The Maryland Motherlode is a free resource that is available to anyone who has an internet connection. The records can be accessed on the Reclaim The Records website. The site's search function allows users to easily navigate the vast collection, filtering records by name, date, location, and other criteria.

The Maryland Motherlode includes:

• Birth records (statewide 1898-1922; with some others earlier and later): These records include the name of the child, the date and place of birth, the names of the parents, and other information.
• Marriage records (statewide 1951-2013 and some earlier): These records include the names of the bride and groom, the date and place of the wedding, and the names of the witnesses.
• Death records (statewide 1898-2012; with some additional through 2014): These records include the name of the deceased, the date and place of death, the cause of death, and other information.
• Naturalization records: These records include the name of the person being naturalized, the date of naturalization, and the country of origin.

The birth records provide vital clues about family lineage, including the names of parents, birth dates, and places of birth. Marriage records offer insights into family connections and relationships, revealing the names of spouses, wedding dates, and wedding locations. Death records too, hold valuable genealogical information, detailing the names of the deceased, their dates of passing, and causes of death.

Attorneys can use the information in these records to potentially help locate missing witnesses, heirs, or clients; to quiet title; or to answer other investigative questions.

The post Organization Publishes Massive Database of Maryland Public Records appeared first on Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) in California, MCLE Los Angeles, CLE Orange County, Irvine & San Francisco.

Updated November 14, 2016

One of our favorite unofficial, free sources for dates of birth, Birthdatabase.com, is currently once again unavailable is back online. After an absence of approximately three months, the site's search form is once again became active in November 2016 and retrieving birth date results.

The URL now points to a "parked domain" type page with no original content or information.

The post Is Birthdatabase.com Gone Forever? | Update – Back…And Now Gone Again appeared first on Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) in California, MCLE Los Angeles, CLE Orange County, Irvine & San Francisco.

While we never received official notification that we passed the site visit, it appears that we must have - because our most recent searches are displaying full Social Security Numbers and Dates of Birth.

So, the answer to our question about whether a site visit would automatically entitle us to full Social Security Numbers and Dates of Birth is a resounding “Yes.”

The post Does Passing the Newly Required TLOxp.com Site Visit Automatically Entitle Users to Full Social Security Numbers and Dates of Birth? appeared first on Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) in California, MCLE Los Angeles, CLE Orange County, Irvine & San Francisco.

For investigative research database searching, we have been recommending TLOxp to lawyers for many years because it was inexpensive and did not require a monthly or annual subscriber fee. While the search began at 0.25 and quickly went up to $1.00 and then $2.00, and the comprehensive report went from $5.00 to $10.00, a subscriber fee was never instituted.

On November 5, 2015, we received an email notifying us that all that is about to change effective January 1, 2016. TLOxp will be instituting a $25 monthly minimum spend requirement. You can avoid this spend requirement if the sum of your monthly usage is greater than $25, but if you fail to meet the $25 monthly minimum, you will be assessed $25.

Another new requirement is that you now must submit to a $60 site visit. In the past, this was optional; you only had to submit to a site visit if you wanted access to full Social Security Numbers and Dates of Birth.  It is unclear if the new site visit requirement will now entitle all users access to full Social Security Numbers and Date of Birth. TLOxp explains the reason for the mandatory site visit this way: “To help ensure the highest standards for data security, TransUnion is conducting a periodic compliance validation, including updating information we maintain about users and your organization. This includes conducting a site visit for the location from where you access the TLOxp account.” 

Unlike the new $25 minimum monthly spend, the site visit won’t actually cost you anything because, “Your invoice will be credited back $10 per month over a six-month period starting in January 2016, once the compliance validation is performed.” TLOxp has given customers very little notice to complete their site visit—it must be completed by December 15, 2015.  During the site visit, TLOxp will be looking at four main areas at your office:

1. Verification that the company information provided during the credentialing process is accurate. This covers questions such as whether your company is located at the address provided, and if it appears to be operating as the business type represented.
2. Security review around how the information is accessed. Is there a keyed locked office and a locking filing cabinet, an alarm or security present, the computers accessing systems limited to employees only, and screens situated to where only employees can view the screens, etc.
3. Information destruction. Shredders or a service that provides secure document destruction is common.
4. Secure storage of information obtained from the system. Locks on the file cabinets or file rooms where printed reports may be stored would be expected. Antivirus or security software should be installed on systems that will be accessing the data

If you are operating from a home-based location, prior to the site visit, TLOxp wants a documented response about the following issues, within five (5) calendar days of your $60 site visit payment:

1. Whether the office is in a dedicated space, separate from the living quarters. The office must be for the sole use of the business and not located in a multi-use room. Indications of multi-use include beds, recreational equipment such as pool tables, and exercise machines.
2. Whether the dedicated office space is separated by a keyed lockable door.
3. Whether secure storage for any printed reports or documents in the form of a lockable file cabinet exists.

The post TLOxp Raises Prices, Requires Site Visit for All Subscribers appeared first on Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) in California, MCLE Los Angeles, CLE Orange County, Irvine & San Francisco.