What information do I need before contacting you?

Overview

In probate, intestate administration, and heirship matters, attorneys often need more than a general family history. They need documented evidence that can support a petition, affidavit, declaration, heirship determination, or other probate filing. That means the starting point for a genealogy project should focus on the facts most likely to affect legal analysis and evidentiary support.

Before contacting a genealogy research firm, it helps to gather the basic case details already available in the file. This may include the decedent’s identifying information, known relatives, prior marriages, possible children, and any records already obtained through the estate administration process. Even partial or uncertain information can be useful when it is shared early.

At HeirPros, we use this information to assess the likely research scope, identify priority record groups, and determine whether the final work product may need to address issues such as missing heirs, foreign relatives, adoptions, step-relationships, or conflicting evidence. The better the initial case summary, the more efficient the path to court-ready documentation.

Common Challenges

Many attorneys and legal assistants hesitate to begin a genealogy project because they assume they need a complete family history before contacting a research firm. In practice, that is rarely the case. The more common issue is that the probate file contains fragments of information scattered across pleadings, correspondence, intake notes, and public records.

• The decedent may have used different names, spellings, or aliases.
• Family structure may be unclear due to remarriage, nonmarital children, or adoption.
• Potential heirs may reside in multiple states or outside the United States.
• Existing records may conflict with each other.
• Counsel may be unsure which facts are legally significant for heirship documentation.

These issues do not prevent the research from starting. They simply make it more important to provide all known facts, even if some details seem minor or unconfirmed.

Step-by-Step Process

Information Category	What To Provide	Why It Matters
Decedent Details	Full legal name, aliases, date of death, date of birth if known, place of death, last known residence, and any identifying details.	This helps establish the correct subject of the research and reduces the risk of searching the wrong individual in records and indexes.
Known Family Structure	Whether the decedent had a spouse, children, siblings, parents, nieces, nephews, or more distant relatives, even if the list is incomplete.	A basic family outline helps determine likely intestate succession paths and priority research targets.
Potential Complicating Facts	Adoptions, guardianships, divorces, remarriages, immigration, recent migration, military service, estrangement, or name changes.	These facts often affect record location, kinship analysis, and how a court-ready report must explain the family structure.
Location of Relatives	Whether potential heirs are believed to be in the United States or abroad, and any last known locations.	Geography affects both research planning and the expected timeline, especially where foreign civil records or overseas leads are involved.
Prior Search Efforts	What counsel, staff, or another vendor has already searched, requested, or ruled out.	This avoids duplication, saves billable time, and allows the research to focus on unresolved gaps.
Records Already Obtained	Death certificates, marriage records, obituaries, probate pleadings, petitions, declarations, wills, correspondence, family charts, and any other relevant documents.	Existing records provide starting points, corroboration, and context for the final documentation package.

What Information Is Most Helpful at the Start?

The most helpful starting point is the decedent’s full name and any known identifying details. If there are alternate spellings, maiden names, former married names, aliases, or anglicized versions of a surname, those should be shared immediately. Even a small spelling variation can affect database and archive results.

It is also helpful to know whether the decedent had a large family or a small one. Even a rough statement such as “one known sibling,” “never married,” or “possibly had children from a prior relationship” can guide the initial research path. Legal staff should also mention anything that may appear trivial but could prove significant, such as an adoption, a second marriage, recent migration to the United States, or a belief that some relatives remained outside the country.

Counsel should also provide any notes about prior search efforts. For example, if the office already contacted known relatives, reviewed a probate petition, searched county death indexes, or retained another researcher, that information is useful. It helps avoid repeating work and allows the genealogist to focus on what remains unresolved.

What Records Should Be Sent?

As a practical matter, attorneys and assistants should send any record that may help identify family relationships or narrow the search. This includes formal probate filings as well as informal documents found in the matter file.

• Petition for probate or administration
• Heirship petition or related pleadings
• Death certificate
• Obituary or funeral notice
• Marriage certificates or divorce records
• Birth certificates, where available
• Prior family trees or handwritten relationship notes
• Affidavits, declarations, and correspondence from relatives or interested parties
• Any court orders, docket references, or prior reports already in the file

Even if a document appears incomplete or informal, it may still provide addresses, witnesses, surname variations, relationship clues, or jurisdictional leads that materially improve the search.

What Is Not Required

Attorneys do not need to submit a perfect family tree before contacting us. They do not need to resolve every discrepancy in advance, identify every heir, or collect every certificate before the project begins. The purpose of hiring a forensic genealogy team is to investigate those unresolved issues and document the findings properly.

• No complete family tree is required at intake.
• No certainty is required about every family relationship.
• No large intake package is required before we can assess the case.
• No unnecessary meetings are needed to get the project started.

FAQs

Do I need to know every heir before contacting you?

No. In many probate matters, the very reason counsel hires a genealogy firm is because all heirs are not yet known. A partial family outline is enough to begin assessing the case.

Should I send records even if I am not sure they are relevant?

Yes. A record that seems minor may contain a surname variation, an address, a witness name, or a jurisdictional clue that becomes important later in the analysis.

Is it helpful to tell you what our office has already searched?

Absolutely. Prior search efforts help reduce duplication and allow the genealogist to focus on unresolved questions that still affect the probate matter.

What if some relatives may live outside the United States?

That should be mentioned at intake. Cross-border or foreign research affects planning, expected timelines, and the likely record sources needed for the final documentation.

Expert Tips

• Start with the decedent’s core identifying facts and build outward from there.
• Flag any fact that may complicate legal heirship, including adoption, remarriage, or foreign residence.
• Send the office’s prior notes and search history, not just formal court records.
• Provide every relevant document in the file, even if it appears incomplete.

In probate genealogy work, seemingly small details often become the facts that unlock the correct lineage path. The strongest intake is not the most polished one. It is the one that shares the most useful facts early.

Related Resources

• How Do I Start Genealogy Research With Your Team?
• How Long Does Probate Genealogy Research Take?
• What Records Do Genealogists Use to Prove Heirship?