I ran across the following news release this afternoon, and found it interesting reading. Probate searches are common to genealogists worldwide. This press release deals specifically with one company in the U.K. – and their approach to tracing heirs for a fee.
There are numerous probate research firms in the United States, a number of them having contracts with genealogists who work here in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Probate research here can be very stressful, as it’s often the “wild west” of genealogy – with researchers competing with each other to locate heirs of the deceased. The following news release might be of interest…
When a missing heir needs to be found or unknown next of kin need to be traced on intestacy, the probate practitioner will of course need to be sure that the genealogist’s proposed solution is fair and ethical, as well as cost-effective.
United Kingdom (PRunderground) February 11, 2009 – When a missing heir needs to be found or unknown next of kin need to be traced on intestacy, the probate practitioner will of course need to be sure that the genealogist’s proposed solution is fair and ethical, as well as cost-effective.
The best practice is to seek a variety of fee options so as to avoid the possibility of placing the Administrator, or the solicitor acting for them at risk of criticism or worse from the heirs once they are found. There is a duty to all beneficiaries (albeit missing or unknown) right from the outset and, therefore, the choices made at the moment a case arrives on a solicitor’s desk as to how to go about tracing the unknown kin may have significant repercussions.
One solution offered which has attracted considerable criticism is for the genealogist to propose to defer an agreed fee until they can find an heir entitled to take out a grant of representation. They then forward the details of that person to the solicitor who extracts a Grant and pays the genealogist their fee. There are existing opinions that this is highly irregular, possibly even unlawful, and could lead to untold problems for the solicitor who agrees to this.
It is clearly best practice advice not to incur any fees or expenses, or commit to any fees and expenses to a third party (let alone enter into shady ‘deals’, until you are legally entitled to do so. Agreeing to the deferred and often extortionate genealogy fees, which are often extortionate, to be paid by an Estate in exchange for the production of an entitled relative, is a highly questionable practice. The heir(s) will not have had a chance to agree the fee, but will become aware of the ‘deal’ at a later stage. The genealogist’s fee will then be deducted from the Estate, directly affecting the amount the beneficiary or beneficiaries receive, again without their knowledge or consent.
This is the primary reason why best practice is to employ a genealogist, such as Finders, who will offer a full range of fee options wherever legally possible. In the situation described above, where there are no known next of kin, Finders can undertake the research to find next of kin entirely at their own risk and expense, a solution that is approved independently by a leading QC.
When solicitors encounter a case where no next of kin are known, or otherwise need to minimise expense and risk (which avoid any of the possible repercussions of the ‘deferred’ fee described), Finders can help.
Finders initially provide a free, no-obligation assessment and, where there is no Grant and no funds available, may recommend working on a commission fee basis, entirely at their own risk and expense. This means that the solicitor needs only to wait for results of their work, after which they would seek instructions from one of the next of kin found by Finders, in the standard way. The solicitor will also have the chance to approve the commission fee in advance. If you tell Finders that they may seek a fee of no more than 20% of the heirs’ net entitlement from the Estate, that’s exactly what will happen. However, if Finders fail to find any next of kin or prove that the whole family has died out, they will still submit a full report and this is free of charge. If there are next of kin who are unwilling to sign commission agreements for their own personal reasons, Finders will still include their details on in their report; they will never put any pressure on anyone to sign anything they do not wish to.
With the commission fee approach there is no advance ‘deal’ on fees to be paid by the Estate and no pause in research whilst the first beneficiary entitled to take out a grant is referred back to the original solicitors (and of course pay the genealogist’s deferred fee!). The commission fee approach is usually possible where a share due to an heir is as little as £2,000 or an estate is valued at £8,000 or over. It has been noted that the so-called ‘deferred fee’ offered by another firm has been tens of thousands of pounds!
With no commitment to completing the work without further fees, and the probability that this option may not be a legally viable option the ‘deferred fee’ has been dismissed by the vast majority of reputable probate genealogy firms, preferring instead, like Finders, to consult and assess each situation on its merits, and offer the widest range of fees possible in order to satisfy best practice.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Contact Name: Daniel Curran
Phone #: +44 (0)20 7490 4935
Email: contact@findersuk.com
Web: http://www.findersuk.com