Joseph Hilliard's £100,000 estate was left unclaimed when he died last year without leaving a will.

But his family, whom he had lost touch with, have received their inheritance thanks to genealogists and international probate researchers at Fraser and Fraser.

The firm, whose work features on the BBC documentary Heir Hunters, set about researching the Hilliard case after realising that the 76-year-old, of Oxford Crescent, Hetton, had left a substantial estate.

Speaking from the firm's London headquarters, partner Neil Fraser said: "The Hilliard estate was a relatively easy case to work. We made a mistake at the beginning because we assumed that he would have been born in the North East, but he was actually born on the other side of the country in Whitehaven.

"We were able to find his children in Whitehaven, and in total there were eight beneficiaries, which included children and grandchildren, to his estate."

Researchers at the firm also discovered that Mr Hilliard was a former miner and had died from lung disease. As a result, the family may also be entitled to compensation.

The firm, which has eight offices around the world, works cases where wills have not been left, when wills are invalid or when someone is named in a will but cannot be found.

Mr Fraser explained: "People dying without a valid will is very common. A National Consumer Survey from September last year showed that 64 per cent of the UK population don't have wills.

"We always stress that it is important to have an up-to-date and valid will."

If someone dies without leaving a will and there's no known relation to inherit, the Treasury receives the money.

Mr Fraser said: "I think the job itself is one of the best in the world. We get to do different research every day and we get to put families back in touch with each other.
"But we always stress that we never contact people by email with regard to unclaimed estates. If someone has received an email about an estate, it is usually a scam."

If you think you might be related to someone who died without leaving a will, visit the Heir Hunters list of unclaimed estates at
www.bbc.co.uk/lifestyle/tv_and_radio/heirhunters_estates1.shtml

Heir Hunters is showing weekdays at 9.15am on BBC One.