Index

1. Certificate service
2. Research
3. Electoral Roll searches
4. Assistance with obtaining United Kingdom and Ireland grandparent documentation for Citizenship, Passport or Work Permit purposes.
5. Tracing your birth mother or father
6. Researching your ancestry
7. Problem solving
8. Payment
9. My commitment

I. Certificates

Prices and other essential details can be viewed on the appropriate Certificate Order page.

• England & Wales
• Ireland
• Northern Ireland
• Scotland

Specific record searches - Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes:

• Up to 5 years: $5.00
• Each additional year: $2.00

The search is completed at the first entry complying with the search criteria provided. An additional fee may be payable if the surname being searched is a common one.

The above search fees do not apply to applications for Irish Certificates required for the purposes of Passport or Foreign Birth Registration when only a date of birth is provided. Depending on the complexity of the case, the fee will be between $10 and $25. See IV below.

II. Research

• Charge out rate per hr - $NZ48
• All fixed fees in the remainder of this price structure document are expressed in NZ dollars.
• Any out-of-pocket expenses such as Certificates, film hires and photocopying are also chargeable.

Firm orders:

• Hourly rate applies to all time in respect of -
• Reading, digesting and replying to incoming correspondence.
• Telephone or face-to-face discussion time.
• Researching - either in my Office from materials held or at repositories such as the LDS.
• Reporting the results of research.

An estimate of the time required to carry out a specific research will be advised in advance.

An estimate of the time required to carry out a specific research will be advised in advance. Where authorisation has been provided to continue "until otherwise advised", fees will accrue at the hourly rate and upon the basis described above.

Enquiries:

The number of enquiries being received (other than of the very simplest kind) is such that these will now only be handled on a fee-paying basis.

No fees are expected for single subject enquiries requiring a simple answer. If followed up by further correspondence, I reserve the right to ask for a further fee before proceeding further. More complex enquiries in the form of lengthy correspondence require time to diligently read, digest and reply to, usually require reference to expensive books and CDs and often require time to discuss with overseas Agents. An Appraisal Fee will be required in all such cases.

Appraisals

Fixed amount of $30. If an Appraisal Fee is considered to be warranted, detailed replies will not be provided until this fee is agreed.

In return for this, you may expect to receive a well-considered response to your enquiry and a suggested plan for endeavouring to obtain the desired result. If some of the answers are immediately available, these will be passed on to you directly without additional cost. The above fee is inclusive of all reasonable correspondence with you and, if required, with an overseas Agent. If a firm order is placed on an Agent, it also includes providing you with the results of the research carried out.

The research specification to be provided to an overseas Agent and the Agent's fee will both be agreed with you before instructions to proceed are given. Written authorisation is required before instructions to proceed are given to an overseas Agent.

I have developed an excellent network of contacts throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia - if it becomes necessary to seek specialist advice, you may be assured of professional assistance of the highest calibre.

Please note that, if the amount of correspondence generated is greater than initially expected , the hourly charge out rate will apply instead of the Appraisal Fee. Correspondence should, therefore, be kept to the minimum length consistent with presenting a clear picture of the available facts and the objective of the research.

Results

These can never, of course, be guaranteed. If I believe that a research does not appear to justify further expenditure, I will advise you of this as soon as this becomes evident.

III. Electoral Roll Searches

• United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand: $NZ25 per search

IV. Assistance with obtaining United Kingdom and Ireland grandparent documentation for Citizenship, Passport or Work Permit purposes.

• Includes appraisal, searching of birth, marriage and death indexes and all correspondence.
• Fee, excluding cost of any Certificates purchased - from $NZ10.

Irish Baptismal Certificates

• Successful - $80
• Unsuccessful - $50
• Search limited to one Parish - further fees will accrue for wider searches.

V. Tracing your birth mother or father

Please refer to this article - "Finding Missing Relations and Living Relatives in Britain". The processes involved include searches of birth, marriage and death indexes, Electoral Rolls and Telephone Directories in the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand. If this search is successful, your mother or father will be contacted confidentially and asked for permission for the disclosure to you of their addresses and telephone numbers. If this direct approach does not prove successful, the research will extend to following up any positive leads with the objective of finding someone who knows about your mother or father although the reasons will not be revealed.

The Fee will fall within the range of $150-300 depending on the complexity of the problem and the speed with which it is resolved. It includes all sub-contracted research up to a maximum of $50 but does not include the cost of any birth, marriage or death certificates required to establish proof of identity. A deposit of $150 is required.

VI. Researching your Ancestry

Initially, I will target the establishment of your ancestry back to the year 1800. Every project is necessarily different and depends on factors such as -

• Quality of family legend
• How commonly found the surnames are
• Whether your ancestors lived in small towns or villages or were 'lost' in larger towns and cities.
• Ease with which the registrations (or corresponding Parish Records) of births, marriages and deaths can be located

Depending on your present age, a period of 200 years probably represents 4-5 earlier generations - a total of 30-62 ancestors.

Allowing for searching birth, marriage and perhaps even death indexes and the cost of acquiring Certificates plus the cost of corroborating each find through Census research, you will probably need to budget a cost of about $100 for each person in your Tree to be researched. However, this may vary in practice and it will certainly be much less if you already have some of the Certificates.

For example, the birth certificates of one couple and their marriage certificate will cost about $90 in Certificates plus $15-$45 in index searches and $30-$60 in Census corroboration.

A request for an Appraisal accompanied by a payment of $30 will enable me to assess how successfully your ancestry is likely to be established.

If commissioning me to undertake research, please note that an initial payment of $150 will be required. Costs will be accumulated on a time basis at the hourly rate indicated above.

VII. Problem solving

Time required for searching, reporting and correspondence will be charged at the hourly rate indicated above and a minimum charge equivalent to two hours work will apply.

VIII. Payment:

All fees are payable in advance. Payment by New Zealand clients is by cheque or Money Order or by overseas clients by Visa/MasterCard. If payment is made by credit card, drawings will be made in New Zealand dollars at the Bank buy rate applicable on the day of the drawing.

IX. My commitment

I enjoy researching, derive a great deal of pleasure from obtaining positive results for clients and will undertake any such assignments with the same vigour and enthusiasm as if they were my own.

For preference, I would like to feel free to 'get on with the job' when an enquiry is received - especially when the impression is given of a determination to proceed. Whilst acknowledging that the risk is entirely mine if I proceed without first obtaining authorisation to commit you to the amount of an Appraisal fee, I would hope that you will be guided by this simple principle -

A lengthy or complex enquiry creates an obligation to pay for the time and resources required to handle it.

You may submit an enquiry or place an order by completing this form and submitting it.