Finding missing beneficiaries

In England and Wales, the judicial process of probate usually takes many months to complete after the grant of probate. But if some of the beneficiaries named in the will can’t be located, or when it is necessary to find unknown beneficiaries under the Rules of Intestacy when there isn’t a will, then the process of probate will undoubtedly take longer. Sometimes, when a beneficiary is found, there are reasons to suspect the person may not be who they say they are, calling for the need to verify independently. If you find yourself in this situation, contact our people tracing team on +44 (0)20 8108 9317 and see how we can be of assistance.

Finding a beneficiary who has moved away or whose whereabouts are unknown

If a loved one of yours has passed away and there is a will, then the executor of the estate will collect the assets of the deceased, pay taxes and debts, before distributing the estate to the beneficiaries according to the terms stated in the will.

The will of the deceased usually contains details of the beneficiaries such as their names and addresses. But given the fact that people move around, it is not uncommon to learn that some beneficiaries have moved to another city or another country. In this instance, locating them can be a challenging task depending on how much information is available. The executor of the estate may try to conduct searches themselves but if they aren’t familiar with search channels or if they don’t have the necessary tools, chances are they will spend a vast amount of time, effort and money, dwindling the value of the estate as a result of the expense of these searches in the process.

To protect the estate and other beneficiaries, it is often wise to engage a professional people tracing agency like Blackhawk Intelligence to find a beneficiary who has moved away or whose whereabouts are unknown. Our people tracing team has years of investigative experience and can access various databases and search channels. Our work is discreet, ethical and above all, legal.

Call our people tracing team on +44 (0)20 8108 9317 to locate a beneficiary today.

Finding an unknown beneficiary

When a person passes without a will, then the Rules of Intestacy apply. In this case, the estate will be distributed to the spouse and/or children depending on the amount of the estate. If there aren’t any surviving spouse or children, then the estate will go to the closest blood relatives – this is where it can get complicated.

If the deceased has no immediate relatives and the searches must now be extended to aunts, uncles and their descendants, then you are likely to need an experienced genealogist who can construct the family tree and trace the missing relatives. At Blackhawk Intelligence, our people tracing team works with genealogists and have successfully tracked down previously unknown beneficiaries. Our work focuses on solid evidence, put together by carefully combing through databases and archives.

It is worth mentioning that the search effort should ideally be speedy and economically, as costs associated with finding an unknown beneficiary are taken out from the estate. If the search expense is high, then there is little money left to the relatives once they are located and identified.

Finding the descendants of a beneficiary who has passed away

When the beneficiary named in the will has passed away unexpectedly and no substitute is named, then the process of finding the relatives of the beneficiary will need to begin soon, in order to finalise the affairs and administer the estate. This is something that our people tracing team can help too.

Blackhawk Intelligence can help to find missing beneficiaries

At Blackhawk Intelligence, our people tracing team has extensive experience in locating known and unknown beneficiaries all over the world. Our clients include solicitors, accountants, probate specialists, trusts and private clients – we help them to locate the missing beneficiaries. In some cases, we work to verify the identity of a found person when there is a need to seek independent verification, like when there is a concern that fraud or identity theft has taken place.

We have access to a wide range of tools, as well as the most-to-date international records and databases including:

• Birth, marriage and death records
• Electoral rolls and people-finding databases
• Wills and probate records
• Overseas bankruptcy and litigation records

In addition, we also conduct interviews with family members and former associates when necessary.

Our people tracing team works closely with our asset tracing team. These teams, based in England, have a worldwide network of local partners who can supply native intelligence to help speed up the search efforts. The faster someone is found, the quicker an estate can be settled and more money left to be shared among the beneficiaries.

If you are a solicitor, an accountant, a probate specialist, a relative, a trustee or an executor of a will and you need to find the missing beneficiaries, give us a call on +44 (0)20 8108 9317 or use our contact form to get in touch.