Probate
How to pull probate leads from county records every week: the court, the appraiser and the recorder
Updated September 2026. The free method first, the paid shortcut second.
Probate leads come from the county’s estate filings, and the work is doing it every week. Search the probate court’s case index for new estate cases by filing date, match each person who died to property on the appraiser’s roll, check the recorder for houses already sold or transferred, and keep one sheet with the case number and the representative. The records are free to search, though some courts charge for copies.
- Sources
- The court index, the appraiser roll, the recorder
- Rhythm
- One search a week, by filing date
- Cost
- $0 to search, copies may cost
- Keep
- The case number, to find the file again
Step by step, for nothing
-
Search new estate cases every week
Find your county’s probate court case search, usually on the clerk of court’s site. Filter by case type, estate or probate, and by filing date for the past week. Where the index cannot filter, the clerk can tell you how to pull recent filings, and some courts offer public terminals or a records request for a list.
What you come away with New estate cases with case numbers and names.
-
Read each file for the representative
Open the case and find who the court appointed: the executor named in a will, or an administrator where there is none, often called the personal representative. The file names them and usually gives an address to write to.
What you come away with The person who handles the estate, and where to reach them.
-
Match the person who died to property
Search the appraiser’s or assessor’s roll by the decedent’s name. Some rolls also mark an owner as an estate, with names such as “Estate of”, which can point to an inherited home before any case is filed.
What you come away with The properties in each estate.
-
Check the recorder before you reach out
Search the recorder for each property: a deed recorded since the death means the house has already been sold or transferred. Some states let owners record a transfer-on-death deed, which passes a house outside probate, and some use an affidavit of heirship. Where yours does, the recorder holds those too.
What you come away with A list without the houses already gone.
-
Keep one sheet, and add to it every week
Log the case number, the filing date, the decedent, the representative and their address, and each property. The case number takes you back to the file as the case moves. Write to the representative at that address once the court has appointed them.
What you come away with A running list you can work through each week.
Where the county method stops
Each county is its own search, and a court index that cannot filter by case type makes the weekly pull slow. Across several counties, it becomes a standing job.
The files give an address, not a phone number. To call, trace the representative’s name as you would any owner: 10¢ to 20¢ a name on a pay-per-trace service, and SmartSkip includes relatives and associates on both of its plans.
Providers that pull the filings for you
Each sells a copy of the same court records, with its own coverage and contacts. Prices read September 2026.
| Tool | Probate filings | Price | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
 Propwire |
A probates lead type | Free to search and download | Try Propwire free |
 Probate Money |
13 California counties, updated daily | $69 a month | See Probate Money pricing |
 PropertyRadar |
Court-sourced, with case number, attorney and relatives, by its own page | Plans from $119 a month | See PropertyRadar pricing |
 ProbateData |
Every case in one county, traced and DNC-checked | $147 a month | See ProbateData pricing |
 All The Leads |
Every filing in your county, up to 5 phones traced | Quoted per county | See All The Leads pricing |
The probate lead providers page compares their coverage, contacts and prices side by side.
Paid links. If you subscribe through one we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes our ranking order.
Pulling probate leads: questions people ask
How do I get probate leads from the courthouse?
Use the probate court’s online case search, filtered to estate cases filed in the past week, or ask the clerk how to pull recent filings where there is no online index. Each case file names the representative and usually an address.
How often should I pull probate leads?
Weekly works: a search by filing date each week catches new cases while the estate is still early, and the case numbers let you follow each one.
Can I find probate properties for free?
Yes. The court index, the appraiser’s roll and the recorder are free to search in many counties, though some courts charge for copies of documents.
What is the difference between probate and pre-probate leads?
A probate lead comes from a filed estate case, which names a representative. A pre-probate lead is an earlier signal, such as an obituary or an owner marked as deceased, before any case is filed.
How long does property stay in probate?
It varies with the state, the estate and whether anyone contests it. The court’s own docket for the case shows how far it has moved.
Do I need to skip trace probate leads?
Not to write. The file gives the representative’s address for a letter. To call, trace the representative’s name as you would any owner.
Should I contact the heirs or the representative?
The representative the court appoints, because they handle the estate and any sale of its property. Heirs may inherit, but until the estate is settled the representative is the one with authority to sell, within what the court and state law allow.
How we put this together
| Line | Source | What we read |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Vendor pages | Probate court case search pages and clerk procedures, as counties describe them |
| 02 | Pricing | The pricing and product pages of each provider in the table, and PropertyRadar’s probate leads page, read 28 September 2026 |
What we did not do. We have not pulled a county’s cases for this page. Court procedures and the transfers allowed outside probate differ by state, and nothing here is legal advice.