How to Find Insurance Beneficiaries
Executing a person's estate can be made even more difficult if you as the executor are unable to find the beneficiaries designated. Life insurance companies have their own system for locating beneficiaries. Assuming you have checked all the usual resources such as friends and family, old records and taxes, and the insurance company all leave you without any leads, you may need to enlist the help of investigative firms to track and locate the lost heir.
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Instructions
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Compile all the information you do have about the heir. The life insurance records may have an old address, date of birth or relationship between the deceased and beneficiary. It will also help to compile old employer records and addresses of the deceased. The beneficiary may have once been a co-worker, neighbor or college roommate.
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Conduct a public records search. There are many online services that will conduct a preliminary search for free, giving you a sample of the information available. The final report may cost a fee. Search Systems and USA Trace are examples of two search sites online. Compare the information you find to the information you have to narrow the list preliminary reports give. There are often many name overlaps, some that refer to the same person with previous addresses, some referring to different people. Only request the reports of the names that fit the information you already have.
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Hire a private investigator, specifically a missing-heir locator. Probate court clerks or family law attorneys may have referrals if you ask. Give the investigator all pertinent information you compiled.
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Tips & Warnings
If your search yields no results, you may want to turn the life insurance proceeds over to the state's unclaimed assets division. This division holds unclaimed assets in trust for beneficiaries indefinitely. If someone searches the records for their information, the insurance policy proceeds will show up.
Never pay a locating service or an investigator a fee prior to finding the beneficiary. This is a common fraud scheme.
