Need help finding info on past dead relative?

Question

Received a letter stating a very distant relative died (no relatives) and since I am related by marriage, i am due to inherit, I am looking for info on this person, do not know birthdate, just approx age and full name, and month of death . Called the probate research company who sent letter and they are ligit but vague on his info and the estate amount, was told amount could change go up or down depending on debts owed. This company wantes 20% of estate. I don't even know what the estate is worth. I don't want to sign, just yet, i want to find this info myself. Help. Any free sites to get info from. I am worried about possible tax implications, I need to find out the estate worth and any possible bad implications for me.

Answer 1

Be very careful here - sounds like it's most likely a scam. I know you said they're legit - how do you know that? Answering the phone at the number they gave you doesn't make them legit. Their being vague is a real bad sign for the likelihood of them being legit. And in most places, a distant relative, by marriage yet, would not be in line to inherit unless there was a will that said so - and it doesn't sound like you even knew this person who supposedly died.

If they ever end up asking for money up front, like to "allow them to complete your claim", RUN, they're a scam.

You can look online at the social security death index, but that really won't tell you much - finding someone who died, with the same last name, doesn't mean anything at all.