Case Studies – Finding Needles in Haystacks

Since Assets International's founding we have located many beneficiaries and missing heirs on behalf of estates.

Here are some of our more interesting cases:

Ø   In 1969, Johann Poulsen passed away in Michigan, leaving four surviving children in Norway. Thirty-five years later, when previously unknown assets were discovered, Assets International located all of Poulsen's living children and grandchildren.

Ø Emilio Ramos passed away in 2005, leaving behind his five siblings as heirs. Nobody had heard from one brother, Cesar, in over 10 years. Assets International was faced with three challenges: First, find Cesar. Second, inform Cesar that he was an heir, but, as delicately as possible, inform him that his inheritance was coming from a brother whom he had not known had died. Third, prove to the probate court in San Jose, California, that we had, indeed, located the correct Cesar Ramos, after attorneys and others had fruitlessly spent many hours trying to find him. After finding Cesar homeless and living on the streets of Sacramento, Assets International successfully convinced the skeptical court that we had the right man - and got him over $40,000 in inheritance.

Ø   Arthur Reed died in a house fire in 1983. Few details were known about his true identity beyond his date of birth. Through tenacious investigating, Assets International uncovered hundreds of pages of documents connected to Reed's previously unknown identity and criminal past. Shortly thereafter, relatives in Canada were located and were able to lay claim to the sizable fortune he had left behind.

Ø   Assets International worked with a student in Washington, D.C. to help retrieve her father's assets. Sure enough, we found her father - alive in Pakistan.

Ø   When Linda York died in a work accident, she was believed to have had few assets. She was, however, known to have had several children around the country. Assets International first located all four of York's children from different fathers. Months later, Assets International identified a series of high-end Certificates of Deposit registered both in her name as well as in the name of a mysterious, unknown woman. Further research revealed that, unbeknownst to her children, Linda had been adopted shortly after birth and the true joint owner of those assets was in fact her biological mother.

Ø   When Ernest Bloom passed away, he was the only surviving child of his divorced parents and died with no spouse or children. While attorneys made desperate attempts to locate any heirs, their searches came up empty. Once Assets International was brought in, we were able to locate the family's cemetery plot which led to the discovery of cousins who were able to legally assert their rightful claims to the estate.

All names have been changed to protect client confidentiality.

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