What We Do

There are two main areas of work:

Identifying Assets & Entitlements

Firstly, working from a variety of publicly available data sources, including government gazettes, land registries, share registers, patent registers, and – where available – census data and records of births, deaths and marriages, we identify assets and entitlements that appear to have been lost or forgotten.

The work starts with document researchers, who analyse and cross-reference a wide variety of public record registers, to identify forgotten assets and entitlements. The types of asset involved are varied, and can include inheritances, real estate, securities, dormant bank accounts, and royalty payments.

There are many reasons why property has fallen abandoned and unclaimed. The initial research, however, is normally only concerned with two facts. Firstly, that the property is in the custody of someone who is not the true or intended owner (a public trustee, or some other professional body) and secondly, that the custodian has tried to locate the new or current legal owner, but failed.

Identifying and Tracing Owners & Beneficiaries

Subsequently, we identify and trace missing owners and beneficiaries, so that they can recover property or assets that they are entitled to.

The file passes to a genealogist, or specialist probate researcher. They will try to discover whether or not the original owner is still living. If that first owner has died, the researcher will then look for the relevant heirs or beneficiaries.

Sometimes, the original owner is still alive, and the situation has arisen simply from a change of name or address. In other cases, the last known owner may have died many years ago and the work can involve tracing several generations of descendents sometimes scattered across different countries or continents.

Once a beneficiary is traced, they are invited to sign a fee agreement, whereby the various TPR researchers who have been involved in the tracing will share in successful outcome of the case. TPR researchers work on a contingency basis which means that they are only paid if the case is successful. Moreover, the researchers underwrite all their incidental fees and expenses. This means that if for any reason the claim cannot be proved, the client doesn't bear any costs whatsoever. All research is entirely risk free for the claimant.

Once the fee agreement has been signed, the client's claim will be presented to the custodian (or in some cases, to the appropriate court). The claim can be lodged by the client personally, or by a suitably authorised TPR researcher or lawyer – depending on the nature of the claim.

Over the years, all over the world, money, property and entitlements have gone missing. Very many still lie forgotten and unclaimed.

TPR brings together a skilled team of independent researchers, who have the expertise to identify potential claims, trace the people who are entitled and assist in successfully recovering the property concerned.