Angela died of dementia and at the time very little was known about her or any extended family. So leading professional probate genealogists and stars of BBC’s Heir Hunters series, Finders International, was instructed to search for any relatives entitled to inherit her estate. It was quickly established that Angela, who was born in Hackney during WWII, was an only child, she had never married and had no children of her own.
She did have three first cousins, all on her mother’s side of the family, but all had died before her. That’s when the adult children of these cousins were contacted by Finders International informing them of Angela’s death and that they were in line to inherit a share of her estate.
Conchita Boothman, 53, from Stockport, Greater Manchester was one of the first to be contacted by Finders International. A first-cousin-once-removed of Angela’s, she is one of the five beneficiaries of the estate.
She said: “When I got the letter from Finders International I was totally surprised. I was a bit dubious at first but did my own research on Finders International and, while I had never heard of Angela Lewis, I decided I would call Finders.
“I spoke with one of the researchers at Finders who explained that Angela was a first cousin of my late father. It was astounding to hear this as I didn’t know very much about my own father or my father's family. My parents divorced when I was very young and both had illnesses that prevented me from really knowing my father at all.
“The whole process with Finders International was incredible, if somewhat bitter sweet. It is sad that Angela was alone, and sad that I never met her. I would have liked to get to know her and her life, and also to ask her about my father’s family.”
Simonne Llewellyn, CEO of Finders International, said: “This type of scenario is not unusual. Families are often dispersed, with extended families and relatives not known to each other. Emigration, divorce, remarriages and even illnesses often play a pivotal role in knowledge gaps within extended families.
“We don’t know what Angela’s wishes would have been, however we are glad that Angela’s estate will go to the next generation of her only relatives, and that they can enjoy their inheritance. We are also delighted to have been able to fill in some of the gaps in the family tree for the beneficiaries. ”
Conchita said: “I didn’t know that my grandmother (my father’s mother) had married twice and that my dad was from her second marriage, so I was completely unaware that my father had a half-brother and that I had ‘half cousins’ too. I probably would never have known this only for Finders International’s work on this case.
"Now, finally, I know some of my father’s and my own heritage and that means a lot to me. It completed a chapter of my family tree that I did not know even existed and for that I am very grateful. The inheritance, while totally unexpected, is just a bonus. I haven’t decided what to do with it – probably some home improvements.“
Finders International specialises in probate genealogy, tracing heirs to estates, property, and assets worldwide. It offers a range of services including locating missing heirs and beneficiaries, estate administration, and asset reunification.
It has offices in London, Edinburgh, Yorkshire and Cardiff, as well as an office in Dublin, Ireland and Sydney, Australia. With more than 100+ highly qualified researchers it primarily serves private client legal departments, public sector entities, and unclaimed asset departments. It was founded in 1997 .