"Heir Hunters"

[FraserandFraser]

The only way to check is to see if a claim has been made to the Probate registry for a grant, even the TS have to apply for grants so the older ones may have been taken out by them if no heirs were found. there is no complete list.

London Probate Department
PRFD, First Avenue House
42-49 High Holborn
Ground Floor
Holborn London
England
WC1V 6NP

How to obtain a copy of a will (recorded message with instructions) 020 7947 6983

[annieoburns]

Would the probate index books in Holborn include the intestate/unclaimed?  Is there a separate set of books?  The main ones are easy to use and alphabetical for each year.  Could one just visit there an check in the open area or is this an inquiry to be handled by the staff and perhaps better done by post?  What does TS stand for?

I checked there for my great grandfather and just because could find no record in years after his death, I assumed there was no will.  This was later confirmed by York office

Anne

[FraserandFraser]

TS is Treasury Solicitor

there is no easy way to search for a list of unclaimed monies, you can only search for the name of the person who has passed away.

We search 5 years for a probate, ie year of death plus 4

if you die intestate and leave currently more than £5k than a grant of letters of administration have to be take out these are listed in the same way as if there was a will that is probated.

[annieoburns]

That is interesting about smaller estates not being registered.

That was probably the case with the great grandfather who had a simple buriel and no headstone.  When he died his only child was this great uncle who lived with him, never married and was disabled.  My father was reared by his mother's family as she was  a WW1 widow and  had little to do with his father's side.  He also lived outside UK for working life.

The obvious starting point is to find a record of his death but I have not had success there... must be somewhere as born in 1904!

Remember Heirhunters is on EVERY morning at 9 15am.  My link button to record series will not work so have to make an effort to catch it. I thought the ones so far viewed are better productions with less repetition than previous years.  Obviously they are produced for commercial stations and can be seen to break down into chunks for possible ad breaks.  These ones seem better edited though. 

Anne

[Deb D]

Hi, I'm wondering if I can (probably) be a pest, and ask ...

My Gt-gt-grandfather left his estate to be divided between his three children; two daughters, who never married ... and my gt-grandfather who had emigrated to Australia.  The will stated that gt-grandfather's share would be waiting for him when he returned to England ... but having married, and fathered a huge brood of children, he never did return to England.

Obviously, my question is ... what would have happened to his third share of his father's estate?  Could my late grandmother's tales of "money in Chancery" have any basis in fact?

[davidft]

1. Remember Heirhunters is on EVERY morning at 9 15am.  My link button to record series will not work so have to make an effort to catch it.

2. I thought the ones so far viewed are better productions with less repetition than previous years.  Obviously they are produced for commercial stations and can be seen to break down into chunks for possible ad breaks.  These ones seem better edited though. 

Anne

Re 1. If you can't record it have a look at the BBCi player for about a week after first broadcast

Re 2. Yes I agree I think the production values of this series are an improvement on the previous ones and make it more watchable IMO.

[skb]

I thought the ones so far viewed are better productions with less repetition than previous years.  Obviously they are produced for commercial stations and can be seen to break down into chunks for possible ad breaks.  These ones seem better edited though. 

Anne

I agree. I like the way they're including more background and historical context this time.

[mother25]

The latest new series is now showing at 9.15a.m. on BBC 1 weekdays. The first programme was shown last Monday 29th June, so there's still time to catch up on BBC i-player if you've missed it 
So far it's a good series and I am particularly looking forward to tomorrow's show as it has connections with a family member.  Nothing to do with me as the connection is by marriage many years ago 
The format is better this time, and anyone who has done any family research will know that collecting certificates doesn't really happen as quickly and easily as it seems 
Nevertheless I think the Heir Hunters have the best job, and I'm sure they all enjoy their work most of the time.

[kerryb]

I'm loving the format of the new series, have been recording it and watching instead of the news each evening.  The new historical bits of information and smaller segments have even got my OH watching who normally shuns anything to do with family history. 

The BBC have really got it right this time in my humble opinion 

Fraser and Fraser always look incredibly busy on the TV, and its also nice to see some fresh faces amongst the now well known ones!

Kerry