“Recluse” who lived in poverty dies with no will, leaving fortune to be claimed by strangers
A 70-year-old male who lived in a dilapidated house with no electricity or gas has left behind quarter of a million estate to 31 relatives he never knew existed.
Richard Ticehurst died in February last year in his home, but was only discovered days after he had died.
The terraced house in East Sussex, was in disrepair upon his discovery, with the top floor ceiling collapsed.
There was no power in the property and, according to residents, he was “sort of a recluse” and “didn’t have any visitors”.
Ticehurst had no wife, children, and was an only child, with no known relatives. Finders International were therefore tasked with finding his nearest relatives.
His mother, Gladys, who he inherited the house he was found in, was also an only child and so the search focused on his father’s, Alfred’s side.
However, it was discovered that he had 31 relatives across five countries and three continents, one of whom, Yvonne Fraser, who lives in Australia is set to received a share of Richard’s £250,000 estate.
Fraser stated:
“It came out of the blue. I never knew anything about Richard. However, when Finders explained the connections it made sense.
I now understand that my mother Muriel Ticehurst, who died in 2019, was a first cousin of Richard.
I am totally in awe of how Finders traced me and indeed found us all, scattered throughout the world.
Not only have I lived in Australia for almost 50 years, but I have also divorced and remarried so I go by a difference surname too.”
Fraser stated her regret at not meeting Richard and of not knowing the conditions he was living in as she stated:
“We’ve been lucky enough to reunite with some of the extended family. Some relatives have come out to visit us in Australia.
The gaps in our family tree have been filled in too – so it would seem that Richard, “a recluse”, has managed in death to reconnect the next generation of his family.
It’s just a shame that we didn’t know Richard when he was alive, particularly as it seems he struggled living by himself.”
If no relatives had been discovered, the money would have gone to the Crown.
Finders International revealed there is £3.3million in inheritance yet to be claimed, with 6,700 cases on the government’s unclaimed estates list.
Danny Curran from Finders International said:
“Being a beneficiary to an estate of someone you didn’t know, or barely knew of, is more common than people expect.
Every year we reunite money with hundreds of surprised relatives.
If the estate isn’t claimed within 12 years it reverts to the Treasury. As of today we estimate a minimum of £3.3million is waiting to be claimed. This is an astonishing amount of money.”
