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About HeirSearch

We specialize in working with the legal and trust professions, helping them find missing heirs and beneficiaries to meet their fiduciary responsibilities in estate, trust, notice, and property matters.

Our Approach Who We Serve

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OUR STORY

Who We Are

HeirSearch (a division of International Genealogical Search Inc.) works with executors, administrators, trustees, fiduciaries, bank and trust officers, and their counsel to establish kinship for legal purposes. Since 1967, we’ve used forensic genealogy, an analytical research method, to successfully complete tens of thousands of worldwide searches.

When HeirSearch company founder and President, C. Tim Rodenbush, originally coined our slogan WE FIND MISSING HEIRS A BETTER WAY™, it meant predictable fees never based on a percentage of an inheritance. Thanks to our proven record of success and dedication to our values, HeirSearch has become the industry leader and heir search firm of choice.

Our Team

WHY HEIRSEARCH

Our Values

We achieve industry-leading results with our steadfast devotion to our values, allowing us to consistently charge reasonable, non-percentage-based fees and generate excellent, court-ready reports for our clients.

Integrity

We operate with transparent, court-respected practices, offering a clear alternative to heir-hunting tactics and putting the ethical treatment of heirs and clients first.

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Expertise

We are industry leaders, bringing decades of forensic genealogy experience, specialized training, and a 97% success rate to resolving even the most complex searches.

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Diligence

We combine meticulous research with professional forensic genealogical standards to provide search results you can count on—accurate, complete, and confidently documented.

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Stewardship

We help professionals meet fiduciary duties, protect confidential data, and employ advanced forensic genealogical methods to identify all lawful heirs, acting as careful
stewards of every matter.

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A BETTER WAY

Our Approach

Significant concerns have been expressed over the years by the legal profession and consumers about the percentage fees, or “contingency fees,” charged by some heir locator firms.

Many heir locator firms, or “heir hunters,” may use questionable, high-pressure tactics to obtain excessive percentage fees of inheritances.

In order to protect their fees, heir hunters often withhold the name of the deceased, and even the amount of the inheritance, until the heir agrees to sign a contract. This means heirs are asked to sign away an unknown amount, sometimes as much as 50% of their total inheritance. There is A Better Way.

Our fees are quoted in advance and determined by a set fee schedule based on the type of search and your requirements – never as a percentage of the trust or estate.

Significant windfall rewards are available for heir hunters, who frequently start unauthorized searches without client consent or contractual arrangement. Our reasonable fees are always quoted in advance, and we never initiate an independent search. Our experience has shown that courts look more favorably on agreements with heir search firms when the cost of the search is known in advance.

Thanks to a combination of specialized education, training and experience, our research experts are highly qualified to find missing heirs and beneficiaries. Since 1967, this knowledge and expertise has resulted in an average success rate of 97%.

Our final report provides clear and convincing evidence, suitable for an exhibit in court proceedings. All available supporting documentation is included in a concise, easy-to-read format.

HeirSearch has successfully located tens of thousands of missing heirs and lost beneficiaries in more than 65 countries. Our in-house knowledge and international expertise means we succeed where other search firms often fail.

WHY HEIRSEARCH

Our Process

Our satisfied clients include sole legal practitioners as well as some of the largest probate and estate planning law firms, financial institutions, private companies and governmental agencies in North America.

Our extensive experience and worldwide resources mean that we can solve cases both simple and complex, domestically and internationally.

When a search concludes, we send detailed reports, including family tree charts, supporting documentation and sworn affidavits, to help our clients settle matters as quickly and as cost effectively as possible.

Our Process Read Success Stories

WHAT WE DO

Offering Worldwide Independent, Fee-Based Heir Search Services

Our reasonable fees are based on search type and always quoted in advance. We never initiate a search without client consent or contractual arrangement.

Understanding Search Types HeirSearch Fees

Estate

We use our professional expertise to identify, locate, prove and report known and unknown heirs or beneficiaries, both domestically and internationally.

Explore Estate Services

Trust

We assist trustees, trust administrators, and their legal counsel in identifying and locating trust beneficiaries.

Explore Trust Services

Notice

We help clients satisfy their fiduciary duty to notify heirs by supplying current contact information or documented due diligence search results for estate or trust matters.

Explore Notice Services

Property

We identify, locate, prove, and report heirs, successors and assigns, or beneficiaries on matters related to Clear and Quiet Title Actions and Property Ownership.

Explore Property Services

Other Search Services

We also provide search services for class action suits, pension plans, mass tort plaintiffs, and heirs of wrongful deaths.

Backed by World-Class Affiliations and Partners

We are proud to partner with professional organizations that share our values.

HeirSearch is a proud Value Partner of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC). NAEPC establishes and monitors the highest professional and educational standards and fosters awareness of professionals who meet their service standards.

HeirSearch is a Gold Level Associate Member of the American Bankers Association. The voice of America’s $14 trillion banking industry, the ABA represents banks of all sizes and charters, from the smallest community banks to the largest bank holding companies.

HeirSearch is an A+ Member of the Better Business Bureau, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing marketplace trust through industry self-regulation. The BBB’s ratings help consumers throughout North America find businesses and charities they can trust.

The Financial Awareness Foundation was formed for the purpose of significantly helping to solve a major social problem dealing with the lack of financial awareness and financial literacy. This 501© non-profit serves as a neutral advocate for professionals, companies, associations, educational institutions, municipalities, non-profits, and the general public.

Contact Us for a Quote

Looking for A Better Way to find missing heirs? Get in touch with us today and we will provide a free quote based on the scope of your search.

Get in Touch Request a Quote