Forensic Genealogy Conquers 50 Years of Familial Estrangement

A Nevada-Based Public Administrator approached HeirSearch to solve a puzzling case.

A Public Administrator engaged HeirSearch to locate, prove, and report the rightful heirs of a small estate left by a woman who had recently passed in a nursing home. But what began as a routine task quickly turned into something much more challenging.

We discovered that the nursing home had no records of the woman’s family members or visitors during her time there. We subsequently started a Level 1 search for parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews – it was believed the woman had no children.

During our Level 1 search, we found contact information for one of the woman’s nephews – when we interviewed him, he told us that:

• The woman supposedly had two children; he specifically recalled one daughter who was born in California
• The woman was married, but he was uncertain if she ever divorced

As the search unfolded, what began as a standard Level 1 search evolved into a full-scale lineal investigation. Through our efforts, we located records that suggested the decedent did have two children: a son and a daughter. We also learned that the woman’s husband passed in 2012.

We identified the daughter through examining marital records from the ’60s in California – the state in which both children were raised. Upon further investigation, we concluded that the children had not spoken to either parent in roughly 50 years.

We were happy to provide the public administrator with the correct contact information for both children, allowing them to fulfill their fiduciary duty.

If you are a Public Administrator, an estate’s executor, or an attorney representing an executor and need to establish heirship to satisfy the court, HeirSearch can help. We offer no-cost, no-obligation consultations, even if you are not planning to start a search right away. Feel free to reach out with any questions you might have — we look forward to connecting!

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Disclaimer: Although accurate in scope, all identifying information such as names, dates and locations have been changed in order to protect the privacy of individuals.
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