[HPforGrownups] Re: Owner of Riddle House - House of Mystery?

[Fiona]

No: HPFGUIDX 148724

> 
> Gerry
> Well, he was the heir. The Riddles would not have left a will, but as
> he was born in a legal marriage and raised in a muggle orphanage and
> thus known to the muggle world he would show up in the search for next
> of kin. 

Fiona:

I got the impression from HBP that, when Merope gave birth to Voldemort, 
she was "in extremis" and didn't give much information to the orphanage 
(workhouse?) about his parents (maternal or paternal).   If this is 
right, his birth certificate wouldn't give details of parentage.

(Bloomsbury hardcover, p.249)
" - and then she told me he was to be named Tom, for his father, and 
Marvolo, for her father - yes, I know, funny name, isn't it?  ... and 
she said the boy's surname was to be Riddle.  And she died soon after 
that without another word."  (the speaker is Mrs Cole, of the orphanage).

 From that, it would be hard to connect the "Tom" with the "Riddle" with 
any certainty.  Certainly it isn't enough to base a legal claim on.

So, although there could well be a Muggle marriage certificate for Tom 
Snr and Merope, a birth certificate linking that marriage to the birth 
of Tom Jnr would not exist, making his claim to the Riddle estate much 
harder to prove.  Of course, Voldemort could probably quite easily have 
his birth certificate say anything he wanted, but he was so against 
anything to do with his "filthy Muggle father", I doubt he would have 
wanted the house anyway.

Fiona