How an heir search works
Heir finders, probate and forensic genealogists, unclaimed property finders and surplus recovery agents all follow roughly this path.
- The death and the estate. Start with the probate court file in the county where the person lived, if an estate was opened: the petition, any will, the personal representative and sometimes a list of known heirs. A death certificate from the state vital records office fixes the date and place. Obituaries are leads, not evidence.
- The genealogy. A forensic genealogist works back to a common ancestor and down every branch with birth, marriage, death and census records, documenting each link so a court can rely on it. State inheritance law then decides which branches take, and in what shares.
- Finding and contacting the living heirs. The tree ends in names with addresses that are often years out of date: a town in an old obituary, a deed from a sale long ago, the street on a probate petition. Turning each name into a current phone number or address is a people search. That is where a skip trace fits.
Most of the skill sits in the first two stages. A trace run before the tree is settled can lead you straight to the wrong family.
Where Locate Next fits
Locate Next is web software built for US real estate teams. Its skip trace starts from a person and an address, which is what the end of an heir search gives you.
- Search the heir from an address you have. Use the most recent address you hold: the street on a probate petition, the town and street from an obituary, a past deed, or the decedent's home if the heir lived there. Add the heir's name so the result points out the matching person among everyone found there.
- Check the branch against possible relatives. Compare the possible relatives and associates in the result with your tree. A sister, parent or spouse you already documented, listed beside the heir, supports the branch. Names you can't place are a reason to look again before you call. These links come from shared records, so they are leads to check, never proof of kinship or heirship.
- Confirm the person with address history. If the address history includes the town in your records, the decedent's house or the street from the obituary, you have a second tie that doesn't rest on the name. If nothing lines up, you may have a namesake.
Relatives and associates stay off the heir's row unless you choose to trace one of them on their own. What a skip trace match proves covers the limits of a name match.
What a search returns, and how heir work uses it
| Field | What it is | How it helps on an heir case |
|---|---|---|
| Phones, with line type | Numbers linked to the person, with line type where the provider has it | Choose which number to try first, or send a letter before any call. |
| Emails | Addresses linked to the person | A written first contact the heir can check at their own pace. |
| Possible relatives and associates | People linked to the heir through shared records | Test the branch you built. Never proof of kinship. |
| Address history | Past addresses linked to the person | Tie the result to a town, house or street from your research. |
| Do Not Call result | A separate result for each number, added when you export | Decide which numbers stay off a call list. |
When the provider has nothing for a field, it stays empty.
Upload a list of heirs with your case IDs
When a tree yields a dozen heirs, or you run several estates at once, send them as one file. Locate takes a CSV or .xlsx file as it is, up to 25,000 rows, 20 MB and 500 columns, and lines up your columns for you. Give each heir a row with a name and the most recent known address. Your case or estate file number, the decedent's name and any other columns stay on each row through to the export.
Before anything runs, you see the most the list can cost. Then you review who was found for each heir and export the layout your CRM or case system expects: a Contacts CSV, your own sheet with contacts added, Phone 1 through Phone 10 columns, or numbered phones plus DNC. See bulk skip tracing for the upload and CRM export for each layout.
What Locate Next does not do
- It does not research family trees or tell you who the heirs are.
- It does not search death records, obituaries or vital records.
- It does not read probate files, decide who inherits, or work out anyone's share.
- It does not prove kinship. A possible relative is a lead.
- It does not file claims or hold money for anyone.
Who inherits is for state law, any will and the probate court to settle. Heirs vs owners sets out where a skip trace stops after a death.
Heirs in surplus funds and unclaimed property cases
Recovery agents meet heirs when the former owner on a foreclosure or tax sale has died. Settle the owner of record and the estate first with the former owner case guide, then trace the people the estate file names. The surplus recovery page shows how case numbers carry through to the export, and the guide to skip tracing for surplus funds weighs tools for that work.
How credentialed people search tools compare
TLOxp, IDI's idiCORE and LexisNexis Accurint are investigator platforms that also locate people. None is bought at a checkout. This is what each one's own pages said when we read them on November 6, 2026.
| Tool | How an account starts | What its pages say about FCRA use | Price shown |
|---|---|---|---|
| TLOxp, from TransUnion | A request form that asks for your company, job title, business phone and industry. New subscribers face credentialing that may include a site inspection. [6] | Not a consumer report under the FCRA, and not for credit, housing, insurance or employment decisions. [6] | None on the pages read [5] |
| idiCORE, from IDI | A form, after which an IDI representative contacts you to start account activation. Offered only to new customers who meet its requirements. [8] | IDI says it is not a consumer reporting agency and its services are not consumer reports. [7] | None; the home page shows Try Now and Contact us links [7] |
| Accurint, from LexisNexis Risk Solutions | Non-customers pick an area, such as private investigations or legal, and contact sales. [9] | Not provided by consumer reporting agencies, and not for eligibility decisions. [9] | None on the pages read [10] |
| Locate Next | Web app; $49 a month | Not a consumer reporting agency, and results are not consumer reports (terms) | $49 a month plus $0.17 per search with results |
Data covered by laws such as the Driver's Privacy Protection Act may be released only for the uses the law lists as permissible [12]. Before you apply to a credentialed vendor, ask which permissible purpose your heir work falls under.
If you hold an investigator licence and want deep reports on one person at a time, a credentialed platform fits; TransUnion pitches TLOxp to attorneys, investigators and law enforcement for mapping family, associates, assets and businesses [5]. If you want a list of heirs traced with case IDs kept and the maximum cost shown first, Locate Next fits. More vendors are in skip tracing services.
Price
Locate Next is $49 a month, plus $0.17 for each search that returns results, taken from a prepaid balance. No results, no charge. Tracing 12 living heirs, one search each, costs at most $2.04 on top of the plan. Get started at $49 a month.
Rules to check before you contact an heir
Nothing here is legal advice, and using Locate Next does not settle any of these rules for you.
- Finder fees. On property a state holds as unclaimed, each state sets its own limits. The Texas Comptroller says an heir finder's fee cannot exceed 10 percent of the value of the property recovered, expenses included [1]. Florida caps a claimant representative's fees and costs at 30 percent of the claimed amount, payable only after the claim is approved [2]. California's State Controller publishes its own rules for investigators; its pages would not load for us on November 6, 2026, so read them there.
- Licences and registration. Some states require a licence for this work. Texas says heir finders and asset recovery companies must be licensed by the Department of Public Safety's Private Security Bureau [1]. Florida lets only registered Florida-licensed private investigators, certified public accountants and attorneys file unclaimed property claims for others [3]. Check each state where you take cases.
- Calls and texts. A call that offers an heir your paid recovery service can be a telephone solicitation, which federal rules define as a call made to encourage buying a service [4]. Such calls must fall between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the heir's local time and respect the national Do Not Call registry, and autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts carry stricter consent rules. Locate Next runs Do Not Call checks in Export and keeps a result for each number. Any number without a current result is marked Not checked, and Locate never counts it as clear; Not listed is not consent either. The check compares phone numbers with the dataset currently active on this site. It does not promise a live connection to government records, identify the owner of a number, or establish consent to contact someone. DNC checks are included at no extra charge.
- Not an FCRA use. Finding an heir to tell them about an inheritance is not a decision about credit, insurance, employment or housing. Locate Next is not a consumer reporting agency and its results are not consumer reports, so never use one to decide anyone's eligibility for those things.
Read skip tracing and the law and DNC scrubbing for more.
Common questions
What is an heir search?
An heir search is research that finds the people entitled to inherit from someone who died, often when no will names them or the family has lost touch. It runs from probate and death records, through a documented family tree, to locating and contacting each living heir.
How do heir finders find heirs?
They start with the probate file, the death certificate and any obituary, then build the family tree from birth, marriage, death and census records until each branch is settled under state law. Last, they locate each living heir with people search tools, confirm the person and make contact. Locate Next helps only with that last step.
How much do heir search companies charge?
It depends on the model. HeirSearch's fee page, read November 6, 2026, says most heir hunters charge a percentage of the estate, 33 percent on average by its count, while HeirSearch bills hourly or a flat fee quoted per case, about $3,000 to $4,000 in its example of a $100,000 estate [11]. On state-held unclaimed property, caps apply: 10 percent with expenses in Texas and 30 percent in Florida.
Is an heir finder legit?
Many are lawful businesses, and some states license them. Before you sign, check the licence or registration your state requires, read how the fee is figured, and ask what it would take to claim on your own. The Texas Comptroller says you do not have to sign with a private company to claim unclaimed property there, and its office charges nothing to help.
How do I contact an heir I found?
First make sure it is the right person: the address history and possible relatives should line up with your research. Then write to the most recent address, or call within federal calling hours if the number's Do Not Call result and your state's rules allow it. Say who you are and why you are reaching out, and share estate details only with the heir.
Sources
- Texas Comptroller, Claim It Texas unclaimed property FAQ. Heir finders licensed by the Department of Public Safety's Private Security Bureau, the 10 percent fee limit with expenses, no contract needed to claim, and no charge from the state. Read November 6, 2026.
- Florida Statutes 717.135 (2026). The 30 percent limit on a claimant representative's fees and costs, paid only after a claim is approved. Read November 6, 2026.
- Florida Statutes 717.1400 (2026). Registration of claimant representatives: Florida-licensed private investigators, certified public accountants and attorneys. Read November 6, 2026.
- 47 CFR 64.1200, FCC delivery restrictions. The 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. window, the national Do Not Call registry and the definition of telephone solicitation. Read November 6, 2026.
- TransUnion, Investigations powered by TLOxp. TLOxp as part of TransUnion, its audience, relationship mapping, and no price on the page. Read November 6, 2026.
- TransUnion, TLOxp trial request page. Form fields, credentialing that may include a site inspection, and the FCRA statement. Read November 6, 2026.
- IDI, home page. The statement that IDI is not a consumer reporting agency, and no price shown. Read November 6, 2026.
- IDI, trial page. The form, the representative who starts account activation, and the requirements for new customers. Read November 6, 2026.
- LexisNexis, Accurint home page. Areas for non-customers, the contact sales route and the FCRA statement. Read November 6, 2026.
- LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Accurint for Private Investigations. Its audience, a sales contact form and no price on the page. Read November 6, 2026.
- HeirSearch, fees page. Hourly and flat fees, its 33 percent average for percentage firms, and its $100,000 estate example. Read November 6, 2026.
- 18 U.S.C. 2721, Driver's Privacy Protection Act. Release of motor vehicle record data only for listed permissible uses. Read November 6, 2026.
- Locate Next, pricing page and terms. The $49 plan, the $0.17 charge, and the statement that Locate Next is not a consumer reporting agency. Read November 6, 2026.