospitals.

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By looking after Michael at home,

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his parents had been ahead of their time.

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It's great that Michael's parents were not embarrassed.

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In the '40s, '50s and probably '60s, many parents were embarrassed,

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partly cos of the negative reaction they were getting from friends, family and neighbours.

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I'm not saying that's all totally disappeared, it hasn't, but it has got a lot, lot better,

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so the way they looked on Michael in those days was pretty enlightened.

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People with Down's syndrome have the same right to live as everybody else,

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and they do make very good friends and companions and what have you,

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and people shouldn't shun them and shouldn't feel,

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"Why are they here?" They should treat them like they do everybody else.

0:21:550:21:59

Michael lived until he was 60 years old.

0:21:590:22:03

As he outlived both of his parents,

0:22:030:22:06

he spent his last few years in a home.

0:22:060:22:08

With only the nursing home as an address, it was hard for the team to know whether Michael had inherited

0:22:080:22:14

any property from his parents and therefore whether there was any value to the estate.

0:22:140:22:19

Grimble could only speculate.

0:22:190:22:22

Michael's estate would most probably have been built up

0:22:220:22:27

by perhaps any benefits that he may have received,

0:22:270:22:30

or it could be that he could have had an allowance when he was younger,

0:22:300:22:37

perhaps made by family,

0:22:370:22:39

and of course any money that he derived from that and hasn't spent,

0:22:390:22:45

that's just built up a bit.

0:22:450:22:48

Once they got hold of the death certificate, the team could start to investigate further.

0:22:480:22:53

So their next line of inquiry was to call the nursing home.

0:22:530:22:58

It proved to be a fruitful call,

0:22:580:23:00

as Grimble found out that Michael had a niece.

0:23:000:23:03

Although the home didn't have any details, as she didn't visit him,

0:23:030:23:07

it was a good lead, as it meant that Michael would have had to have at least one sibling.

0:23:070:23:11

Could the heir hunters be close to solving the case?

0:23:110:23:15

As they didn't know who Michael's parents were,

0:23:150:23:18

researcher Gareth started to look at birth records

0:23:180:23:21

around the time that Michael was born to see if there was anyone else with the same surname.

0:23:210:23:27

And he was in luck. Just under two years before

0:23:270:23:30

Michael Moore was born, there was a Valerie Moore born in the same area.

0:23:300:23:34

It was a bit of a stab in the dark, because basically we had two births and no marriage to go with them.

0:23:340:23:39

So we had a Michael and a Valerie born in the same sort of area,

0:23:390:23:42

but no connecting parents to tie them together.

0:23:420:23:45

Gareth had two names, but were they actually siblings, as he hoped?

0:23:450:23:49

He cross-checked all the records at his disposal and was finally able

0:23:490:23:55

to prove what he'd suspected, that Michael and Valerie were related.

0:23:550:23:59

His investigations showed that they shared the same parents,

0:23:590:24:03

Alfred Moore and Phyllis Wilkinson.

0:24:030:24:06

But with every breakthrough the team made, there seemed to be a setback.

0:24:060:24:10

Well, once we established that he had a sister, erm...

0:24:100:24:14

of course we made every effort to try to contact or find her.

0:24:140:24:19

We then got a bit of disappointment,

0:24:190:24:22

because we then established that she had died.

0:24:220:24:25

So you're beginning to think, "Oh, you know, perhaps there isn't anybody."

0:24:250:24:29

With Michael's only sister already passed away, Grimble wasn't

0:24:300:24:34

too hopeful there would be any living heirs left on this estate.

0:24:340:24:37

But the researchers still had a good lead left,

0:24:370:24:41

the unknown niece who had been mentioned by the care home, if she was still alive.

0:24:410:24:47

Coming up, with the whereabouts of Michael's heirs still unknown,

0:24:490:24:53

could travelling heir hunter Bob Smith be heading out on a wild goose chase?

0:24:530:24:57

I've been asked by the office to go and see a niece of the deceased.

0:24:580:25:02

The only information I have is the surname is Moore.

0:25:020:25:05

For every case that's solved,

0:25:120:25:14

there are still thousands on the Treasury's list that remain a mystery.

0:25:140:25:18

The deceased's assets are kept for up to 30 years in the hope that eventually someone will remember

0:25:200:25:26

and come forward to claim their inheritance.

0:25:260:25:29

And with estates valued at anything from 5,000 to millions of pounds,

0:25:320:25:37

the rightful heirs are out there somewhere.

0:25:370:25:39

Could you know the answer? Maybe you are in line for a windfall?

0:25:420:25:46

Marjorie Hyslop passed away in Stockwell south London

0:25:490:25:53

on 4th April 1997.

0:25:530:25:54

So far, every attempt to find her rightful heir has failed.

0:25:540:25:59

Does her name sound familiar to you?

0:25:590:26:01

Could you be entitled to her legacy?

0:26:010:26:04

Phyllis Claire Isaacs died in Exeter, Devon, on 16th November 2004. Do you know her?

0:26:120:26:19

Was she a neighbour of yours?

0:26:190:26:21

If no relatives are found for either Phyllis or Marjorie, their money will go to the Government.

0:26:240:26:29

But could it be meant for you?

0:26:290:26:33

Still to come - with competition closing in on Jean Ring's £150,000 estate,

0:26:350:26:41

Paul needs to get his skates on if he is to make his appointment in Newcastle.

0:26:410:26:46

The race is on. I need a time machine.

0:26:460:26:48

Fraser & Fraser had been investigating the case of Michael Moore who lived in

0:26:550:27:00

the British Home for Incurables for the later part of his life.

0:27:000:27:04

They had established that he may have had a living relative in the form of a niece,

0:27:050:27:10

but didn't know who she was of if she was even alive.

0:27:100:27:13

They needed more information.

0:27:130:27:16

When they looked back into the records, they discovered that

0:27:180:27:22

Michael's sister, Valerie, had indeed married and with a stroke of luck,

0:27:220:27:27

her husband had an unusual surname, Uffindell.

0:27:270:27:30

It's certainly not a name that I'd come across before.

0:27:320:27:35

She married an Uffindell and then the marriages of her children were always

0:27:350:27:39

going to be the right marriages, because there aren't many Uffindells around.

0:27:390:27:43

With such a good name to go on, they quickly found Valerie's two daughters.

0:27:450:27:50

They would be Michael's heirs.

0:27:510:27:54

Once we knew who the daughters were,

0:27:540:27:58

it was just a matter of finding out where they were.

0:27:580:28:01

The case looked close to being solved

0:28:010:28:03

and Grimble identified a possible address for one of them,

0:28:030:28:07

so dispatched travelling heir hunter Bob Smith in that direction

0:28:070:28:11

whilst he verified the details to find out whether she was indeed still living there.

0:28:110:28:16

I've been asked by the office to go and see two nieces of the deceased.

0:28:160:28:22

The only information I have about the name of the deceased is that the surname is Moore.

0:28:220:28:26

The team are trying to find out the full story,

0:28:280:28:30

but the person who knew the most about Michael was Sheila Scott.

0:28:300:28:34

She was the assistant manager at one of the day centres

0:28:340:28:38

Michael used to visit when he was living with his parents, before his move to a permanent care home.

0:28:380:28:44

Michael was very contented because he had the love of his family,

0:28:440:28:49

and also he had the day centres to go to.

0:28:490:28:52

He just got on with life and he enjoyed every part of life.

0:28:520:28:57

Michael was very comfortable living at home with his parents,

0:28:570:29:00

whilst attending a day centre, but the arrangement couldn't continue indefinitely.

0:29:000:29:05

His father, Alfred, died in 1984, followed by his mother, Phyllis, in 1992.

0:29:070:29:13

And dealing with the upheaval of parents' deaths is becoming

0:29:130:29:16

more and more of a consideration as people with Down's syndrome have begun to live longer lives.

0:29:160:29:22

When Michael was born in 1948, very often people with Down's syndrome didn't live beyond their thirties.

0:29:220:29:28

That was a fact, they died of all sorts of things.

0:29:280:29:31

The most crucial change has come in terms of giving them

0:29:310:29:33

the necessary heart treatment much earlier, particularly when they're very young.

0:29:330:29:38

Now many people with Down's syndrome live into their 60s and some live into their 70s and 80s.

0:29:380:29:42

There's a much greater life expectancy.

0:29:420:29:45

That of itself creates problems because their parents will often die before they do.

0:29:450:29:49

This was the case for Michael.

0:29:500:29:52

When his parents died, his sister, Valerie, looked after him for the next five years,

0:29:520:29:58

until she, too, passed away.

0:29:580:30:00

It soon became evident that he was in need of more specialist care

0:30:020:30:06

at this time and Sheila, his friend as well as his carer, helped him on his next move,

0:30:060:30:12

to a permanent residential care home in south London.

0:30:120:30:16

We had a look round the home and everything, which was really nice.

0:30:160:30:20

And he loved it, he loved the people.

0:30:200:30:23

He just mixed so well.

0:30:230:30:25

He didn't have a problem mixing, he wasn't shy.

0:30:250:30:28

He was very friendly, so he never had no problems.

0:30:280:30:32

Moving into permanent carer coincided with Michael losing touch

0:30:320:30:36

with his remaining family, still living in Kent.

0:30:360:30:39

Michael was eventually cared for in the British Home for Incurables

0:30:390:30:43

in Streatham, where he was living when he passed away.

0:30:430:30:46

And as he didn't leave a will, it was now down to the heir hunters to find any living blood relatives.

0:30:460:30:53

Over the last hour, traveller Bob Smith has made his way to Kent, to a possible address of a niece.

0:30:540:31:01

During that time, Grimble managed to confirm that the person living

0:31:010:31:05

at this address was indeed the Barbara they had been looking for.

0:31:050:31:08

Hello, Mrs Pooley, its Robert Smith, Fraser & Fraser.

0:31:090:31:12

Barbara had lost touch with her uncle.

0:31:160:31:18

She had known Michael when he lived in Kent with her grandparents and her mother, Valerie.

0:31:180:31:23

Once he'd moved to London, and she'd got married, they unfortunately drifted apart.

0:31:230:31:29

Your uncle, Michael, unfortunately he's died without making a will.

0:31:290:31:34

I wasn't shocked, but I was still sad to receive it.

0:31:340:31:37

He was a really lovely guy, very sweet-natured, very loving, and just really nice.

0:31:370:31:44

We used to always take him photos and little bits

0:31:440:31:47

that he used to like to colour and stuff and all different things.

0:31:470:31:51

But he was really lovely. It's really sad.

0:31:510:31:55

Michael's estate has finally been solved

0:31:570:31:59

and Grimble was pleased with the result and that he'd found the right people.

0:31:590:32:04

The value of his estate at this time was still unknown.

0:32:060:32:10

Whatever money he had, it was his.

0:32:130:32:15

It's a nice thought that we were able to trace relatives,

0:32:170:32:21

for them to benefit from his money, and certainly not the Government.

0:32:210:32:26

The final value turned out to be £6,000, which was split between the two nieces.

0:32:280:32:33

Barbara had no hesitation about what to do with her share of the cash.

0:32:350:32:40

Probably whatever he's left I will donate to Mencap so that

0:32:420:32:46

they can make some use of it, like they helped him when he was alive.

0:32:460:32:50

I'd rather his money go back to help somebody else.

0:32:500:32:54

Michael's legacy, as well as Fraser's fees, will now be passed on to the charity who helped him most.

0:32:540:33:00

They used to go there for the day and they used to do lots of different things,

0:33:000:33:05

they used to go on outings to places, make things, all the general things that he loved doing, really.

0:33:050:33:11

He used to look forward to going there. He made lots of friends there

0:33:110:33:14

as well, and the staff and everyone were all very nice, very helpful.

0:33:140:33:19

And he really enjoyed doing that, really enjoyed that.

0:33:190:33:21

Michael's parents refused to view him any differently from any other child

0:33:210:33:27

and he grew up feeling secure and happy.

0:33:270:33:30

He left a lasting impression on everyone who met him.

0:33:300:33:34

He was always laughing, always ready for a hug, always wanted to give you a hug.

0:33:340:33:40

Very friendly, very loving, just full of laughter, really.

0:33:400:33:44

He was always happy. Never think of him as anything else, really, just always being happy.

0:33:460:33:51

Whilst some cases are relatively easy to solve for the heir hunters,

0:34:000:34:05

other cases, like the estate of Jean Ring, involve chasing families

0:34:050:34:09

across the world in a bid to get to the heirs before rival firms.

0:34:090:34:14

The team have made rapid progress, and senior researcher Paul Matthews

0:34:140:34:19

is making his way from his home in Birmingham up to Newcastle

0:34:190:34:24

so he's in the right area to sign up the beneficiaries.

0:34:240:34:27

After speaking to his first heir early this morning, case manager Tony

0:34:280:34:32

has finally managed to speak to another heir, Olga Brennan.

0:34:320:34:37

She's the daughter of one of Jean Ring's uncles, Frederick Sanderson,

0:34:370:34:42

and is still based in Newcastle.

0:34:420:34:44

What I was hoping was that I can make an arrangement for one of our

0:34:440:34:48

researchers, possibly Paul Matthews, to visit you later on today.

0:34:480:34:54

There are at least two other heir hunting firms on the case,

0:34:540:34:58

so Tony's booked Paul in for a 2.30 appointment to meet her.

0:34:580:35:01

Unfortunately, progress has been painfully slow.

0:35:010:35:05

It's already 12.30pm and he's still 100 miles away.

0:35:050:35:10

So will he make it in time and will be competition already have visited her?

0:35:100:35:16

One of our rival companies, researching the same estate, just as we're doing,

0:35:160:35:22

they're going round contacting relatives.

0:35:220:35:26

So, yeah, the race is on.

0:35:260:35:29

I need a time machine.

0:35:290:35:31

In the office, Gareth is looking into Olga's brother Frederick's family.

0:35:320:35:36

He passed away in 1995 but they know that he had children,

0:35:360:35:41

who will be heirs, if they can find them.

0:35:410:35:44

I'm just seeing if I can track down the children of Frederick Sanderson.

0:35:440:35:49

We know he was in the RAF, so he was having children all over the country

0:35:490:35:54

which is making him slightly difficult to track down.

0:35:540:35:57

Jean's cousin, Frederick, joined the RAF straight after World War II, aged 17.

0:35:590:36:06

He worked as a mechanic in the MT section before graduating to a Chief Tech Engineer.

0:36:060:36:12

His job took him to live in bases across the UK

0:36:120:36:16

as well as Malta, Gibraltar, the Maldives and Singapore where his eldest daughter was born.

0:36:160:36:23

This colourful history can be a challenge to the hunters if they have to rely on certificates alone.

0:36:230:36:29

It's becoming a real international family

0:36:290:36:32

which, as long as we're talking to people, that's fine, and they're giving us that information.

0:36:320:36:37

If we don't have anybody to talk to, then it makes it very difficult for us.

0:36:370:36:41

Jean Ring's father's family were all born and bred in Newcastle

0:36:410:36:44

and worked in the same family butcher shop.

0:36:440:36:47

But much of the next generation seems to have travelled much wider and Gareth has a theory as to why.

0:36:510:36:56

We've got one stem in the RAF, that we know was in the RAF,

0:36:580:37:02

and then we've got other stems that are going all over the world.

0:37:020:37:05

That, to me, means maybe that they're in the aviation business.

0:37:050:37:08

It's a complete guess at this stage, but I've got a gut feeling. I might be right.

0:37:080:37:13

Gareth might be right, but the heir hunters need to keep speaking to people who know about the family

0:37:130:37:19

or the research could start to slow down.

0:37:190:37:21

A little closer to home and it has taken Paul nearly five hours to drive the 230 miles to Newcastle

0:37:230:37:30

in a bid to meet cousin Olga Brennan before the opposition.

0:37:300:37:35

Three minutes early.

0:37:350:37:37

I don't know how I've timed it so well, but there you go.

0:37:370:37:40

With such a large and spread out family,

0:37:400:37:43

Paul will not only need to sign Olga up

0:37:430:37:45

but also establish as many facts as he can

0:37:450:37:49

if the office stands any chance of getting to the other heirs before the competition.

0:37:490:37:54

Fortunately, he has managed to get to Olga

0:37:540:37:56

before any other heir hunters so they are already one step ahead.

0:37:560:38:00

What I've got to do now is ask you a few questions about yourself.

0:38:000:38:04

It proves you're the right person.

0:38:040:38:06

Then I'll ask you what you know about the family which will help us

0:38:060:38:09

with our research because we've got a very big family tree and lots of people to trace.

0:38:090:38:14

So, right, OK. What's your full name, please?

0:38:140:38:17

-Olga Eleanor Brennan.

-And your maiden name?

0:38:170:38:21

-Sanderson.

-Good start.

0:38:210:38:23

So you've got one sibling.

0:38:230:38:25

Did Frederick have children?

0:38:250:38:27

Yes, he had six.

0:38:270:38:29

A lot of writing today then!

0:38:300:38:33

Keep you occupied.

0:38:330:38:35

-Who's the oldest of the children?

-David.

0:38:350:38:38

-Do you know when David was born?

-1952, in this house.

-Oh, right.

0:38:380:38:42

-Is David married?

-He is divorced.

0:38:420:38:46

-We've got Stephen, does that ring a bell?

-That rings a bell, yes.

0:38:460:38:49

Olga's June 16th.

0:38:490:38:51

You're very good on dates, aren't you? I ought to come and see you every week.

0:38:510:38:56

Well, I try to.

0:38:560:38:59

Paul has hit the jackpot as Olga has a wealth of information

0:38:590:39:02

about her extended family and can answer all his questions.

0:39:020:39:07

Unfortunately, he may be there some time.

0:39:070:39:10

Blimey. Now up to page 5.

0:39:100:39:13

We're doing very well.

0:39:130:39:16

Olga's signed up and proven the key to discovering the whereabouts to the children of her brother,

0:39:160:39:21

Frederick, as well as some of the international parts of the family.

0:39:210:39:25

And the case is now looking up in the office.

0:39:250:39:28

The whole matter is coming together and, as I said, of the sort of 26 or so heirs that there are,

0:39:300:39:35

we've probably contacted the best part of 15 of them by now by today.

0:39:350:39:39

So the others, you know, we will be writing to and still trying to contact on the phone.

0:39:390:39:44

So it's coming together quite well, so we're fairly positive that it's going to be successful.

0:39:440:39:49

The investigation into Jean Ring's estate is looking good for the heir hunters.

0:39:510:39:56

There are no heirs on Jean's mother's side of the family and presently 26 heirs on her father's.

0:39:560:40:02

With Olga's help, Gareth has finally tracked down all six children of

0:40:040:40:08

Frederick Sanderson, the cousin who travelled the world in the RAF.

0:40:080:40:12

They will all be heirs, but his guess about the rest of the family

0:40:120:40:16

has proven to be wide of the mark.

0:40:160:40:18

I thought maybe they were involved in the aviation business.

0:40:200:40:24

Unfortunately, I was wrong.

0:40:240:40:25

It turns out that only Frederick, the son of Frederick, born in 1929, was actually in the RAF.

0:40:250:40:31

The rest of the family appear to be sort of more linked

0:40:310:40:34

to the butcher's family, which isn't quite as well travelled.

0:40:340:40:38

If the family hadn't lost touch with Jean through distance,

0:40:380:40:41

then why did they grow apart and not know about her when she died?

0:40:410:40:45

The heir hunters spoke to Frederick's eldest daughter, Olga,

0:40:470:40:50

later that day and for her, the call came totally out of the blue.

0:40:500:40:57

I was quite surprised, I was just shocked,

0:40:570:40:59

just didn't know what to say.

0:40:590:41:01

Disbelief, really.

0:41:010:41:02

Didn't think that anything like that would happen to me.

0:41:020:41:08

When I was told it was a lady called Jean Ring,

0:41:080:41:11

the name didn't mean anything to me

0:41:110:41:14

so I had to get in contact with my mother to find out who she was.

0:41:140:41:19

From what I've been told, there was a family butchers in Newcastle.

0:41:240:41:30

I think it was called Sanderson's but I'm not sure cos I've never been there.

0:41:300:41:34

And it was run by my grandfather

0:41:340:41:39

and Jean's father

0:41:390:41:42

and there were two other brothers.

0:41:420:41:44

The Sanderson's family butcher's business was passed down

0:41:440:41:49

through the generations.

0:41:490:41:51

It thrived through the 1930s and '40s as the four brothers

0:41:510:41:56

expanded it into two shops to serve the locals of Newcastle.

0:41:560:42:00

But by the late 1950s, the shops had shut down.

0:42:000:42:04

There was a disagreement between Norman and his other brothers.

0:42:040:42:09

Norman left the butchers and they all went their separate ways.

0:42:090:42:15

I was never told anything about her father, Norman, or her.

0:42:160:42:22

Whilst the details of the family dispute might have gone to the brothers' graves,

0:42:220:42:26

it's unfortunate for Olga that it kept her away from Jean and her husband, Aiden, for all those years.

0:42:260:42:33

I would like to have known a little bit more about Jean

0:42:330:42:37

and more of her side of the family,

0:42:370:42:39

and it's sad, really,

0:42:390:42:41

that there was somebody that

0:42:410:42:44

I was going to inherit money from that I knew nothing about.

0:42:440:42:49

If you would like advice about building your family tree

0:42:500:42:54

or making a will, go to bbc.co.uk.

0:42:540:42:58

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:42:580:43:01

E-mail [email protected]

0:43:010:43:04

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