Finding people in California

jennyr · Feb 12, 2016

One of my friends died last night, and I am her executor. She was British but lived much of her life in LA. I now have the job of tracing the people mentioned in her will, or getting proof that they have died. One of these potential beneficiaries is listed as living in LA, though that was written 35 years ago, and I know that the person was at least as old as my friend and has likely passed. I shall of course write anyway to the address in the will. Do any Californian members have any idea where I should write to to see if I can find a death certificate?

Kat0121 · Feb 12, 2016

JennyR said:
One of my friends died last night, and I am her executor. She was British but lived much of her life in LA. I now have the job of tracing the people mentioned in her will, or getting proof that they have died. One of these potential beneficiaries is listed as living in LA, though that was written 35 years ago, and I know that the person was at least as old as my friend and has likely passed. I shall of course write anyway to the address in the will. Do any Californian members have any idea where I should write to to see if I can find a death certificate?

I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend.

I'm not in California but have you googled her name to see if an obituary comes up? If one does, it will tell you when they passed, the funeral home and any surviving family members. You can reach out to the funeral home and let them know what the deal is and they might get a copy of the DC for you or steer you in the right direction.

fyllis · Feb 12, 2016

JennyR said:
One of my friends died last night, and I am her executor. She was British but lived much of her life in LA. I now have the job of tracing the people mentioned in her will, or getting proof that they have died. One of these potential beneficiaries is listed as living in LA, though that was written 35 years ago, and I know that the person was at least as old as my friend and has likely passed. I shall of course write anyway to the address in the will. Do any Californian members have any idea where I should write to to see if I can find a death certificate?

You would need to contact the Vital Records Department

http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/dca/dcadeath.htm

You can also check with the post office for a forwarding or current address.

Kat0121 · Feb 12, 2016

Fyllis said:
You would need to contact the Vital Records Department

http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/dca/dcadeath.htm

You can also check with the post office for a forwarding or current address.

The Post Office does not give out addresses. This has to be done though the Freedom of Information act or by sending something to the person's last known address with "Address service requested" written on it. This is not a free service though so you'd probably have to take it to the counter. This will only work if the person has a forwarding address on file.

http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/foia/welcome.htm

I'd use google and the internet white pages before I spent money looking for something you might not find.

handsome kitty · Feb 12, 2016

I live in Northern Ca and I am surprised at how long people live. Obits in the local paper are in the late 90s.

jennyr · Feb 12, 2016

I have been working hard today on social media, google, newspaper records, county records etc in the UK, USA, Canada and Austria! And I am very pleased to say that I have identified 5 of the 8 I have to contact. That does not mean I have a current address or number for all of them, but at least I now know who they are. One is an author and translator of ancient texts who has not published since 1973, so I need to contact the publisher. One in Canada I have found through Facebook and messaged him. I have identified the son of the LA one because he published his mother's birth certificate in his blog! One that is still proving difficult turns out to be an Austrian lady who escaped the Nazis and worked as a housekeeper to my friend's parents. I have found she was still alive in 2012 through a census that year, but do not know what happened after that. It is proving a terrific challenge but I am enjoying it. It has been a mix of finding possibles and connecting them through their locations and biographies where available with my friend's life and interests. Real detective work. So far it has not cost me anything, though I think that may change tomorrow as some of the records I need are only available on payment..

Kat0121 · Feb 12, 2016

JennyR said:
I have been working hard today on social media, google, newspaper records, county records etc in the UK, USA, Canada and Austria! And I am very pleased to say that I have identified 5 of the 8 I have to contact. That does not mean I have a current address or number for all of them, but at least I now know who they are. One is an author and translator of ancient texts who has not published since 1973, so I need to contact the publisher. One in Canada I have found through Facebook and messaged him. I have identified the son of the LA one because he published his mother's birth certificate in his blog! One that is still proving difficult turns out to be an Austrian lady who escaped the Nazis and worked as a housekeeper to my friend's parents. I have found she was still alive in 2012 through a census that year, but do not know what happened after that. It is proving a terrific challenge but I am enjoying it. It has been a mix of finding possibles and connecting them through their locations and biographies where available with my friend's life and interests. Real detective work. So far it has not cost me anything, though I think that may change tomorrow as some of the records I need are only available on payment..

Nicely done!

I love doing stuff like that

AbbysMom · Feb 13, 2016

I'm glad you have had some luck so far. :cross:

MoochNNoodles · Feb 13, 2016

Wow! Great job! It's interesting to hear the results; although I'm sure if it turns to paper searching it might turn to drudgery.

fyllis · Feb 13, 2016

Hopefully, once you start actually locating people, they will be able to help you find some of the others (assuming they are all relatives/friends of your friend).

jennyr · Feb 14, 2016

The lady in LA died 5 years ago -I had an email this morning. At least I can cross her off, though I still have to get the documentary proof for legal reasons. I wasn't able to do much yesterday because of looking after my little stray foster. I spent hours dematting her and then had to take her to the vet when I saw some of the damage underneath the mats - bites and abscesses. But she is doing better this morning.

stewball · Feb 14, 2016

What happens to whatever was left to a deceased person?
I wouldn't know where to start looking. Well done you.

fyllis · Feb 14, 2016

Stewball said:
What happens to whatever was left to a deceased person?
I wouldn't know where to start looking. Well done you.

Ordinarily, if an heir dies, their portion of the inheritance gets divided among the remaining recipients... unless it is otherwise stipulated in the will. For instance, they could request it go to a specific charity. It depends on how the will reads. (a good attorney will ask that a clause be entered in the will).

jennyr · Feb 15, 2016

It depends on the what the will states. But normally the bequest dies with the person. In this case my friend left specific amounts to different persons, and if any of them are deceased then all that is left goes to a named charity.

jennyr · Feb 19, 2016

I have now found all her godchildren! ~One had stayed in touch and I had her address, one I got through Facebook and the third was causing me problems. I only had her maiden name and an address from 1994. But after trying social media and telephone directories to no avail, I looked up her house address and found it was only sold once between 1995 and 2012. So I took a gamble on her being the last vendor and wrote to all the estate agents in the town where she had lived. And I heard back from one of them today, to say yes, they had records, they have been in touch with her and she has my details to contact me or the solicitor. Amazing!

i can't go that route with the last two missing people, as they lived in London and their flats have been sold several times in the intervening years. I am pretty sure they are no longer alive, so I will ask the solicitor to apply for death certificates. ~I could get addicted to t his.

MoochNNoodles · Feb 19, 2016

You might be able to make a side business out of it! That's been a good bit of work!

jcat · Feb 19, 2016

MoochNNoodles said:
You might be able to make a side business out of it! That's been a good bit of work!

Great sleuthing!

jennyr · Feb 20, 2016

Well, I was a journalist, and it was much like researching a TV programme. Just thinking out of the box.

Finding people in California

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

At Abby's beck and call

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

Mo(w)gli's can opener

TCS Member

Thread starter