Last weekend an attorney-friend who's aware of my genealogy hobby requested assistance. She is working to settle an estate in which the decedent had a will.

The following information was new to me:

• Under Minnesota probate law (Minn. Stat. § 524.3-401 and following), when a petition for probate of a will is filed, notice must be given to:

  • The devisees (beneficiaries named in the will), and

  • The heirs at law (the people who would inherit if the decedent had died intestate--i.e., without a will--regardless of whether or not they’re named in the will).

• The law requires this so that heirs at law have an opportunity to contest the will if they believe it is invalid (e.g., due to undue influence or lack of capacity).

In my friend's current case, the deceased 84-year-old woman was divorced at the time of her death. She had no children nor living parents, siblings, grandparents, or aunts/uncles. Her surviving family consisted of 19 living cousins plus three children of a deceased first cousin. Of these 22 "heirs at law," only three had not been located. I was asked to find good addresses for the three individuals--two women and one man. 

The three 'missing' heirs at law had last-known addresses in Minnesota. For the most part, my research was basic reverse genealogy.

1. Googling the names disclosed obituaries that named survivors, but obits dated 2012 and 2015 provided only old info about residences of the three people being sought.
2. Searching the Minnesota Official Marriage System was a good next step. Spouse names, dates and locations of marriage, maiden names, middle names, even middle initials--all were valuable. 
3. My Ancestry,com subscription was necessary to find a divorce/remarriage and confirm exact dates of birth for those with common names.
4. Newspapers.com queries pulled up articles about two women; one had a business in a small town and the other had held a public position with state government. For the third heir, recent city council minutes (referring to both husband and wife) confirmed they were likely still married. 
5. Once I had a good idea about the city where subjects currently resided, querying Whitepages.com gave me street addresses for two couples (who apparently still had landlines). Another couple's Arizona home address was found through a website that offered free background checks.
6. In at least one instance, a similar query on my cellphone secured a different response (and more details) than on my laptop.

Yes, I found mailing addresses for all three heirs at law!

Update: And, as a result of carefully reviewing obituaries, I was able to identify and fix some discrepancies in the family tree provided by the family. Several individuals were added, both living and deceased.