Where did you find me?
We use a number of public records to support us in our research. These include birth, marriage and death certificates, census records, parish records or the electoral roll. We use these records to construct a detailed family tree of the person who has died in order to find any living relatives who may be entitled to claim a share in their estate.
Do I have to pay you a fee?
We work on a Conditional Fee Agreement. You will have heard of these, but under a different name – a “No Win, No Fee” agreement. This simply means that if you are not successful in your claim, you pay nothing. It is purely a commission fee. We only charge a fee if the Treasury Solicitor accepts your claim and enters into correspondence with us. Our fees are deducted from the value of the estate before you receive your entitlement. The reason we take a fee from the estate is because we invest a lot of time tracing beneficiaries, developing family trees and considerable financial investment is needed to gain all the necessary information to make the claim. We have to purchase numerous birth, marriage and death certificates and travel the country presenting our research to beneficiaries and asking them to sign a contract with us. All of this is incredibly costly, so we ask for a share in the value of the estate.
Will I pay anything upfront?
No. Our fee is deducted from the final balance of the estate by the estate administrator before you receive your share. We will outline our fee structure with you before you sign a contract with us.
What fees do you charge?
Our fees vary depending on the value of the estate and the number of beneficiaries entitled to a receive a share in the estate. Our fees reflect the amount of time and resource it takes to solving each case and locating living beneficiaries. Our fee structure will be discussed with you in advance of you signing an agreement with us.
Is there any risk signing your agreement?
No. We do not ask for any money from you until the estate is ready to be administered. We will receive a percentage of the value of the estate. You will then receive your share along with any other beneficiaries entitled to a share.
How long will it take before I receive my share of the estate?
All estates differ. Some estates can be administered within a few months and others may take much longer. The estate administrator will be able to give an approximate timescale.
Can you advise how much money I am entitled to?
Values of estates are usually unknown until much later in the administration process. Sometimes we are able to estimate how much we think an estate may be worth but often this value changes. Once the value of the estate has been established and confirmed by the estate administrator and the final number of beneficiaries have been identified, we will write to you to outline how much money you are entitled to.
Will you be able to share a copy of my family tree with me?
Yes, we are happy to assist any entitled beneficiary who may want to know more about their family history. Once an estate has been administered, we will be happy to provide an overview of your family tree to assist you in any further research you may want to undertake.
Who else is involved in the process?
A Solicitor may need to be appointed to administer the estate. We will discuss this with you once a claim has been accepted.