We offer a range of services to suit every need:

Our Personal Representative service works on behalf of Personal Representatives to ensure that all reasonable due diligence work has been undertaken to mitigate all common risks associated with the distribution of any estate.

Contingency Service — No Personal Representatives

This option is normally applicable in cases where an individual has died intestate and the matter has been referred onto ourselves; there are no known verified heirs to the estate, and/or no personal representatives (yet) appointed.

Each living heir or beneficiary to the estate is identified then contacted in turn as our research progresses. Agreement as to the level of fees payable to us on successful completion is sought, set as a percentage of the value of the estate and agreed with the individual(s) identified to undertake the personal representative role.

The level of fees payable will vary, depending on the overall difficulty in the genealogy research required and the subsequent locating of each living individual identified.

We usually look to oversee the administration of the estate and subsequent recovery of all its assets on behalf of our clients at no additional cost (aside from incidental expenses incurred), the overall cost for our clients can be substantially lower than it would be with most of our competitors, who generally do not offer this sort of ‘all-inclusive’ service (without additional charge).

Contingency Service — Finder’s Fee

With this option we may be instructed by an executor, administrator or a trustee to find a known missing beneficiary or beneficiaries who are due entitlements in a Will but cannot be traced.

This service is also suitable for cases in which the personal representatives or trustees are not aware of any living beneficiaries (or they may not be known). A minimum charge may be payable, on a time and materials basis, for the research undertaken initially in the event no living heirs or beneficiaries are found.

This service is however more appropriate when there are known beneficiaries so that we can apply our fee on a strictly no success no fee basis.

The level of our success fee will be agreed at the start of each engagement, which may involve agreeing different rates for different beneficiaries if appropriate.

Time and Materials Basis

In some cases, it is most appropriate to provide our services on a straightforward basis, paid for the time we spend and the resources we have used. An estimate of the total cost of the work carried out is provided at the start of each engagement, and this level of fees will not be breached without further consultation with the client.

Some of these services could include: