NO STONE LEFT UNTURNED
We now believe you may be able to claim a part share of an estate
We have contacted you because we have carried out research into an estate where some or all of the heirs are unknown.
Research
As soon as we become involved with a case, we start researching the family. We use a vast and diverse collection of historical records in our private library, as well as making extensive use of custom-made technology.
Once we have made progress, we may start contacting some family members, to confirm specific details, and to make further enquiries.
Contacting Heirs
Later on, after more research, we will contact you (the heirs and beneficiaries we have identified) and inform you of our work. Where the work being undertaken is on an intestacy, we will need to enter into a contract with each heir individually, where we agree to provide you with details in relation to your claim in an estate. It is general practice for genealogists not to reveal full information of the estate to which their research relates until all the heirs have agreed to our terms of business. We are also regularly instructed to identify heirs by solicitors, where some beneficiaries are already known. If we have been instructed by solicitors or executors, we will not need to enter into an agreement with each individual found, as our fee will already have been agreed with them.
To help us with our research, and to confirm you are who we think you are, we may request some information about your family history. This information is gathered by means of a simple questionnaire or by an informal interview with one of our senior researchers. The more accurate the information you provide, the quicker we can complete the research.
Once the administering solicitors have finished administering the estate the balance of the monies held by them will be distributed to the heirs. We will usually provide you with a free copy of an outline family tree, but you may also purchase a copy of the full family tree which we made during our research.