12 Dec 2017

Case study: Long Lost Cousin

The facts

Paul Solomons of Solomons Solicitors referred a matter to us having been approached by a neighbour of the Deceased, Helen Sweet (not her real name), who had recently died without having made a Will and with no known family. Information indicated that Miss Sweet was a spinster without children and an only child but there was rumoured to be a “long lost” cousin.

The problem

Keen to act in this reasonably sized estate but without an entitled family member to instruct him Paul sought our assistance and help.

The solution

We were pleased to undertake a stage of research using our Rainmaker™ service – our alternative to the contingency fee approach – aimed at finding Paul a person from whom he could take instructions. We undertook the research at our own expense and at our own risk, confident that there was statistically likely to be at least one person entitled to benefit. Should that have proved not to be the case, or we located a person who did not wish to instruct Paul, we would have written off the costs incurred.

The outcome

Through consultation of various census returns we established that there were at least 14 uncles and aunts in total, spread over both sides of the family. We picked an aunt whose name seemed most conducive to a swift breakthrough and descended that line until we found a living first cousin once removed, the daughter of a predeceasing first cousin. We contacted her and she indicated that she would be willing to be involved and to instruct Paul. Paul received her instructions only eight days after first contacting us and asked us to begin the process of researching the lines of the other 13 uncles and aunts.

Paul said
“I had been recommended to Moore Probate Research by another solicitor and when the above case arose, I decided to utilise their services.
I was very happy that Matthew and his team were able to identify a solution so quickly but was also impressed by both their personal and professional approach. I will certainly be happy to instruct Moore Probate Research to deal with other appropriate cases in the future.”

All names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.