When a person dies with no will, or when a beneficiary in a will cannot be found, probate research is required. Finding heirs is a legitimate and often well-paying line of work for professional genealogists.
Probate Research Finds Missing Heirs
A missing heir is a beneficiary of a will or insurance policy who cannot be found by the executors or administrators. He or she may have moved far away or even died. If the heir is not found within a period of time specified by the government, the unclaimed inheritance will usually be held in some type of legal trust for a period of time, depending on state or national law.
Heir finders search for these missing heirs in two ways:
- By using investigative techniques to find last-known friends, neighbors, employers, and civil resources to trace their whereabouts, and
- By using genealogical skills and resources to prove or disprove the heir’s death, and to trace his or her family in both directions, hoping for a clue to the heir’s current location.
Finding Unknown Heirs with Genealogy Skills
When a person dies intestate (without a will), his or her estate belongs to the closest living relatives. Probate research helps find these unknown heirs. Genealogists look first for surviving spouses and children. If there are none, they use civil records and genealogy sources such as censuses and vital records to discover the person’s parents and siblings.
If none of these are living or have surviving children, the probate researchers may have to trace another generation or two back to re-create family relationships. They then trace those aunts and uncles forward, looking for more distant cousins who might have a claim to inherit.
How Probate Research Firms Work
Probate research firms, also known as “heir finders,” are staffed by genealogists and/or licensed investigators. Some firms only work with courts and attorneys/solicitors, while others may be hired by individuals. Probate researchers also often work on their own, hunting for heirs to unclaimed estates with a high value.
Payment for probate research can come in several forms:
- An hourly charge, with or without a limit on the number of hours.
- A flat fee, paid upon delivery of information, whether or not any heirs are found.
- Commission basis, in which the probate research firm receives a percentage of the estate value or of the value of an individual's inheritance. If no heirs are found, no commission is paid.
Sources
- Association of Professional Genealogists
- American Research Bureau company website
- Fraser & Fraser company website
Jennifer Jensen - Jennifer Jensen is an Indiana writer just returned from a lovely few years in County Cork, Ireland. She has been the Feature Writer for ...
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