About Us
Probate Genealogists exist to resolve estate matters involving missing or unknown beneficiaries and next-of-kin. Probate (or Forensic) Genealogy combines the research skills of the genealogist; some aspects of private investigation; and an expert knowledge of estate sucession and distribution law.
The cases undertaken can range from the location of a beneficiary named in a Will, who has since moved, to the reversion of a life interest in a trust fund, or the resolution of a complex intestacy, involving perhaps more than a hundred individual heirs, in many different countries. Within this range, there fall many variations, each as unique as the individual families involved. Similarly, the values of the estates and the individual entitlements can range from tens to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Whilst in many cases Probate Genealogists are instructed by solicitors, accountants, insurance companies, or government agencies, the majority of their work is carried out on a speculative basis. Fees are obtained by means of an agreement, made with individual heirs, to pay a share of whatever amount they might eventually recover, due to the Genealogists’ involvement. The fee is contingent on the heir actually receiving a benefit, and is payable at the time of distribution. In the event that the heir receives nothing, there is no fee payable whatsoever. This method of remuneration is in many cases, the only one available, there being no solicitor or agency in a position to instruct that research be conducted.
Even in those cases where a Genealogist is instructed by a solicitor, to locate kin, the unknown quantity of the amount of research that may be required to locate them, often leads to this method of charging being adopted. In this way, the missing beneficiaries pay the costs of their own location, in fair proportion to the amount they receive.
The Probate Genealogist’s duties do not end with the location of the heirs. There is no point in simply finding or not finding people. The Administrator of the estate must be put into a position where the shares due to the beneficiaries can be calculated, and the estate safely distributed to the kin. This end can only be achieved once the known heirs are proved to be correct, the full extent of the families involved is known, and the possibility of a claim from any remaining missing, untraceable or unknown heirs, is covered by an insurance indemnity. It is these further stages that often call for the greatest amount of time and skill, in their resolution.
