About
A Probate Research Firm Built Around the Record
Percival, Carter & Associates Investigators locates missing heirs and beneficiaries for probate matters, and documents the search so the result holds up in the file.
Most heir searches fail in one of two ways. Either the person is never found, or the person is found and the search behind that answer was never written down. The second failure is the one that reaches a courtroom, because a name without a source is a name an interested party can question.
PCA Investigators was built around the second problem. We run the research, and then we prove it. Every name we return is confirmed by a reviewer independent of the researcher who found it, and every source consulted is listed with the date it was searched, including the sources that produced nothing. The finished report is what an attorney files behind, and what a court reads when it asks how the family was established.
We work for the party who engages us, at a published fee. Our compensation does not vary with the size of the estate or with who inherits, which keeps our findings independent of the outcome.
How We Work
Research
Vital records, probate and county court records, obituaries, census and immigration records, and estate genealogy research, applied branch by branch until the family is established.
Verification
A second reviewer, independent of the researcher, confirms each identity and relationship before it is written into the report.
Documentation
Findings are source cited and timestamped, attested by the verifier, and sealed with a hash that lets any party confirm the document is unaltered.
Our Team
Researchers, Verifiers, and Client Contacts
Every matter is handled by a research team and a separate verification team, with a named point of contact for the engaging firm or family. Research and verification are deliberately kept apart, so no one confirms their own work.
Timothy Percival
Co-founder
Ronald Carter
Co-founder
Minjee Banzali
Operations
Where We Work
Texas probate is administered county by county, and our research follows the filing. We work matters in Harris, Dallas, Travis, Bexar, and Tarrant county probate courts, and serve estates in all 254 Texas counties. When a family line crosses state or national borders, the research continues.
PCA Investigators is an independent investigative research firm providing probate research and heir location services. We are not a law firm and we do not provide legal advice. Questions about how a report applies to a specific matter should be directed to the attorney handling the estate.