Probate Direct Mail - Petitioner and Special Administrator

[Chris Adamski]

I have been pulling leads myself for marketing to probate leads and feel I may be overlooking some opportunities.  Thus far I am focusing on mailing to Personal Representatives who do not appear to be a spouse of the decedent.  Where I'm hoping to get some advice is that I have come across quite a few cases where there is only a 'Petitioner' and/or 'Special Administrator' - should I be mailing to these people when there is not a PR on file?

In reading through the BP posts, I have seen the arguments for and against contacting the Special Administrators that appear to be attorneys.  I have seen a few attorney names that appear over and over again - I'm thinking about sending them a separate mailing piece that is more general in nature to cover the various cases they are overseeing as opposed to focusing on the individual cases.  I also understand that when the courts do not have the ability to appoint anyone as a PR, they then appoint a Special Administrator who typically has the authority to sell any real estate owned by the decedent - this is making me think I should be mailing to these people as well (assuming they don't appear to be a spouse).  In your experiences, do you send mail to the Special Administrators and do your strategies/content change vs. a PR?

Lastly, do you send mail to a person listed as a Petitioner if there is not a PR or SA?  If so, does your message change to these people?  From what I have seen, most Petitioners do seem to be related to the decedent, but I'm questioning if they have the authority to sell.  Does a Petitioner become a PR/SA after certain milestones are met in a probate case?  Thank you all in advance for any advice.