Trace missing next-of-kin for intestate estates and take a cut — speed matters, since multiple firms race the same public list.
Why that grade Based on general knowledge of the UK heir-hunting industry (Fraser and Fraser, Finders International, popularised by BBC's 'Heir Hunters'); no independently audited fee data found. Course-seller index 3/10.
Figures are researched estimates, not guarantees. Check local rules before you trade.
Public unclaimed-estates lists (like the UK's Bona Vacantia list) create a steady, discoverable pipeline of intestate estates needing genuine genealogical detective work to locate rightful heirs.
10-25% of the inherited sum on contingency, occasionally more on very small or complex international estates.
Someone with genealogical research patience and legal-documentation discipline willing to compete on speed against established firms.
Anyone expecting fast cash — probate is genuinely slow, often taking months to years from finding an heir to actual payout.
Multiple firms race the same public unclaimed-estates list to sign the heir to a contract first, and errors in genealogical proof can void a claim entirely after months of work.
7 steps to your first paying customer
Get the basics in hand before you take on anyone: Genealogy database subscriptions (Ancestry, FindMyPast, official archives), Legal document-drafting knowledge.
Done when Your genealogy database subscriptions are active, and you have a template for the legal documents heirs will need to sign.
Track lists published by the relevant government body (e.g. the UK's Bona Vacantia list).
Done when You're checking the relevant government's unclaimed-estates list on a set weekly schedule, not ad hoc.
Watch out: These lists are public — you're competing with other firms watching the same source.
The rest of the playbook: what to charge, what you need in place before you take money, where the first customers come from, and what each step costs.
Free forever · no card · 30 secondsThe same public lists are available to any competitor — your moat is research speed and a track record that builds trust with wary heirs.
Genuinely faster research turnaround than entrenched competitors
Specialising in complex international/cross-border cases that larger firms deprioritise
Build a small research team to handle more cases in parallel, or specialise into a niche (foreign estates, very small estates larger firms ignore) for less direct competition.
Same idea, different rules. One playbook, with the facts that actually differ overlaid per market.
Not an established industry in the UAE given very different inheritance law (based on Sharia principles for Muslims, with distinct rules for expats).
Well-established as a niche industry with a public Bona Vacantia list and entrenched firms (Fraser and Fraser, Finders International), popularised by the BBC.
Not an established industry in the same way; intestate succession in India follows personal law (varying by religion) rather than a centralised public unclaimed-estates registry.
Reasonably active with state-level unclaimed-estate processes, though less centralised than the UK's single public list.
Help businesses and nonprofits find and apply for grants — ethical practitioners charge flat/hourly fees, not a percentage of the award.
Charge a finder's fee to reunite people with money owed to them — anyone can search the same databases for free.
Acquire a cash-flowing small business with debt financing instead of starting from zero — high upside, and a real chance of losing your equity.