Loom resources
How Do Heir Hunters Find You?
How probate genealogists trace a family from the person who died all the way to a living relative who has never heard of them.
A letter arrives.
Or an email.
Or, slightly more alarmingly, somebody phones and announces that they’re a probate genealogist and they believe you may be related to someone who’s died.
You have absolutely no idea who they’re talking about.
But somehow they know who you are.
They might know your parents’ names.
Your grandparents.
Your mother’s maiden name.
Perhaps even relatives you’ve barely thought about in twenty years.
Which naturally raises the question: how on earth did they find me?
The short answer is: they probably didn’t start with you.
They started with the person who died — and followed the family tree until eventually they reached you.
“Heir hunter” is the commonly used term for somebody who researches estates and traces people who may be entitled to inherit.
You might also see:
- probate genealogist
- probate researcher
- beneficiary tracer
- heir tracer
The work can arise in different ways.
A solicitor or administrator might instruct a genealogist because they know a beneficiary exists but can’t find them.
Or a commercial heir-hunting firm may identify an unclaimed estate and begin researching potential relatives on its own initiative.
The Bona Vacantia Division is very clear about one thing:
Commercial genealogists do not work for, or on behalf of, BVD.
They’re private businesses.
That doesn’t make a letter from one suspicious by itself.
It just means: “We’ve contacted you about a government-listed estate” is not the same as “We’re contacting you on behalf of the government.”
Useful distinction.
Put the tree to work
Your family tree shouldn’t just sit there.
Put it to work.
Put my family tree to workLoom identifies potential connections. It does not establish legal entitlement, guarantee inheritance, file claims or prove a relationship.
Official sources