How to Find the Address of a Lost Close Relative
The internet is a useful tool for finding the addresses of anyone you know but have lost touch with. You can use a few people-searching sites for free to find the address of a lost close relative so that you can send that family member an update on your life and reconnect with him or her to find out what has changed since the last time you spoke.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer with internet connection
- 2 envelopes
- First class postage stamp
Instructions
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Finding an Address Online
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Locate an online site such as People Lookup, Intelius or Addresses. Be aware that while these sites offer free information, they also provide information for a cost as well so be careful to perform only free searches unless you need additional details that are not available for free.
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Enter the first name, last name and the last state where you know that your relative lived into the appropriate fields and click the "search" button.
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View the results on the page that appears and look for an entry which you think may be your relative. If more than one match with the same name appears, work your way through the list by clicking on each entry to view all free information available on that entry.
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If you still have more than one potential candidate, eliminate non-family members by writing, or calling, each individual until you locate the close relative you are looking for.
Finding a Relative's Address Using Other Methods
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If your reason for locating the lost relative is to notify him or her of a serious illness, imminent death or to notify that person of assets that are due them, you may contact the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or Social Security Administration who can send a letter from you to that relative.
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Write a letter to the relative informing them of the news and requesting they write or call you back with their address. Place that letter inside of a blank envelope, affix a first class postage stamp to the upper right hand front corner and insert it, unsealed, into another envelope.
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Seal the outer envelop and address it to the IRS and/or Social Security Administration as follows:
IRS
Office of Disclosure Operations
1111 Constitution Ave.
Washington, D.C. 20224
Social Security Administration
Letter Forwarding
PO Box 33022
Baltimore, MD 21290-3022
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You may also try the Salvation Army, which has been operating a family finding service since 1885. Follow the link to contact the Salvation Army (included in references) with an email message requesting help finding the lost address of a close relative.
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Tips & Warnings
If the online method does not work, you may want to try other methods like contacting other family members and friends of that relative by phone or email asking for that relative's addresses. If you don't have it, chances are good that someone else who knows them well may have it. You may also try contacting places where you know that your relative worked and explaining the situation to see if they will release an address to you. Understand that the employer may not provide this information out of a desire to protect your relative's privacy.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit grandparents image by Pavel Losevsky from Fotolia.com
