“Who Do You Think You Are?”

One of the hottest new television shows is NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” Each episode follows a different celebrity in his or her quest to learn more about his family history. This past Friday night’s episode focused on Emmitt Smith, the Hall of Fame running back and “Dancing with the Stars” winner.

Smith’s search took him from his Dallas home to Florida, Alabama, Virginia, and an African slavery sanctuary. Smith fully expected to learn that his family tree includes slaves. He learned a few other things though that both shocked him and shed light on the twists, turns and roadblocks that any genealogy search may encounter.

While America is one of the most open countries in terms of public records and archives, some families’ history and lineage are easier to trace than others. Due to the awful treatment of African Americans prior to the 1960’s, public officials did not feel the need to record major life events or even the existence of all people equally. Some census takers in some locales carried such ugly hate that they didn’t believe that people with darker skin counted as people. This shows how self-destructive racism can be. States receive more federal money and congressional representation when they count more people. By failing to count everyone, these census takers denied their states their money and representation.

On a more personal level, the missing accounts of family connections can impact our lives today. What genes do we carry that might predispose us to certain diseases? What if an unknown relative had the kidney that could save a life? What if we were missing heirs of a small fortune? What might our past mean to future generations? While he hit some roadblocks, Smith’s search enabled him to uncover valuable family information as could yours.

That Smith’s ancestry involved a then-taboo interracial relationship and crossed an ocean made his search all that much more complex and difficult. Not everyone will encounter these problems. There is however the potential in any genealogical search that some places or sources may have better record keeping than others. Notwithstanding a person’s best efforts to research his or her family history, consulting with professional genealogists may be necessary.

If it's a hobby, is it anything but a money maker?

Assets International is in the business of working with some very dedicated hobby enthusiasts. Not the stamps, antiques, or baseball card collecting enthusiasts, and not the fishing or hunting enthusiasts (though we like those hobbies, too!).

Instead, we work with many people who take their genealogy and family trees seriously, people who often pour in money into genealogy books and training, paying for online resources, and the like. Usually the last thing these people expect is to make money off their hobby.

But in the first week of March 2010, we were handed not one, but two cases of people who had died leaving no known heirs. And in both of those cases the decedent had some unknown genealogical enthusiasts in the family who put up their family trees online. That left us as family reuniters, sort of like being a matchmaker, only a lucrative one.

Two decedents with unknown heirs - two families about to inherit many thousands of dollars.

While this doesn't happen every day, it shows that genealogy can actually be profitable!

Assets International Celebrates Record Month

The staff of Assets International is thrilled to announce that February was a record month. We recovered over $890,000 for our clients; one client alone received over a quarter million dollars. A widow of 50 years finally got $57,000 from her husband’s estate thanks to AI working with the courts in both New York and Michigan.


One of our more complicated cases was resolved this February. After three years, a well respected public administrator who served as conservator for a decedent when she was alive contacted us because there were no known heirs. Not only did we identify six nieces and nephews we discovered the woman’s only child. One of the nieces told us she had been contacted by another search firm, but they were unable to locate other family members. AI successfully located all of them including the nephew with a very common ”John Smith”-type name who was the beneficiary of an annuity. We are happy to say that he now has his inheritance.


Rather than use valuable staff time and resources, contact Assets International for any “missing heir” or “no known heir” searches.

Protecting Your Data and Identity

Recent events featured in international news have again turned a spotlight on the threat of identity theft. Some of our colleagues around the world have stated that they personally know people whose identities seem to have been stolen and forged onto European passports in the recent Dubai assassination.

It goes without saying that Assets International takes the utmost care to guard the data about people that it has at its fingertips. We are quite good at not only at finding missing heirs and identifying entitled beneficiaries, but also know how, and how important it is, to maintain the privacy of our clients, always.

So what are some of the tactics you can use to help safeguard your identify on a daily basis?

-Avoid leaving behind ATM or other receipts

-Refrain from giving information to online sources from whom you have not initiated contact or have not granted online access to your information

-Use a shredder to destroy documents that contain your personal information

-Avoid carrying your social security card with you

-Always keep your credit cards within your line of sight

And above all, be sure to check your credit report, at least annually, for any inaccuracies or unauthorized credit access.