How to Find an Annuity Beneficiary
When someone dies, the person who is in charge of executing the estate may not have a personal relationship with the beneficiaries. If you are an executor trying to locate a long-lost heir and your initial efforts yield no results, you can turn to services that search for beneficiaries. While these services, or those of a private investigator, may cost money, using them will expedite the process. Assuming you have already reviewed the policy information and checked with family and friends in an effort to locate the beneficiary, you will need to use private investigator-like skills or hire someone who finds people for a living.
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Instructions
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Gather all pertinent information that you do have. This includes the name of the beneficiary and any aliases you were able to obtain from friends and family. General inquiries should produce a date of birth, city of birth and Social Security number.
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Search public records. Many online search services will do a preliminary search for free; among them are SearchSystems.net and USA Trace.com. Details such as last known address are often part of a report available for a fee.
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Hire a missing-heir locator service or private investigator. Provide all information you have obtained to help narrow the search. Ask your probate clerk or a family law attorney for a referral to a locator service or private investigator.
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Tips & Warnings
It may be difficult to locate a person who has moved many times. When search records come up, look carefully at any results that provide a close match.
Before hiring a private investigator or locator service, check with the Better Business Bureau or your state attorney general's office to make sure you are dealing with a reputable service.
If you are unable to find the beneficiary, you may need to report the inheritance to your state's unclaimed assets division through the court system. The best hope at that point may be that the beneficiary searches sites such as Unclaimed.org, which helps people find money they are owed that has not been claimed.
If you are using a heir locator, don't pay a fee until you are provided the information you seek.
