Granddad’s desperate plea
An ailing man in charge of a substantial estate is trying to track down the granddaughter he has never met.
Ernest Heads’ estranged son recently discovered he had a daughter born more than two decades ago.
Heads, a 78-year-old Mosgiel pensioner, placed a newspaper advert yesterday in an attempt to find the woman.
He wants to meet her and include her in his will.
‘‘As far as I’m concerned she is my granddaughter,’’ he said.
‘‘My time is expiring and I want to treat all my grandchildren the same.’’
Heads is the sole executor of an estate of his late son, Peter, who died in a workplace accident in Australia three years ago.
That will was for a sevenfigure sum, and ended up tearing the family apart.
‘‘It has been a decade of hell,’’ Heads said.
It began with the death of his wife, Shirley, who was hit by a truck in Dunedin in 2008.
Her death affected his health, prompting a long-running legal battle with ACC over spouses losing their pension.
While the retired plumber won that fight, he faced another tragedy with the death of his son.
Heads, who had battled heart issues, conceded ‘‘I am not long for this world’’.
His family would ultimately receive most of that money from his own will, minus the amounts given to charities.
He said the family rift over his late son’s estate meant he had limited access to some of his grandchildren, including the granddaughter he had never met.
‘‘I would love to get to know her.’’
In an effort to meet the newest family member, he took out the advert saying he was ‘‘looking to find any grandchildren that I am unaware of’’. It will run again on Saturday.