Heir Hunter blog

So you’re looking to trace a beneficiary…where will you start?

Anyone who has ever tried to trace a beneficiary or try their hand at being a heir hunter in the past will know there are several methods that can be adopted, but they will also tell you that every single case is different, and may therefore need different approaches in order to achieve success. It should also be noted that even if a case was easy there will be many others which are extremely difficult.

• Ask around 

If you’re hoping to trace a beneficiary on your own or become a heir hunter, the first thing to do is ask a few questions. If you have the opportunity to contact friends, relatives, work colleagues and business acquaintances of the individual concerned, by all means do so. The well-meaning amateurs may find some good answers along the way, but they may find a degree of resistance as well.

• Check the records

You may be able to search through a series of official documents in order to clear some of the clouds of uncertainty, although it’s worth bearing in mind the fact that you may not even know where to start looking. There is often a great deal of documentation out there, but if you haven’t carried out such a search in the past you may not even be sure that you’re looking in the right places.

• Head to the web

There is a wealth of information to be found on the internet, of course, but making sense of it may not be as easy as you might think. For the experienced professionals who know where to look and, more importantly, what to look for, this is a huge resource that has proved vital time and time again. For the amateur sleuth, it may appear to be little more than a jumble of words, dates and figures.

• Find out as much as you can

The more the searcher knows about the beneficiary, the clearer the situation can be. Building up a profile of an individual’s likes, dislikes, habits and routines is often time-consuming, energy-sapping and, in some cases, soul-destroying. It’s difficult and stressful enough for the professional, but for the amateur it can be something of an insurmountable peak.

• Call in the professionals

If you’re looking to trace a beneficiary, whether that person wants to be found or is deliberately under the radar, you should be ready for what could be a long haul. In many cases, the most sensible decision of all is to call in a specialist from the start. The experts will know where to look, what to look for and how best to get the right result. Sometimes it’s best to rely on those in the know.

Why is beneficiary tracing a necessity in the 21^st century?

You might think that it would be almost impossible to simply disappear in this ultra-modern age in which we live, but any Tracing Agent will tell you that it’s still possible to get under the radar. Tracing a beneficiary is often an extremely complex task, and in the majority of such cases it’s best left to the experts. Looking for a person who leaves a very clear, very obvious document trail is a piece of cake, of course, but there are plenty of men and women up and down the country who have gone to great lengths to make sure they are not found.

We’ve all heard stories about the power of the worldwide web in recent times, and in truth it has made a huge difference to the way a Tracing Agent goes about his or her business. There was a time when turning up at an individual’s former home or one-time workplace would have been the first step in the process, but in the 21^st century that all-important initial move is far more likely to take place on the internet.

The key is knowing where to look

Most of us leave a very definite trail behind us, even if we think we are being clever in keeping ourselves invisible. The role of the Tracing Agent is to know where and how to look, and to find clues in even the tiniest detail. For this reason more than any other, tracing a beneficiary is a task best left to those in the know.

Those men and women who have decided to start a new life elsewhere may have made deliberate efforts to remain anonymous. This could be because of a failed relationship, a bid to avoid previous debts or even to escape the clutches of a dangerous situation. There may come a time, however, when that person is to benefit from an inheritance, and when that happens they need to be found.

Many of us tend to think that the worldwide web is the source of all knowledge in life now, but there are still gaps in what it can help us to achieve. There will be occasions when tracing a beneficiary might be easy thanks to the internet, but there will also be times when we find little more than frustration. In some instances, nothing beats some good old-fashioned legwork, and that’s why every Tracing Agent still knows about the value of asking questions.

Contact a Heir Hunter

For a confidential, friendly chat regarding any heir hunter matter or beneficiary enquiry please call 0800 158 3683 or email us at info@traceabeneficiary.co.uk and see what we can do for you.