We are able to undertake work on either a fixed fee or a contingency basis, depending on your requirements and the likely value of the estate, as follows.

• Fixed Fee. We can undertake research at a very competitive hourly rate and to an agreed budget (exclusive of VAT and disbursements, which are re-charged at cost). This option is suitable for both intestacy work and for the tracing of named legatees. We will provide you with regular progress updates and when our work is complete, you will receive a detailed report (tailored towards obtaining a missing beneficiary insurance policy if necessary) and two copies of the family tree (one for insurance purposes).

• Contingency. This option is suitable in cases of intestacy or partial intestacy, where the extent of kin is unknown to those dealing with the estate. We undertake cases on this basis at no risk to the administrator/executor: If we are successful in locating heirs, we offer to prove their claims in return for a percentage share of their entitlement. The heirs are asked to agree that our fee is deducted at source and sent directly to us, by you, at the time of distribution. If we are unsuccessful in tracing heirs, we make no charge to you for our costs and services. In either case, we will furnish you with a full report of our research and all relevant documentation, enabling the estate to be properly finalised and for a missing beneficiary insurance policy to be obtained where appropriate.

Please note that our contingency fees to beneficiaries will vary between 10% and 25% (plus VAT), the 25% fee reflecting our most difficult cases or cases where research is undertaken outside the UK. However, our fees never exceed 25% (plus VAT) and most of them fall between 10% and 20%. We believe that these fees are a reasonable reflection of the work and the risk borne by ourselves, whilst also being fair to the beneficiaries.