Well, in the words of many within my profession, “that depends!”
- Are you looking for just one missing person?
- Are you looking for a person or a group of people with an unusual surname?
- Are you looking for a person or a group of people with a common surname?
- Is the research needing done within the United Sates or outside of the U.S.?
Be Ready for Surprises!
Some of the largest estates I’ve worked on started out with the living client telling the attorney that they had no living family left. I’m currently working on one of those cases now! I have 48 living heirs on just one side of this now deceased person’s family tree!
Answers
What will it cost? Let’s go into a bit more detail first. I work by the hour, and only by the hour. I work with a signed contract in place. The current rate sheet is here: Rate Sheet through 2020
How long with the research take? That depends on the availability of needed records. It also depends on the size of the family. Until I get into the records and begin the research I won’t know the answer to the question. Typically I can find the trail of the family in the 1920, 1930, or 1940 census. From there I can build out the family group and bring it forward to today. The work starts with the legal documents you have. The death certificate, the will, birth records, parent’s names, sibling’s names and even the deceased person’s address book can be of great help.
Are you looking for just one person? My average time to find one missing person is 3 hours. Average. Sometimes it only takes an hour other times it takes 4-5 hours. Typically it’s 3 hours or less.
Are you looking for a person or a group with an unusual surname? The more unusual the surname the easier the work gets.
Are you looking for a person or a group of people with a common surname? I always warn clients when we have to search for people with very common surnames. Common surnames can take three times longer than the more unusual surnames. Why? Because I have to make sure I found your person rather than just another person with the same name living in what appears to be the same community.
Is the research needing done within the United Sates or outside of the U.S.? Regardless of where the research needs to be done it can be done. I have spent years networking with my colleagues around the globe. I keep a master list of people who have worked for me. We will do our very best to locate all the missing heirs to your clients estate.
Let’s Talk
Do you want to discuss your case with me first? I welcome you to make an appointment with me. I make my calendar available for these types of discussions on Wednesdays and Fridays. Let me know your availability and I’ll check my calendar as well. Keep in mind I am on the West Coast, Pacific Time zone. We can talk via telephone, Skype, or Zoom. Let me know what works for you.
Questions:
If you have any questions I do hope you’ll contact me. Call or send me an email at: leslie@LawsonResearch.net