What Does a Forensic Genealogist Actually Do?

One of the questions I receive most often is surprisingly simple.

"So... what exactly does a forensic genealogist actually do?"

The answer usually depends on who is asking.

If it's my grandmother (Z"L), I might simply say that I research families.

If it's a probate lawyer, I'll probably start talking about intestacy, evidentiary standards and international heir tracing.

If it's someone at a dinner party... I usually try to keep explanations to a minimum, otherwise everyones' family histories resurface and the dinner changes into a contest titled "Who has the most interesting family story?" and believe me, some of them included CIA agents in Egypt.

Additionally, somewhere between the main course and dessert they'll usually ask whether I've ever found long-lost relatives or solved family mysteries worth mentioning.

The short answer is...

Yes, but I can't actually give them any details. Unless the stories were published by the families involved in which case they can read them at their leisure.

But that's only part of the story.

Most people imagine genealogy as researching ancestors, building families, finding great-great-great-grandparents, perhaps discovering an unexpected nobleman or a fascinating family legend. Or having a direct link to Rabbi Akiva.

That certainly exists, and it's a wonderful reason to explore your family history.

Forensic genealogy begins from a different question.

Instead of asking:

"Where did this family come from?"

we often ask:

"Can this relationship be proven?"

That one small difference changes almost everything.

In practice, forensic genealogists are often asked to answer questions with legal consequences.

Who inherits when someone dies without leaving a Will?

Can this person really be identified as the individual named in the records?

Did this family line continue?

Are there living descendants?

Has someone changed their name?

Did they emigrate?

Are they still alive?

Or...

Did they perhaps never exist in the way the documents appear to suggest?

Sometimes the investigation concerns people born two hundred years ago and sometimes it concerns someone who may have answered their telephone this morning.

Contrary to popular belief, my work doesn't begin with archives.

It begins with questions.

What exactly are we trying to establish?

What evidence already exists?

Which assumptions have already been made?

Which of those assumptions have actually been proven?

Only then do I begin deciding where the research should take place.

Sometimes that's Poland.

Sometimes Israel.

Sometimes the United Kingdom.

Sometimes Uruguay. Sometimes Mainland China.

Occasionally five countries become involved before the investigation reaches its conclusion.

People are often surprised that a large proportion of my work concerns living individuals rather than historical ones; locating heirs, confirming identities, establishing family relationships, assessing whether somebody can legally act on their own behalf, coordinating investigations across different legal systems, and, but not limited to, working with lawyers, probate researchers, governmental custodians and private clients.

Genealogy today is far more international—and far more practical—than many people imagine.

Another common misconception is that forensic genealogy is simply "finding records."

If only it were that straightforward.

Records don't arrive with little labels saying:

"Congratulations. You've found the correct person."

Instead, they need to be interpreted, compared, questioned and sometimes challenged. Different documents contradict one another; names change, borders move, entire archives disappear, families reinvent themselves after war, persecution or migration. Or individuals "borrow" identities.

The real work isn't simply locating a document.

It's deciding what that document actually proves.

One of my favourite aspects of this profession is that no two investigations are ever quite the same.

One week I may be reconstructing a Jewish family from nineteenth-century Galicia.

The next, helping establish whether an individual who died in England has surviving relatives in Israel.

Another day might involve explaining why two people with almost identical names are, in fact, entirely unrelated.

Every investigation presents a new puzzle.

The methodology remains the same, however, the people never do.

Perhaps that's why I enjoy this work so much.

Genealogy isn't really about the past.

It's about people.

Their lives.

Their families.

Their journeys.

And the documentary traces they leave behind.

Sometimes those traces answer the question immediately.

Sometimes they create five new ones.

Oddly enough...

That's usually when the investigation becomes interesting.

At EHN Heir Search, every investigation begins with evidence, not assumptions.

Because good genealogy isn't simply about finding records.

It's about understanding people through the records they leave behind—and recognising, just as importantly, what those records cannot tell us.