My wifes father was paying maintenance to my wife from when she was 5 until she was 18 how can we track it?

My wife's mother refused to collect it and my wife has only just found out he kept paying into the corsetsrecently/ To complicate matters my wife'sfather is now dead. The courts in Bristol UK hahaveaid that without a reference nuNumberhere is nothing she can do to get this money. Can someone help with some advice. the last payment into the account would have been made 24 years ago