Caroline Foster, 42, from Auckland, New Zealand, was sent a letter saying a relative she had never heard of had died in the UK, leaving an estate worth over half a million pounds. She assumed it was a scam and nearly threw it away.
Unexpected Letter Reveals Inheritance
The letter arrived out of the blue, stating that a relative in the UK had died and that Caroline could potentially be a beneficiary. She thought it was most likely a scam. However, when a cousin in Wellington said they had also been contacted by Finders International, Caroline started researching the company and realised it was genuine.
June Barker, 92, from Braintree, Essex, died in April 2021. She had no family, no will, never married, and had no children. Finders International, the UK's largest professional probate genealogists and stars of BBC TV's Heir Hunters series, was instructed to investigate whether anyone was legally entitled to inherit June's estate, estimated to be worth £600,000.
Global Search Uncovers 31 Relatives
What followed was a global search through generations of family records, uncovering 31 long-lost relatives living across the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Most had never heard of June Barker and had no idea they were connected to her.
Caroline said: "The letter came out of the blue saying that a relative in the UK had died and that I could potentially be a beneficiary to the estate. I remember thinking, 'There's no way this can be real. I thought that it was most likely a scam. Then a cousin in Wellington said they also had been contacting by Finders International. That made me stop and think. I started researching Finders and realised it was genuine so I decided to call them."
Family Connection Discovered
Caroline's grandmother Freda was June's first cousin. Caroline said: "Neither my cousin nor I had any idea that we had relatives in the UK. Turns out that my grandmother, on my dad's side, and June Barker were first cousins."
Caroline added: "I don't know my father's side of the family. He died six years ago. To discover that I had family in the UK was incredible. I had absolutely no idea. It's amazing that someone could trace our family connections all the way to New Zealand."
Windfall Brings Mixed Emotions
Caroline used the money to help support her children's sporting ambitions, something she hopes June would have approved of. She said: "Although it's nice to get a surprise windfall, it is also quite sad. June's estate went to people she most likely had no idea even existed, like me. It's sad to think that she died with no relatives by her side, and no one seeming to know much about her."
June was born in 1929 in West Ham, the only child of Ernest, a railway clerk, and Doris Barker. She lived in Braintree, Essex. Her father Ernest, one of nine children, was originally from Derby but later moved to the London and Essex area where June's mother, Doris, was from. Doris was one of six siblings.
Expert Comments on the Case
Alex Sorrell, case researcher at Finders International, said: "Over the decades, branches of June's extended family emigrated across the world, leaving relatives separated by thousands of miles and, in many cases, completely unaware of each other's existence."
He added: "It took more than a century of family history research to reunite those scattered branches after June's death, with 31 beneficiaries eventually identified across three countries. We're delighted to have solved the mystery of June's relatives."
Simonne Llewellyn, CEO of Finders International, said: "We work closely with probate lawyers and the public sector worldwide to trace and locate missing heirs and unknown next of kin. Our meticulous research ensures estates can be administered properly. It is an important part of the legal process that all entitled heirs to an intestate estate are found and receive what they're due."
