Are you an attorney or other professional who has a court order to identify all heirs of a certain person for estate/probate purposes? Our genealogists are experts at heir & estate research!
When someone dies without a will, or if their will states something ambiguous like “all my living heirs” – you may find that it can be tricky to track down all the living descendants of that person. While genealogists are usually thought of as people who trace lines back in time, the reverse is also true! We can help trace lines forward as well. We have experience working with Public Administrators, individual executors, and court-appointed administrators in their quest to account for all heirs of an individual. Tracing heirs for estate/probate cases involves many of the same processes as traditional genealogical research. We’ll start with the person in question (or their parents, depending on what the stipulations for heirs are determined to be), and search all available records that would have been created during their lifetime to identify each potential heir.
Record Access for Heir & Estate Research
As you get into more recent time periods, privacy laws often restrict the types of records you have access to, but that’s where things like directories, social media, and other “newer” sources become helpful. Our professionals have the expertise and experience needed to find all heirs as efficiently as possible. That’s not to say that it’s always easy, though! Heir/Estate research can be a time consuming process depending on how many heirs there are, how many different places they live in (in recent generations mobility has become much greater than it was in prior eras when families tended to stay in one place for many years), and a variety of other factors. If the case is time sensitive, be sure to get started as soon as possible.
There are a few things to keep in mind with regards to heir/estate research. First, because of strict privacy laws in various places, we can usually only conduct heir/estate research in the United States, where Legacy Tree Genealogists is based. Second, in order for us to take on an heir/estate case, you’ll need to provide documentation that shows your legitimate need for tracing those heirs.
Our Team of Professional Genealogists Can Help
If you have an heir or estate research case that you need help with, our team of professionals would love to help. Whether your goal is to find one living descendant, or all living descendants, we have experience working on all types of different probate cases and will tailor your project to fit your needs.