4th Floor, Park Gate, 161 -163 Preston Road,
Brighton BN1 6AF
+447853740054
Q1. What does Family Affair Genealogy Ltd do?
A. We provide end-to-end genealogical and heritage services. These include: Wills & Probate support (heir identification), Dormant Account Investigation, Inheritance Tracing, Adoptions Genealogy (including DNA guidance), Family Biographies, Registry Office Certificates, Immigration & Naturalization Research, Genealogical Travel & Ancestral Tours, Property & Land Research, Cemetery & Memorial Services, Digital Archiving & Translation, and Community & Cultural Projects.
Q2. How do I start a project?
A. Contact us via our website form or phone. We’ll schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to clarify your goals, sources you already have, timelines, budget, and deliverables. We then send a scope document and quote for your approval.
Q3. What information should I prepare before our first call?
A. Any names (with variant spellings), dates, places, family stories, photographs, certificates (birth/marriage/death), immigration records, addresses, and prior research. Don’t worry if you have very little—our team can still begin with minimal inputs.
Q4. Do you work outside the UK?
A. Yes. We regularly research in Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and across Europe, and we coordinate access to archives worldwide. For languages other than English, our translation team supports document review.
Q5. How do you price your work?
A. Most projects are quoted as a fixed package based on scope; some complex, open-ended investigations proceed on hourly rates with agreed caps and checkpoints. Government fees (e.g., certificate copies), archive copy fees, postage, and courier/legalisation costs are billed as disbursements.
Q6. Are you a law firm?
A. We’re a specialist genealogy company. For legal steps (probate filings, grants, court submissions), we can liaise with your chosen solicitor or introduce experienced probate solicitors. Our role is to prove kinship, compile evidential family trees, and provide sworn statements where requested.
Q7. How do you help executors or solicitors during probate?
A. We identify and verify heirs, reconstruct family trees, obtain certified certificates, prepare research reports with citations, and (if needed) supply witness statements/affidavits to support the court or the administering bank.
Q8. How long does heir identification take?
A. Simple cases: 2–6 weeks. Complex/multi-jurisdiction matters: 2–6 months (sometimes longer if records are restricted or require court orders). We provide timelines and milestones before work begins.
Q9. What is a dormant account and how do you reconnect it to heirs?
A. Dormant accounts are bank/financial accounts with no client-initiated activity for a statutory period. We research the account holder’s lineage, locate next of kin, compile documentary proof, and deliver a bank-ready evidential report to support release to rightful beneficiaries.
Q10. What documents will the bank need from heirs?
A. Typically: photo ID, proof of address, certified birth/marriage/death certificates linking the heir to the account holder, and our research report. Requirements vary by institution and country.
Q11. What’s the difference between “Wills & Probate” and “Inheritance Tracing”?
A. Wills & Probate focuses on administering an estate (often at a solicitor/executor’s request). Inheritance Tracing focuses on locating rightful heirs (often when no will is found or heirs are unknown) and evidencing kinship to claim funds or property.
Q12. Can you help if I live abroad?
A. Absolutely. We coordinate notarisation/apostille/legalisation, arrange translations, and guide you through each institution’s requirements.
Q13. Can you help adoptees find biological relatives?
A. Yes. We combine traditional records with DNA testing strategies. We proceed sensitively and respect privacy and contact preferences on all sides.
Q14. Do I have to take a DNA test?
A. Not necessarily. DNA can accelerate or confirm hypotheses but is optional. If you proceed, we’ll recommend mainstream providers and interpret results in context with documentary evidence.
Q15. How do you handle privacy in adoption cases?
A. We follow strict consent protocols before making contact with potential relatives and we never share personal data without explicit permission. All communications are handled discreetly.
Q16. What is included in a Family Biography project?
A. A narrative history that weaves verified records, press items, maps, photographs, and interviews. Deliverables can include a printed book, illustrated PDF/eBook, and a digital archive with source citations.
Q17. Can you interview older relatives?
A. Yes—with consent. We can conduct recorded interviews (phone/video/in-person, where feasible) and transcribe highlights to preserve voices and memories.
Q18. Can you obtain official birth, marriage, and death certificates for me?
A. Yes. We identify the correct registry, order certified copies, and—if required—arrange legalisation/apostille for use abroad. We also source parish records, civil registrations, and overseas consular entries where available.
Q19. What if details are unknown or spellings differ?
A. We conduct variant-spelling and locality searches and use cross-record triangulation (census, directories, parish registers) to pinpoint the right registration.
Q20. What records do you consult for migration histories?
A. Passenger lists, shipping manifests, naturalisation/citizenship files, alien registration, border entries, passports, consular records, and local newspapers/land records that track settlement patterns.
Q21. Can you support citizenship-by-descent applications?
A. We can compile documentary evidence and certified translations. You’ll still apply via the relevant government authority or an immigration solicitor; we can coordinate with them.
Q22. What do ancestral tours include?
A. Tailored itineraries to ancestral towns, archives, churches, and cemeteries; research appointments; local guides/interpreters; and curated family dossiers to bring context to each stop.
Q23. Do you run group tours?
A. Most tours are bespoke for families, but we can organise small groups on request.
Q24. What can you uncover in land and property research?
A. Title chains, historic maps, estate papers, valuations, tax rolls, manorial/feudal records, tenancy data, and ownership transfers—useful for both heritage storytelling and estate claims.
Q25. Can you help with historic boundary disputes or rights of way?
A. We can provide historical evidence and maps. For legal remedies, we’ll coordinate with your property solicitor.
Q26. What do your cemetery services involve?
A. Locating burial plots, photographing/headstone transcription, liaising with cemetery offices, and restoring legibility through non-invasive methods. We can also design memorial booklets for families.
Q27. How do you digitise and preserve family materials?
A. High-resolution scanning of photos, documents, albums; metadata tagging; file-naming standards; archival PDF creation; and optional cloud delivery. We can produce keepsake books and large-format family trees.
Q28. Which languages do you translate?
A. Commonly: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Czech/Slovak, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, and Latin (parish records). We arrange other languages on request.
Q29. Do you partner with schools, libraries, or councils?
A. Yes. We design curriculum modules, community oral-history drives, archive exhibits, and training for volunteers/staff on handling and describing historical records.
Q30. What will I receive at the end of a project?
A. A documented research report with citations, copies/extracts of key records, a sourced family tree, and recommendations for next steps. Optional add-ons: printed books, wall charts, digital archives, and presentation sessions.
Q31. How do you keep clients updated?
A. Milestone emails (or portal updates) with findings, roadblocks, and proposed next searches. For longer projects, you’ll receive interim briefs and budget checkpoints.
Q32. What are typical timelines?
A.
Certificate retrieval: 1–4 weeks (depends on registry).
Targeted lookups: 2–6 weeks.
Multi-generation research: 8–16+ weeks.
Complex cross-border/probate/dormant accounts: variable; we provide a plan with milestones.
Q33. How do you protect my privacy?
A. We operate under a strict Privacy Policy, comply with UK GDPR/Data Protection Act 2018, and share data only with your consent or where required to fulfil your request (e.g., ordering a certificate). We never publish or upload your tree without permission.
Q34. Will you contact living relatives?
A. Only with your consent, following a respectful, consent-based protocol. We can act as an intermediary to protect your privacy.
Q35. How long do you retain my data?
A. Only as long as necessary for your project and lawful record-keeping. You may request deletion at any time, subject to statutory obligations.
Q36. What payment methods do you accept?
A. Bank transfer and major cards (processed securely). Deposits are typically required for document orders or travel arrangements; balance terms are agreed in your scope.
Q37. Are disbursements included?
A. Disbursements (e.g., registry fees, archive copies, couriers, translations, apostilles) are charged at cost and itemised on your invoice.
Q38. Do you offer refunds?
A. Research time cannot be “un-spent,” but if a record you prepaid for cannot be obtained, we’ll refund that record fee or propose an equivalent alternative search. We always seek approvals before incurring costs.
Q39. Can you work with my solicitor, bank, or insurer?
A. Yes. We frequently liaise with probate solicitors, banks/custodians (for dormant accounts), insurers, and trustees. We provide evidential reports and sworn statements when requested.
Q40. Can you guarantee a specific outcome?
A. No reputable researcher can guarantee results—archives vary and legal decisions rest with institutions/courts. We do guarantee a professional, documented search plan, transparent communication, and best-efforts research grounded in evidence.
Q41. What sets you apart from other genealogy services?
A.
Depth & Breadth: From classic family-tree research to probate/dormant accounts, property histories, and heritage travel.
Evidence-Led: Every conclusion is documented with citations and reasoning.
Global Reach: Access to archives and associates worldwide.
Sensitive Practice: Especially in adoption/DNA cases, we prioritise dignity, consent, and privacy.
Clear Deliverables: Professional reports, visual trees, and archival-quality outputs you can share and preserve.
Q42. How can I contact you?
A. Use the contact form on our website or call us. We’re happy to discuss your goals and propose a tailored plan.