Computers are a way of life, changing how we do almost everything, including finding lost heirs. The Internet offers a dazzling array of sites where information on people is readily and freely available. Compact discs have shrunk all of the U.S. 'phone books into a half dozen discs.

It is a marvel, and for a few minutes it looked like the business of locating lost heirs would be forever changed. It has changed some of the methodology, but the Internet and its corollary computer databases have one big drawback: All of their information is contemporary...it's about right now. And this will never, ever supplant a forty year old city directory or a 1920's Who's Who or the New York City Register of 1917. And so, we must accept the fact that the new technology does not replace, but only enhances the references that are a bit more dated.

And there is another side to the new technology.... that as new sources have become available, old sources have been closed off to us. The "privacy act" alone has trebled the number of lost heirs. The closing of drivers records, and the loss of access to many vital statistics records.... and unlisted telephone numbers. The high tech wonders are great, but they supplement, not replace. Be a bit wary of anyone who promises a sure fire electronic search to locate lost heirs. Assuming that you even know the name of the lost heirs, the high tech databases are decidedly non-critical. There are a dozen "Josh Butlers" in the U.S., and a few thousand "Josh Smiths." It takes an intelligent combination of high tech gizmos and old world head scratching to make it happen.