Probate Asset Investigations · Estate Discovery
When a will closes and the estate still doesn't add up.
Executors and probate counsel rarely inherit a tidy ledger. What they inherit is a partial picture — a primary home, a bank statement, maybe a brokerage account — and a quiet certainty that more is out there. Empire reconstructs what a decedent actually held.
What This Investigation Reconstructs
A complete picture of the decedent's holdings.
Tracing assets after death is the work of rebuilding a person's financial life from the records that survived them. It matters because the alternative — distributing an estate from incomplete information — exposes executors to personal liability, leaves beneficiaries shortchanged, and lets stale accounts escheat to the state instead of going where the decedent intended.
Empire approaches a decedent's holdings the way a forensic accountant approaches a balance sheet, but using lawful public records: real property recordings across every county the decedent ever resided in, business entity filings, UCC liens, court appearances, retirement-plan beneficiary databases, unclaimed-property registries in every state, and known-account searches through licensed information platforms.
The output is a written estate-asset report suitable for filing with the probate court, distributing to counsel, and supporting an executor's fiduciary record. We do not invent assets that are not there — but in 44 years of estate work, we have rarely seen a decedent whose actual footprint exactly matched the family's first list.
When Estates Need An Asset Tracing Investigation
Common reasons executors and counsel call.
01
The decedent ran a business
Operating companies, holding LLCs, partnership interests, and assumed names rarely all surface from a personal file cabinet.
02
Family relationships were strained
Estranged spouses, prior marriages, and adult children with their own conflicts often mean information is being withheld — sometimes deliberately.
03
Real property is suspected in other states
A vacation home, an inherited property, or an investment parcel held in another jurisdiction needs multi-state recorder searches to surface.
04
Accounts and beneficiaries are unclear
Old 401(k)s, life insurance policies from prior employers, and dormant brokerage accounts are routinely lost without a systematic search.
05
Unclaimed property may exist
Each state holds a registry of dormant accounts in the decedent's name. Most estates never check more than the state of residence.
06
A creditor or co-fiduciary disputes the estate
When the estate inventory is being challenged, an independent, source-cited asset report establishes the record.
What An Estate Asset Search Surfaces
The asset categories most often missed.
Real Property in Other Counties
Vacation homes, undeveloped land, inherited property, and rental holdings recorded outside the primary residence's county.
Business Interests and Partnerships
Operating LLCs, holding companies, professional corporations, and assumed-name filings that pass to the estate by operation of law.
Dormant Financial Accounts
Old employer 401(k)s, brokerage accounts, savings accounts, and credit-union memberships that have gone untouched for years.
Life Insurance and Annuities
Group-life policies from prior employers, individual policies the decedent purchased and forgot, and annuity contracts with named beneficiaries.
Unclaimed Property Across All 50 States
Multi-state escheat searches that go far beyond the standard one-state check most estates perform.
Vehicles, Vessels, and Aircraft
Titled assets registered in counties or states the decedent no longer regularly visited but never sold.
Our Process
How the work moves.
01
Estate intake with counsel
We work with the executor and probate counsel to assemble what is known — the death certificate, prior addresses, employment history, marital history, and the inventory in hand.
02
Multi-jurisdiction records reconstruction
Every county of residence, every state of registration, every relevant federal court system gets searched. Business filings, deed records, court appearances, and lien indexes are cross-referenced.
03
Beneficiary and account discovery
We pursue unclaimed-property registries in all 50 states, retirement-plan databases, and known-account verification tools licensed for permissible probate use.
04
Estate asset report for the probate file
A written, source-cited inventory delivered for executor records, fiduciary defense, and any necessary supplemental filings with the probate court.
Frequently Asked
Questions before the call.
Can you find bank accounts after death?
Empire uses lawful methods to identify likely account-holding institutions through public records, beneficiary databases, unclaimed-property registries, and known-account search tools licensed for permissible probate use. We do not pretext banks. When a likely account is identified, the executor or counsel makes the formal institutional request with a death certificate and Letters.
How long after death can you trace assets?
There is no expiration on the investigation. Empire has reconstructed estate assets decades after death — particularly when unclaimed property has been sitting in state custody. The earlier the work begins, the cleaner the executor's record.
Will the family fight this?
An independent asset trace usually protects the executor and the estate as a whole. When findings are documented and sourced, family disagreements have a neutral record to refer to instead of a series of accusations.
Does this replace the probate inventory?
No. The work supplements the executor's inventory and supports any necessary amendments. It provides the source documentation an executor needs to defend the inventory against creditor or beneficiary challenge.
What does it cost?
Estate asset traces are quoted by scope — how many states of residence, how many likely business interests, whether multi-generational property research is required. Most engagements are flat or capped fees scoped during the consultation.
Do you work directly with attorneys?
Yes — most engagements come through probate counsel. Findings are delivered under engagement terms appropriate to the legal context, with privilege considerations addressed up front.
Empire conducts probate asset investigations through lawful public records and permissible-purpose information sources. We do not pretext financial institutions, do not access protected consumer data outside permissible categories under federal law, and do not guarantee that any specific asset will be located.
Confidential Asset Review
Start with what the records actually show.
A confidential consultation with Empire — direct, no obligation, no shared notes.
Time-sensitive matter? Our 24/7 line is answered live — confidential callbacks.
Prefer to call? (800) 860-6068 · Licensed · Bonded · Established 1982