Forensic Genealogy and Its Applications

[One-Hour (1.0) General CLE] Christine will be discussing how determining and tracking down the descendants in Determination of Heirs actions can be frustrating and time consuming when the descendants of the deceased are unknown. Popular shows like Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. make it look easy, but what you don’t see in that fascinating one hour is the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes. Vast resources, several experts, and many hours of work go into piecing together the ancestry represented in the lovely wall charts that are presented to the celebrities at the end of the show. Genealogy is the most popular hobby in the United States next to gardening. As a hobbyist, it is fun to log into Ancestry.com and click on those shaking leaves. But that mindset can lead you down a path with disastrous results if you are a legal professional who needs supportable evidence in identifying living descendants of someone who has died. An understanding of the emerging field of forensic genealogists can save you time and money. In this presentation, we will discuss what goes on behind the scenes, the underpinnings of professional forensic genealogy, what to look for in a professional forensic genealogist, and how to find and hire one.