On 17/12/14 09:36, Steve Hayes wrote: > We have been approached by two different heir-hunting firms with the news that > my wife's first cousin once removed has died intestate, and they are looking > for heirs. Which way around is the "once removed"? If one of your wife's parents was the deceased's first cousin, your wife is perhaps an heir, being the granddaughter of an uncle or aunt. If it was the other way round, and one of the deceased's parents was your wife's first cousin, then (as I understand it) your wife would not normally be an heir. (This is per the law in England and Wales. If the estate is in Scotland or Northern Ireland, things might be different.) Richard