You have been contacted as an heir by ADD HOLSTEIN Erbenermittlung?

Our work for heirs

We receive our investigation assignments and information mostly from official bodies. But the core of our work is finding heirs - also called heir tracing or heir search. When you are contacted by us as an heir, we have often worked on your case for several months or years. We have looked through address books, searched through archives and perhaps even visited cemeteries. The result of this lengthy research is a family connection of the heirs to the respective decedent, which we can prove with documents.

Below we have collected questions that we are asked particularly frequently. We hope that we can help you with the answers. However, if there are still any unanswered questions, we would be very happy if you contact us personally. We have also compiled information on how heir investigators work.

  • Have you received mail from us or another heir investigator? As a rule, we contact private individuals whenever we have identified them as heirs. Our task is to identify heirs in unresolved estate matters. This means that a usually distant relative of yours has died and no heirs are known. In most cases you are not the only heir in such a case.

  • The probate courts are responsible for inheritances without known heirs, but often do not have the capacity or the technical possibilities to identify the heirs themselves. It is important to know that in some cases the identification of heirs is extremely time-consuming and often takes years. The courts therefore appoint so-called guardians of the estate. If they are unable to find the heirs themselves, they usually put the investigation in the hands of professional heir investigators.

    Furthermore, we would like to point out that by no means all cases we investigate are pending before a German probate court. We also investigate international inheritance matters (especially from the USA) and unsettled real estate cases.

  • Professional heir searchers are not initially paid for the search - neither from the estate nor from the court. It is desired that we conclude an agreement with the heirs themselves. This agreement secures us remuneration for our work. However, this remuneration, which is calculated as a percentage of the share of the estate actually paid out, only has to be paid when the estate is paid out to you.

  • No, we assure you in the agreement concluded with you that we will assume all costs for you. This includes the costs for obtaining all documents, the notary fees for the application for a certificate of inheritance and also the court fees for the certificate of inheritance itself. Our fee is only due when the inheritance is paid out and will be deducted when it is paid out. So you do not have to pay anything yourself at any time.

  • In numerous decisions, German courts have recognised heir investigators' fees of up to 33% as reasonable. In most cases, the heirs contacted by the inheritance mediator would not have been aware of their inheritance status without the mediator's investigative work or would not have been able to prove their inheritance status in a court of law. Since the fee is calculated as a percentage of the share of the inheritance actually paid out, the cost risk lies entirely on the side of the heir investigator.

  • Before we contact you, we have already completed the crucial part of our work: We have identified you as the heir. Nevertheless, we have not reached our goal.

    1. Often other heirs must be identified, because only then can it be determined which heir receives which share.

    2. In addition, often more than a hundred certified documents (birth, marriage, death certificates, wills, certificates of inheritance, etc.) must be obtained and presented as evidence to the competent court.

    3. Once this has been achieved, the heirs apply for a certificate of inheritance with our support. The processing at the respective courts can often take some time, as our investigation results and the submitted documents are closely examined. However, we will be happy to keep you informed about the current status and, if possible, also communicate regularly with the competent court in order to answer any follow-up questions as quickly as possible.

    4. In a final step, we submit the certificate of inheritance to the bank and take care of the distribution of the inheritance according to the quotas shown on the certificate of inheritance. If the estate includes real estate, we will also be happy to coordinate the sale on behalf of the community of heirs.

  • We are aware that, especially in this day and age, being contacted suddenly and unexpectedly about an inheritance can cause scepticism. We therefore want to be as transparent as possible. You are welcome to get to know us better by clicking on "Team". Or you can visit us in our offices in Berlin and Cologne. In addition, you can obtain information from your local court regarding professional heir searches. You are also welcome to consult a lawyer, with whom we will of course also be happy to talk.

    Furthermore, we would like to point out our partner company ADD Associés, which is one of the largest and most established heir search companies worldwide.

  • It happens time and again that heirs are already known and still need the help of an heir investigator.

    This is especially the case if the already known heirs cannot prove their share of the inheritance, because all other, previously unknown heirs still have to be identified for this purpose. If the deceased testator is a cousin, this also affects parts of the family to which the known heirs are not related or only very distantly related.

    Another case constellation concerns land register entries such as rights of first refusal, security mortgages or purchase rights which are to be deleted. This often requires clarification of the succession, or at least ascertainment of the death of the registered person.

    We can gladly help in such cases. Just contact us personally and we can discuss the details of your case.

Frequently asked questions