About Us

For over three decades, Mark E. Walker & Company has been working with both the legal and business communities in locating missing heirs and missing people for business related purposes.

We have established and maintained a global network that supports the production of information and documentation from virtually any part of the world. From our base in the American Midwest, our research and work extends across state and territorial lines and national borders.

Before an investigation is conducted to locate missing heirs, some circumstances first require identifying family lines and the living descendants within those family lines in order to establish the identity of the legal heirs of a decedent. In the case of a lapsed bequest, establishing the identity of the next of kin of a beneficiary sometimes precedes the investigation to locate those persons.
The methods and techniques used to locate missing heirs comes from decades of experience in the field. We know the problems created by time delays in the efficient and prompt administration of estates arising from missing heir situations. If you are an attorney advising an estate or a fiduciary charged with accomplishing a complete administration and distribution of estate assets, our service will locate your missing heirs and provide you with time saving benefits to make your work easier and allow for the prompt closure of your estate.
Deciphering a decedent's family information and tracing up and down family lines can be a time consuming task. In addition, an estate needs to make certain that all family lines have been discovered and that all alleged heirs are in fact legally related. Let us review the list of heirs and family information that has been provided to you concerning the decedent. We'll double-check this information for its accuracy and authenticity and verify, and confirm each heir in the estate. Our experience in the process of verifying heirs provides you with an economical solution in making certain all of the decedent's heirs are accounted for and properly related to the decedent under applicable statute. Our verification process will make your work easier too by providing you with a comprehensive report that includes an affidavit of heirship, proof of heirship documentation, names and current addresses of each heir, family charts and alphabetized mailing labels.
We assist the business community in locating missing people in the following areas:
  • Locate mineral right owners past and present
  • Locate Homeless Persons for various notifications
  • Locate Deed Interested persons
  • Historical reconstructions-corporate history or chain of title issues in real estate
  • Witness locates
  • Locate owners in land partition suits
  • Locate persons with intellectual property interests

Our Promise

Flexible and Fair Fee Structures

Flexible fee structures permit the choice of a fee structure that is in the best interest of your particular situation, accepted by courts nationwide as fair and reasonable

Comprehensive Reporting

We help you fulfill your client duties with reporting that is thorough, concise, and formatted to save time and avoid duplication or reworking by your staff. In our estate work, we will provide you with our "CompReport", that includes everything from an Affidavit of Heirship to alphabetized mailing labels.

14 Day Progress Updates

We know you need to be kept informed. Our progress updates on the status of our investigations do precisely that.

Contract for Services

We offer a contract for service that outlines each aspect of our investigation and possible or contingent outcomes and helps protect you by clearly defining the scope of our services.

Excellent Service to the Legal and Business Community

We are attentive to the unique needs of the legal and business community and from our experience and positive results, have developed a comprehensive service that makes your work as a fiduciary easier.

Liaison Service

We help relieve the burden on you and your busy staff. Inevitably, when we begin identifying and locating heirs in estate matters, those individuals have predictable but time consuming questions regarding their interest and their relationship to the decedent. During the investigation, and with your permission, we encourage located heirs to contact us with their general inquiries versus contacting you or your staff.

Sample Petitions and Orders

For your convenience, and if necessary, we can provide you with sample petitions and orders for "authority to hire", which have been prepared and approved by your attorney colleagues in past cases.

Let's Work Together!

Cases

Learn more about our work by past case histories.


Clients

Missing Heirs Located, Testomonial

Top of the line!

Both Mr. Edmiston and I have commented on the extremely professional manner in which you undertook this employment, the thoroughness of your search, the accuracy of your records, the professionalism exhibited in reporting to us and the concise but complete nature of your reports. We have both been extremely impressed by the caliber and quality of your work and would certainly recommend you to any and all potential clients as being 'top of the line' in such investigations.

George M. McClure, III, Attorney at Law, Danville, KY
Missing Heirs Located, Testomonial

Saved me time!

This letter is my recommendation of Mark E. Walker & Company, LLC. I was the attorney handling an estate in Jackson County, Missouri. The decedent had no children and he was an only child. His parents were also both only children and so, therefore, the heir search began at the decedent's grandparent level. Mr. Walker was able to identify 68 heirs. This helped immensely in handling this decedent's probate estate. I believe his fee was reasonable as well considering the time and effort that it would have taken me and my staff to perform the same heir search.

Jack Peace, Attorney at Law, Trenton, MO
Missing Heirs Located, Testomonial

A true professional!

It was a short six weeks ago that I contacted you for assistance in helping me locate ten heirs which I had been unable to locate. I cannot tell you how pleased the personal representative of the Estate of Alice A. Harper and I are with your services. It is almost unbelievable to us that in this six week period you could locate and document the existence, or deaths of all ten heirs. You are truly a professional in the heir location business, and I will not hesitate to recommend you to my colleagues.

Leon Stelling, Attorney at Law, Cole Camp, MO
Missing Heirs Located, Testomonial

Thank You!

Thank you for finding this money for us. You have been most professional and ethical. May you have continued success. I knew someone from my birthplace (Alexandria, IN) had to be honest.

Jeanene and Wayne Patton, The Villages, FL
Missing Heirs Located, Testomonial

Could not have done it without you!

I want you to know that we very much appreciate your assistance in this matter and that without your help, the heirs of Jiri Licehamr could not have been located.

Mark E. Maddux, Attorney at Law, Springfield, MO
Missing Heirs Located, Testomonial

Received the check today!

Received the check today. Thank you so much for all you did to get this money. I had no idea that the money was there till you called me. Again, thank you.

Dianne B. Sobczyk, West Salem, OH
Missing Heirs Located, Customer Logo, JP Morgan Chase Bank
Missing Heirs Located, Customer Logo, Lilly
Missing Heirs Located, Customer Logo, PNC Bank
Missing Heirs Located, Customer Logo, Shriners Hospitals for Children
Missing Heirs Located, Customer Logo, Catholic Charities
Missing Heirs Located, Customer Logo, United States Housing and Urban Development

1000+ Happy Clients!

Our Fees

We are pleased to offer hourly, fixed and contingent fees.

Upon deciding which fee structure works best in your situation, contact us by telephone or e-mail and provide us with the particulars of your case. We will then provide you with a personalized fee quote. The amount of information known or unknown about your missing heir/s or missing person/s is relative to fee amounts.

Heirs are a diverse sector of our population. Sometimes, relying solely on the family information presented by one or several heirs can leave you vulnerable to leaving out entire family lines. Our verification service is available when representatives of an estate believe they have the names and addresses of all legal heirs of a decedent, but desire to have the family information verified for its authenticity. This service provides the estate with the confidence of knowing all heirs of a decedent are identified and properly related to the decedent.
  • 1-6 heir(s) - $1,000.00 (minimum)
  • 7-20 heirs - $150 per heir
  • 21-50 heirs - $100 per heir
  • 51-200 heirs - $75 per heir
Fixed Fees are agreed upon by the estate and are often times court authorized. Fixed Fees are arrived at by case review and based upon a reasonable percentage of the estimated amount due the heir or heirs and converted to a fixed dollar amount. Fixed fees can be charged as an administrative expense or charged against the share the heir receives
Contingent Fees are agreed upon by the newly located heir. They are based upon a percentage of the estimated amount due the heir. Fees under this arrangement are higher due to the time and complications associated with negotiating multiple contracts.
Hourly Fees can effectively work within budgets. In estate work, hourly fees can be charged to the heirs share or as an administrative fee.

Trusted by the Legal and Business Community for over 30 years!