What We Do
Our primary business is locating missing heirs and our track record proves that we know how to find people and recover unclaimed assets. As part of our missing heir business, we engage in anti-fraud work for the probate sector, the financial sector (Dormant Account Audit) and whisky cask sector (Cask Reunification Service). In addition, given the human interest of our work, we also provide consultancy work for television and other media.
Here’s a breakdown of what we do and how we can help:
Missing Heir Work
From the information given to us, which is usually sparse and incomplete, we conduct research and construct a family tree. We then locate current contact details of individuals whom we believe have an interest in an estate, and we then hope all this work will lead us to the nearest living kin of a deceased person who has maybe died intestate; or perhaps help us locate the beneficiaries named in a Will who cannot be found.
It is then our responsibility to locate all of the relevant beneficiaries AND all the records that allow us to prove conclusively the relationship between the deceased person and those persons whom we believe to be their lawful next-of-kin.
We offer a 10% share of our fee to anyone who refers a genuine missing heir case to us that is not advertised elsewhere.
Fraud Prevention & Administration
As part of our Missing Heir Work, we often facilitate the administration of the estates that we research, but we can also help solicitors, administrators and trustees in the following ways:
– Combat probate fraud by verifying the individuals who are set to be distributed assets from an estate, or a custodian, to ensure that they are the persons who they claim to be and help asset holders comply with their anti-money-laundering protocols
– Prevent creditor fraud by ensuring that any beneficiaries to an estate are checked for bankruptcies
– Provide a genealogy report to secure missing beneficiary and/or missing Will insurance, preventing beneficiary fraud and protecting estates after distribution
Cask Reunification Service
Celtic Research’s Cask Reunification Service mitigates the consequences of insolvencies in the whisky investment sector and helps reduce fraud in the whisky industry, perpetrated by criminals posing as legitimate cask brokers.
Our solution is to locate the legal cask owner to link them directly with the warehouse storing the cask. Our solution established a transparent relationship between owner and storage provider, which we hope will reunite owners/ estates to their valuable casks and reduce the possibility of fraud.
Distilleries and Bonded Warehouses benefit from our Cask Reunification Service in the following ways:
– Reduce storage liability
– Comply with HMRC audit requirements
– Unlock aged stock value
– Receive a 10% share of our fee for referring the case
Dormant Account Audit
We partner with custodians and financial advisory firms to revive dormant client accounts by offering a FREE Dormant Account Audit, which involves us tracing clients who have moved, married, or otherwise lost touch with their pension or insurance. In 90% of cases, the person is still living – and they often write, call, or email to thank us for finding them. This is a win-win situation for financial advisors and their dormant clients, who turn into active clients.
In the small percentage of cases where the client has passed away, we will locate their family, obtain agreements to represent them, and facilitate the distribution of the assets to the rightful heirs.
We provide a 10% commission from our fee to the financial firm, or individual who refers the case.
Media Consultancy Work
The Team at Celtic Research has also provided research expertise for TV production companies and other media agencies over the years. We have worked as Genealogical Consultants for the Granada TV show: “Find a Fortune,” with Carol Vorderman; as well as the US syndicated show, ‘Unsolved Mysteries’. We’ve also featured in the BBC1 television series: “Heir Hunters”, which ran for 12 seasons. View Some Clips from the series!