Deep Research for Missing Beneficiary - A Case Study by FindersUK on BBC Heir Hunters Program

We often say that Finders has an international reach, but why is that so important?

Families can often scatter far and wide, or it may be that branches of the family end up on the other side of the world which is why we need to be able to call on resources and tracing agents across far-flung places. Different countries have different systems and offices for recording information such as births and deaths, so knowing how these work is also very important to probate genealogists such as ourselves.

This week's BBC Heir Hunters programme which included one of our cases focused on the story of Derek Lynsdale. It truly did demonstrate how far and wide families can disperse and how important it is that we as an organisation are able to explore all avenues in our search for the rightful beneficiaries to an estate.

Although he died in the UK, My Lynsdale had been born in Burma. At the time of his death, he was living with his mother, he had no siblings and he had never married nor had any children so there were no heirs to be found through Mr Lynsdale's direct line.

To find the rightful beneficiaries, Finders case manager Ryan Gregory had to look at the options for tracing further members of the family who might also have been born in Burma.

Derek's family history, which Ryan was able to trace through records of Burmese life at the British Library, was incredibly fascinating. His paternal grandfather had been a British Army doctor working in the country in one of the prisons. As well as Derek's father, there were other siblings too and they had gone on to have children – Derek's cousins.

As you probably know, Burma was invaded by the Japanese in December of 1941 during World War II and many of the British families living there were forced to flee. This had been the case with both Derek and Susan's families as Ryan was able to discover from passenger lists of boats. Their journeys back to the UK had taken them to different destinations, however, and they had not seen each other for many years.

Susan was able to remember her early years in Burma with happiness, but that had come to an abrupt end when the Japanese invaded the country.

Finders founder and managing director Daniel Curran said in the programme, that one of the most rewarding aspects of the work that we do is that we often bring families very good news – either that they have inherited life-changing sums of money, or that we are able to put them in touch with family members they might not have known about, or have lost touch with.

This was the case with Derek's cousin Susan. She remembered Derek from their younger years in Burma, and she hadn't known of the other family members.

Probate genealogists, or heir hunters, such as Finders are often asked to look into estates by local authorities or local solicitors. We also keep an eye on the Bona Vacantia List, a document kept by HM Treasury which lists all of the estates where people have either died without leaving a will (called dying “intestate”) or the beneficiaries aren't known.

We look at all angles of a case to find those heirs – studying both sides of a person's family, searching out birth, marriage and death certificates and contacting prospective heirs wherever they may be.

If you would like to employ the services of Finders, be assured that we are one of the world's leading firms of international probate genealogists. Our success is due to our commitment to a no-nonsense, fast and friendly service, and professionalism. Read more about the full range of ourservices here.

Involvement of Executors and Administrators – from Heir Hunters (FindersUK)

When an heir hunting business traces the beneficiaries to an intestacy where no next of kin have been traced, they may ask one of the heirs to act as Administrator, which is the name for an Executor when there is no will, they can also both be called a Personal Delegate.

An Executor is a person (or persons) named in a valid will, who could be heirs or may not be beneficiaries at all.  The Executor(s) will lawfully own all the assets from the time the Testator dies. The Executor(s) will not be clever to take any of the assets into their own ownership nor dispose of them until the will has been "proven" and their position as Executor(s) is confirmed by a Grant of Probate (also known as a Grant of Representation). An heir who becomes an Administrator has the identical responsibilities.

As is the case when tracing absent heirs, there is the same pecking order of those who can become an Administrator:

·         The spouse or civil partner of the Deceased

·         A child of the Deceased

·         A grandchild of the Deceased (or further descendant thereof)

·         A parent of the Deceased

·         A brother or sister of the Deceased

·         A nephew or niece of the Deceased (or further descendant thereof)

·         Another relative of the Deceased

The duties of an Executor or an Administrator are alike and include duties to:

·         Safeguard and collect assets

·         Pay the debts of the Deceased

·         Distribute the remainder of the Estate to the beneficiaries.

However if you are an heir and become the Administrator you will perhaps need Letters of Administration (also known as a Grant of Representation) to give you the authority to deal with the Estate. Unlike an Executor, a personal spokesperson who intends to apply for a Grant of Administration only owns the Estate once the Grant has been issued and has no authority to act until then.

So none of the beneficiaries on intestacy, whether or not they are a potential Administrator should, for example, advertise a property for sale or dispose of any assets before the Grant has been issued.

In order to execute these duties there will be many tasks to be done before and after obtaining a Grant of Probate and an Executor or Administrator is liable for administering the Estate for the rest of their life. In theory it is possible for a bit to come to light many years after the Administrator thought their duties were finished which they will then be grateful to deal with.

This may sound onerous, but if none of the heirs want to act as Administrator then there may be a trouble as without one the Estate cannot be distributed to the beneficiaries. So if you are traced by a skilled probate genealogy company (heir hunters UK) who think you to be a valid beneficiary, and are asked to be the Administrator don’t be put off. The heir hunters may also give you the option to instruct one of their panels of independent solicitors to act on your behalf and distribute the Estate to all the equitable heirs. This will ensure that you never have to pay for any legal fees in person. A trustworthy heir hunting company will also carry Professional Indemnity Insurance, which protects Trustees and Administrators further.

This is just another example of why if you are traced by an heir hunting company; it is sensible to take advantage of more of the extra services they provide. Professional Probate Genealogists, like Finders, don’t just trace missing beneficiaries but work on their behalf until the Estate is scattered to all the rightful heirs, and beyond that should a missing beneficiary appear in the future.  In the case of Finders heir hunters, this includes tracing missing heirs, missing wills, missing assets, completing estate distribution schedules, obtaining missing beneficiary or missing will insurance and performing worldwide bankruptcy searches, all to ensure that heirs receive their inheritance safely and securely.

Finders heir hunters have been awarded the ISO 9001:2008 Total Quality Management certification and are the first probate genealogy firm to accomplish the international version of this Standard as devised by the IAB (International Accreditation Board). Finders have also been awarded ISO/IEC 27001:2005 Data & Information Security Certification. Finders heir hunters also provide Aviva missing beneficiary insurance, which protects Trustees and Administrators against the improbable but possible event of an unknown beneficiary emerging after an Estate has been distributed. Finders heir hunters can also obtain Aviva insurance against a will being found which disinherits heirs who have received already been paid, thus safeguarding heir from ever having to repay their inheritance once received.

As agents for Aviva Finders heir hunters are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

For further information and advice contact Finders, 6-8 Vestry Street, London N1 7RE 020 7490 4935 www.findersuk.com

Finders UK Announce Worldwide Bankruptcy Search Service

In the case of intestacy there are many hurdles between starting the search for beneficiaries and final distribution of the estate to the entitled heirs.

One of these is to conduct a Bankruptcy Search on those who are entitled to inherit and now Finders have introduced a Worldwide Bankruptcy Search service.

Professional probate genealogists, like Finders, commonly know as ‘heir hunters’, will have the facilities and experienced staff to deal with any issues that may arise, and offer a range of services like Worldwide Bankruptcy Search which gives assurance to anyone appointing them to trace missing beneficiaries. Finders heir hunters have a network of agents throughout the world and will feature in the new series of the BBC TV daytime show Heir Hunters which starts in 2014. On the show Finders are followed as they unravel intestacies, tracing missing or unknown beneficiaries and reuniting them with their rightful inheritance.

The process starts with the deceased and the search for a will. It is a cause of constant surprise to the heir hunters that so many people do not have a will or that they have a will that is not up to date or, frustratingly for the potential beneficiaries, a will that cannot be found. Even if there is a will there may be named heirs who are unknown to the executors who will engage a probate genealogy company to trace those missing beneficiaries. When there isn’t a will the probate genealogists go into heir hunting mode and invest their own time and expense to find those entitled heirs.

Although tracing the beneficiaries is not necessarily easy, especially when there is an international dimension it is only the start of the process. Their identities have to be checked and proved, an administrator has to be appointed as do solicitors to handle the legal aspects of the application but it doesn’t end there.

Prior to making distribution of estate funds to beneficiaries, it is a requirement to run a bankruptcy search against each individual heir in line to inherit. This again becomes more complex when heirs live abroad or have lived abroad. Finders can conduct these searches in a number of countries and can also undertake bankruptcy searches for UK based beneficiaries.

Assuming everything is in order and the estate is distributed to those rightfully entitled heirs there is one more thing to consider. What if a previously unknown beneficiary emerges who has a claim on the estate? It is the duty of search companies to go to every length to ensure that all those entitled have been traced, but on very rare occasions there may be someone who was completely unknown but who has a claim. This is why Finders carry missing beneficiary insurance another service that benefits heirs as well as both trustees and administrators.

The Worldwide Bankruptcy Search service is another of the many and increasing services Finders offer to both trustees and administrators, services that include, Missing Will Insurance, Dormant and Orphan Funds, Property Transactions-Missing Funds, Missing Will Service, Missing Document Service, Probate Property Sales and Services, Transferable Nil Rate Band Service, Missing Asset Service and many others.

Finders have been awarded the ISO 9001:2008 Total Quality Management certification and are the first probate genealogy firm to achieve the international version of this Standard as devised by the IAB (International Accreditation Board). Finders also provide missing beneficiary insurance, which protects trustees and administrators against the event of an unknown beneficiary emerging after an estate, has been distributed. As agents for Aviva they are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

For further information and advice contact Finders, 6-8 Vestry Street, London N1 7RE 020 7490 4935 www.findersuk.com

Heir Hunters: Expect the unexpected – See our Case Studies

When the representative of a probate genealogy company visits likely wealth beneficiaries, they have to suppose the unexpected and be organized for knock backs as well as successes.

Finders legislatures tend to visit beneficiaries all over the UK from Cornwall to the Highlands. Most visits are casual but occasionally they become more interesting, heirs often have stories to tell about their relatives and are almost always fascinated to hear the details of the heir hunter’s research. One of the delights and pitfalls of the job are the beneficiaries themselves.

On a recent case, a Finders representative visited multiple beneficiaries in Leeds to introduce the company’s services. They were all part of an extended family and lived within a few miles of each other but to his surprise didn’t know about each other. The trails lead, the heir hunter to a rundown street in a notorious area. On approaching the house, the representative thought better of knocking but turning to return to his car, the door opened, and he was gestured back and into the filthiest house, he had ever seen and invited into a front room that stank of marijuana and was occupied by friends of the beneficiary in various states of intoxication.

The visit was luckily brief but successful from both the ends. The heir hunter then found himself on an estate where the sat nav couldn’t find the correct address. He pulled over to ask directions from a group of youths to be told “You don’t want to come ‘round here asking questions like that!” He was about to make a rapid getaway when the respondents girlfriend hit him, they all laughed and gave the directions to the beneficiaries address successfully.

On a visit to Lincolnshire, the heir hunter found the correct address where the beneficiary’s wife told him that; the beneficiary was having a regular Friday night drink at a nearby pub. He called the beneficiary who invited him down. The beneficiary was a very affable man, who bought the representative a pint and introduced him to his lawyer who he was at the pub with. They spent a pleasant half hour mutually the heir pleased to have found out that, he was due an inheritance from a relative he didn’t know who had died intestate.

A case in Cornwall, gave rise to three brothers, discovering rather surprising, but for them charming, about their family. The father of the beneficiaries had pre-deceased his half sister who three years older than him and had subsequently died intestate. The beneficiaries had no understanding of the deceased and were adamant that their father was an only child. It turned out that the deceased had been born in 1942, when her mother was already married to the beneficiary’s grandfather. They came to the apparent conclusion that; their grandmother had not been totally faithful while granddad was away at the war! The representative was embarrassed to reveal this, but the brothers were more interested to find out that; they had had an aunt they had never known.

So, when visiting potential beneficiaries in cases of intestacy, heir hunters have to merge quick wits, with tact and sensitivity as, they never know where they will end up or what they may find out!

Finders have been awarded the ISO 9001:2008 “Total Quality Management certification” and are the first probate genealogy firm to achieve the international version of this Standard as devised by the IAB (International Accreditation Board). Finders also provide missing beneficiary insurance, which protects trustees and administrators against the event of an unknown beneficiary emerging after an estate, has been distributed. As agents for Aviva they are regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

For further information and advice contact:

Finders, 6-8 Vestry Street, London N1 7RE, 020 7490 4935
http://www.findersuk.com