Who to send probate letters to?

Question

I have my list of probates and I am unsure of who to mail them to. Should I mail it to the deceased's mailing address or should I mail it to the beneficiary/fiduciary. What is less offensive? I can act as if I don't know that the person passed away. If i mail it to the latter, should I show sympathy and send my condolences or should I get straight to the point?

Sharon Vornholt · Answer

Orest -

I have been working in the niche of probates for years now.

The executor is the person to mail to, and you mail to their address. The are the "decision maker". There is no need trying to pretend someone is deceased. That is one of the first questions they will ask you; how did you find out about the house: And, you need to have an answer. You can always say that the information came from public records; you can then say you have helped a lot of people with their unwanted property. I hope this helps.

You can find quite a few blog posts here on BP on that topic.

Sharon

Priscilla Z. · Answer

I mail it to the deceased mailing address but don't put the deceased person's name, I put "Smith Family" for example.  I act as if I don't know the person passed away and of course, give your condolences when they tell you they have passed away.

If you decide to mail it to the latter, yes, I would show sympathy and send condolences....and offer to help any way you can.  Don't go straight to the point, I think the probate and inheritance lists are the most sensitive and you should NOT get straight to the point.

Michael Quarles · Answer

How about anyone you have a name and mailing address for who is connected to the property.

And definitely to the address with a Do Not Forward Address Correction Requested.  Although if you use the NCOA system it will give you that without spending the money on postage.

Probate lists are not going to be huge so maybe also visit the neighbors for info.  Weekends are great.

And keep mailing.  Feedback tells us that 12 months later still pays off.

Michael Hernandez · Answer

@Darrell Lee You can certainly find it at the courthouse and perhaps find it online.  I could not find my county's online through web search, but when I paid a visit to the courthouse the clerk was able to show me where to find it online.  A telephone call might have been all I needed to do to get the correct url.   In my county, they are required to list that information in a legal publication and one other newpaper, but I find this information is usually stale.   The courthouse records are updated daily.   When you get the deceased name, cross reference the last known address with the county real estate records to see if they actually owned a property that you might want.   Don't waste marketing money if there is nothing that the executor may be selling that you want.   If all the information is online your job is a lot easier.  Then the next step is outsourcing that research so that it can all be done virtually while you are putting together deals.

Rich Harris · Answer

Hey Darrell,

In my state, New Jersey, I went to the county courthouse. I was just very nice the ladies who worked there and told them what I was trying to do. They were super receptive and walked me through their computer system, how to look up all the new probate cases, etc. Once they showed me how to figure out what cases included property (some don't) I printed out a 1 page sheet which included all relevant information for each case.

Once I made friends with the workers I asked them how I can get this information online without having to go to the courthouse and they told me you can't. I've been researching how to do it online only and have only found services which charge like $10 per name, (yeah right!). So, in my county you must hoof it to the courthouse. I know other states & counties have access via the net.

Hope that helps.

Rich

Darrell Lee · Answer

How do you go about finding the executor? A county website?

John Fossetti · Answer

Now a days I am finding out that there are a lot of websites out there with the information.  You should mail to the Executor. I agree that you should give them your condolences in the letter, no need to avoid the Elephant in the room!

Let us know how you make out!

Travis Lauchman · Answer

@Priscilla Z., @Sharon Vornholt, and @Arktavious Sally

Hey All,

Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us. I am looking to acquire such lists in Baltimore City. The MD Register of Wills enables one to view decedents' names, date of passing, interested party. It does not show address of property. So I suppose the next step is to figure out that information and evaluate whether address is in 'farm' area. Finally, if that is a yes, somehow figure out the executor's address and send them letter. Does this sound like the correct order of operations? Just want to see if I am missing anything in plain view as I'm just beginning.

@Orest Omeliach

how'd it go?

Cheers,

Travis

Priscilla Z. · Answer

Lynn Henley - You can find this information online.  I looked your county up and they have the same system that my county uses.  Accept my request and I'll send you the link and guide you on what to look for...

I too worked a full time job for many years and invested in real estate, technology is very helpful so use it to the best of your advantage....

Arktavious Sally · Answer

Lynn Henley I agree.. However you might want to consider outsourcing that task to someone, like a college student.

Who to send probate letters to?

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