WE FIND THEM

Our company has been in the business of locating heirs and beneficiaries for the past 10 years. Most firms specialize in one or two areas. Some will work only for attorneys and personal representatives attempting to find heirs for estates before a probate is closed. Some work only in the United States, some only in foreign countries.  Our specialty is working cold cases in the US and working with attorneys and individuals to find someone. (I have yet to be able to write off a business trip on some European junket (darn it!) One of these days I hope to get lucky!

Since we are a corporation based in Arizona, (and even though we work all across the U.S.) the Arizona Department of Public Safety (our State Police organization) requires that we must be licensed as private investigators in Arizona. To become licensed in Arizona, it is mandatory that the PI work under another’s PI agency’s license for a minimum of 3 years. It took me more than a year to solve my first cold case. Lucky for me, I was working another full-time job, or I could not possibly have supported myself waiting for my first case to pay off some 16 months later.

I enjoy this work and have been doing genealogy for about 30 years. There are some very old search firms who have been in business since the 30’s. They have large staffs and huge on-site libraries of their own. (I’m sure personnel at those agencies get to go to Europe and other exotic places on business, too!) Many of us in smaller firms must hire researchers in various parts of the country and/or physically go to either the LDS Library in Salt Lake City. (I once took 70 pounds of paper files with me to SLC and spent 14 days researching the case files. My brain was fried for weeks after!)

It can take several years to research a family line and to find the closest living heirs in each line. (Try researching a family who had 10 kids, who had 10 kids, who had 10 kids? What fun to add to the genealogy chart!) This also means usually going back several generations and then going forward again 2-5 generations. Most of the time, these heirs have no idea there is any money for them and would never know about it if they hadn’t been contacted by an heir finder. If any firm asks you for money up front–run–don’t walk!

Legitimate firms will require you to sign an agreement and provide a copy of your identification such as a driver’s license, etc. Copies of vital records will also be required. The ridiculous privacy issues in some states have made it harder than ever, even with a PI license, to get some of the necessary vital records needed. Sometimes, if you aren’t closely enough related, you won’t be able to get them either. Now if all states would just get with it and allow “genealogy copy” to be stamped all across a certificate….

Money is also getting tight for the heir finders. Remember–they have probably been working free of charge for several years to put your case together. In the end, they could come away with nothing but wasted time and money! The firm only gets paid if and when the heir is paid.

Generally, the going commission rate is 30-50% from each heir. Included in that fee is a very expensive attorney to handle the matter and to fight for you. If this sounds expensive, please remember that whatever amount of money you receive, it is 50-70% more than you had before! So, please don’t get greedy! We gotta make a living, too!

Money is never paid to the search firm or attorney until or unless the heir is paid. So that there is no worry, we usually ask that the court give the attorney one check and put it in his trust account. When the check clears, he disburses the funds to everyone.