If you want inherited-property prospects, the best source depends on whether you need court case details or simply property associated with a deceased owner. Court records give you filings, representatives, and case numbers. Death-record matched property data gives you a prepared list without waiting for a probate filing. This guide is published by USLeadList, which sells inheritance data. We compare six source methods and eight probate lead companies, including our own, so you can choose based on your actual outreach, not a vendor ranking.
Start With Your Outreach, Not the Source
Ask what you will do with the lead. If your letter or call depends on naming the executor or referencing a case number, you need court records. If you are mailing to the property address, death-record matched property data is often more direct; for calls, research current ownership and identify an appropriate living contact. Court records may cost fees and require courthouse visits or online searches. Death-record data is a separate product, and a death record alone cannot establish a property match; matching is a separate step.
If you need a court representative, use court sources. If you need a prepared property list, use a data provider. The two are not interchangeable.
Six Source Methods Compared
The table below compares six common methods. None is universally best. Each has a different field set, timing, and cost structure.
| Source method | What you get | Typical timing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| County court probate records | Case filings, executor names, case numbers, filing dates, depending on available records | After filing; varies by court | Outreach that references the case or representative |
| Court portal | Online access to filed cases and documents, depending on available records | After filing; varies by court | Remote research when the court offers a portal |
| Professional referrals | Names from attorneys, CPAs, or past clients | Ongoing; not scheduled | Warm conversations, not volume |
| Court-list vendor | Compiled probate filings from one or more courts | After filing; varies by vendor and court | Outreach that needs court fields without courthouse visits |
| Death/property data | Property records linked to a death record, often with owner and property fields | Monthly by county, typically about five weeks after death for USLeadList | Prepared lists for mail or calls without waiting for a filing |
| Death record plus property research | Names from death records, etc., then property records you match yourself | After publication; research time varies | Local research when you can verify matches manually |
If you want to see the field layout for death-record matched property data, request five inheritance-data samples at probate leads. These samples show fields and format, not current record age.
Probate Lead Companies Compared
If you would rather buy than research, these are the companies investors and agents ask about most. Most sell filed probate cases, and a few also sell pre-probate records built before any court filing. Every fact below is what the company published on its own website on October 15, 2026. USLeadList publishes this guide, and it is in the table too.
| Company | Records | Coverage | Published price | Delivery | Buyers per record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All The Leads | Filed probate cases; pre-probate as a separate product | All 50 states, in its words | Quote only, by county, lead type and volume | Monthly (semi-monthly in a few counties), with a CRM | Not stated |
| ProbateData | Filed probate cases with case numbers; skip tracing included | 139 counties in 25 states and D.C., per its FAQ | $147 to $847 a month (1 to 3 counties); $1 seven-day trial | CSV by email, about 1 to 3 times a month | Not stated |
| Probate Money | Filed probate cases; higher plans add a trust case search | 13 California counties | $69 to $139 a month (250 to 900 downloads); 7-day free trial | Database updated daily on court days, with email alerts | Not stated |
| The Warren Group | Probate filings tied to real property; also pre-probate | Not stated on its probate page | By county volume; its example is $0.50 a record | Weekly, every Wednesday | Not stated |
| ProbatesDaily | Probate and pre-probate records | Nationwide, county-level, in its words | Quote only | Daily-updated CSV and Excel files | Not stated |
| Estate Data Group | Filed probate cases; pre-probate listed as coming soon | "90% U.S. probate coverage," in its words | Quote only | CSV to email or CRM within 24 hours of collection | Not stated |
| RealEstateLeads2Go | Newly filed probate cases | By county, city or ZIP code | $2.00 down to $0.90 a lead by monthly volume; free trial | Weekly | Not stated |
| USLeadList | Inherited homes from death and property records, before any filing, including homes held in living trusts | 3,143 counties nationwide | $1.30 to $1.80 a lead; skip tracing $0.15 a lead | Monthly by county, typically about five weeks after the death | No more than three subscribers per lead |
Read the table by the outreach you plan. Filed-case products give you the personal representative, and often the attorney, once a case is filed. USLeadList starts from death and property records instead, so its files include inherited homes held in living trusts. A trust sale creates no probate case, so those homes do not appear in probate filings.
On price, ProbateData lists $147 to $847 a month, Probate Money $69 to $139 a month for its 13 California counties, and RealEstateLeads2Go $0.90 to $2.00 a lead. The Warren Group prices by county volume, with an example at $0.50 a record. All The Leads, ProbatesDaily and Estate Data Group quote by request. For a worked monthly budget, see what probate leads cost.
One difference the table makes plain: none of the other seven companies publishes a limit on how many buyers receive the same record. USLeadList sends each lead to no more than three subscribers.
Probate lists leave out trust-held homes. Ours include them. See pricing and availability for your county.
Court Records Versus Death/Property Data
Court records are the right source when your process requires a representative name, a case number, or a filing date. They are public, and other researchers can access them too. They may involve fees, and they appear after a filing, which can be later than the death.
Death-record matched property data flags property associated with a deceased owner. It does not prove a completed transfer, distress, or motivation. This source does not require a probate filing, so it can reach properties before a court case exists. USLeadList matches death records to property records and delivers monthly by county, typically about five weeks after death. We cap distribution at three subscribers per lead. That cap limits our distribution, not others finding the property elsewhere. Optional skip tracing is separate. We do not provide executor, case number, filing date, or court documents. For volume context, our inheritance property index measures records in our dataset, not all inheritance transactions.
How to Evaluate Any Source
Check the matches first. Ask how property records are linked to death records and what fields you receive. Then check record age. Ask how current the data is and whether the county is updated monthly. Next, calculate total usable-record cost, including any fees, skip tracing, or minimums. Finally, track outcomes separately. Cold list results and warm referral or inbound results are different, so keep them in separate columns.
Do not pick a winner from a fixed sample size or a short test window. Use your own response data over time. If you need research instructions, see our guide on using public records to find probate properties. For a comparison of timing, see pre-probate versus probate leads.
The Source Matters Less Than Working It
I know an investor who sends condolence letters. That is not how I would do it, and he had his best year anyway. Almost any approach works if you are consistent. For me, a plain question about the property works better, but the bigger lesson is that the letter matters less than whether you keep working the list.
What matters in the file is what you can act on. A USLeadList record includes a mailing name and mailing address for the family, plus USPS vacancy flags. Skip-traced phone numbers are an add-on. I treat a vacancy flag as another layer on top of the inheritance signal, not a replacement for it.
The same lead goes to no more than three USLeadList subscribers. It is not exclusive, so your edge comes from the work: the letter you send and how long you keep following up.
Where USLeadList Fits
USLeadList is a fit when you want prepared property matches without waiting for a probate filing. You save collection work because the property match is already done. Monthly county delivery supports planning. The three-subscriber cap limits our distribution of each lead. If your outreach requires court fields, use court records instead.
FAQs
Do I still need court records if I buy death-record matched property data?
Only if your outreach depends on court fields such as executor, case number, or filing date. Our data does not include those fields.
Does a death record alone give me a property match?
No. A death record alone cannot establish a property match. Matching is a separate step that links the death record to property records.
Can I try a small sample before buying?
Yes. Historic samples illustrate the fields and format; current delivery age should be checked separately before you buy.
When you are ready, check pricing and availability for your county.