When working with heir hunters, it is essential to ensure they demonstrate transparency, honesty, respect for privacy, professional integrity, and adherence to legal and ethical standards. This includes clear communication about services and fees, treating sensitive information with confidentiality, maintaining competence and ethical conduct, implementing fair compensation practices, and collaborating effectively with all relevant parties.
Your heir hunter of choice should be transparent, honest, competent, collaborative, respectful, and compliant with legal and ethical standards. Upholding these ethical standards throughout the process is paramount and ensures a just and respectful resolution of estate matters.
The world of genealogy and estate law presents remarkable opportunities for tracing rightful heirs to an estate. Still, it can also prove a hurdle due to the numerous ethical considerations that need to be navigated with care.
If you’re an estate administrator, attorney, or potential heir, you need to master crucial ethical considerations to ensure the process is fair and respectful. This guide breaks down these considerations and how to observe them as a team, but first, let’s understand the role of an heir hunter.
What Are Heir Hunters?
As the name suggests, heir hunters search for heirs of an estate. In most cases, when a person dies intestate, or a named heir in the will cannot be located, these experts may be called in to help find these beneficiaries. These professionals are also called probate genealogists, as they mainly rely on genealogy research, forensic analysis, and public records.
While heir hunters’ role is indispensable, it should be guided by the following ethical considerations;
Transparency and Honesty
Transparency and honesty should manifest from the initial stages of your cooperation, especially regarding the services, fees, and process. Clearly communicate your expectations with the heir hunter and ensure you fully understand the implications of your decisions.
The researcher should also outright disclose any interest in the process, including relationships with concerned parties that might affect their integrity and objectivity. For example, a probate genealogist who also happens to be a business partner to one of the heirs, may not be fit to proceed with the process as any result may convey bias or undue influence.
Respect for Privacy and Dignity
Respect for privacy and dignity is non-negotiable when dealing with heir hunters. Your personal data and sensitive information should be used solely to locate and verify heirs. They should treat this information with utmost confidentiality and respect.
Most importantly, details from personal details like last wills, birth certificates, military service records, etc., are protected under data protection laws and ethical guidelines.
Respect for your dignity also applies to how heir hunters approach you with queries, findings, or new discoveries. Your chosen professional should at least consider the emotional impact that genealogical discoveries may present, including disproving familial connections and DNA surprises.
Choose a person who will show some empathy when relaying some of these sensitive discoveries and is compassionate enough to help concerned parties synthesize.
Professional Integrity and Competence
In addition to the necessary accreditations and certifications from professional organizations, heir hunters must adhere to professional standards throughout the process. Genealogical and legal bodies like the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen), and the American Bar Association (ABA) have outlined high standards of research quality and ethical conduct that heir hunters should follow.
Any unethical, misleading, or deceptive practices are also a red flag when working with heir hunters. Common malpractices associated with questionable heir hunters include coercing or manipulating clients towards making biased decisions. There are also cases of heir hunters misrepresenting the value of the estate and others exaggerating the likelihood of locating missing heirs.
Your heir hunter of choice should be free of all these integrity and competence issues and provide appraisals and certificates that reflect this.
Fair Compensation Practices
Compensation is also a significant consideration when dealing with heir hunters, as many have duped clients to mince millions of dollars from the estate. One crucial ethical consideration regarding compensation is to have a written agreement outlining the fees, how they’re calculated, and when they’re due.
Usually, the agreement for heir hunting services has four structures: the fee structure and payment terms, scope of service, terms and conditions, and signatures. It’s recommended that you work on a contingency fee basis and not the value of the estate. If necessary, consider seeking independent legal advice before signing the contract.
Proper due diligence will help you avoid exorbitant fees based on the services offered. Examples of excessive fees may include flat fees regardless of whether the heir hunter is successful. Also, avoid hidden charges and surcharges, such as research surcharges and administrative costs that were not agreed-upon upfront.
These unreasonable fees could deplete the estate of the value, especially if you sign a percentage-based contract. They could also obstruct your access to necessary services due to fear of financial exploitation. That is not to mention the legal repercussions charging unreasonable fees can cause as heirs decry the toll taken on estates or heir hunter’s costs.
Compliance with Legal and Ethical Standards
Your heir hunter of choice should be well-versed in the complex legal landscape that varies from state to state, including professional conduct, probate laws, and data protection laws. The professional should be guided by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), especially when handling personal data, ensuring that they secure necessary permissions and consents.
Another don’t is data manipulation or fabrication to support their claims. Heir hunters are expected to use only verified and credible sources to make their case and should indicate when crucial data or individuals cannot be tracked. Any unverified or dubious information should be a cause for alarm.
Collaboration and Communication
Most importantly, heir hunters should maintain open communication throughout the process with estate administrators, attorneys, and other relevant professionals. You need regular updates on progress, findings, and any challenges they encounter. Besides, they should collaborate with legal advisors to ensure that they’re aligned with legal requirements in their respective jurisdictions.
Similarly, potential heirs and beneficiaries need to be fully informed and comfortable with information about the estate and the entire inheritance process. This can only happen if the heir hunter, estate administrator, attorneys, and other parties are better informed about the process. This way, they can easily decide on the next step they need to take.
Choose Your Heir Hunter Wisely
Heir hunter services are invaluable and help connect unclaimed estates with rightful heirs. However, these professionals must conduct themselves ethically to maintain trust and success throughout the process. Principles such as professional integrity, privacy, fair compensation, and transparency can facilitate smooth cooperation among the relevant professionals. This way, you honor the decedent, the estate, and the profession.