What is Professional Genealogy For?

Professional genealogy goes far beyond family history as a hobby. It meets specific legal, estate and administrative needs, where documentary accuracy is essential.

A professional genealogist works from primary sources — civil registration records, notarial deeds, military archives, immigration records — to establish proven lineages recognized by the competent authorities.

                Important distinction: hobby genealogy (building your family tree) and professional genealogy (finding legal heirs for an estate) use the same sources but not the same standard of proof. In an estate context, every family link must be documented by official records — oral tradition or a DNA test alone is generally not enough before a notary or a court.
            

Types of Genealogical Research

Estate genealogy

For whom: notaries, lawyers, courts and banks dealing with a complex estate.

Goal: identify and locate all the legal heirs of a deceased person — including distant branches, descendants of emigrants or heirs who have lost contact.

Illustrative example: a notary needs to settle an estate but can only find two of the five presumed heirs. The genealogist traces the missing branches, locates the descendants and provides the certified records needed for the settlement.

Ascending genealogy

For whom: individuals who want to know their origins, people seeking citizenship by descent, adoptees looking for their biological origins.

Goal: trace direct ancestors over several generations, with documentary proof for each family link.

Illustrative example: a person wants to obtain a country's citizenship by descent. They must prove direct ancestry over 2 to 4 generations with certified civil records — sometimes in several countries and several languages.

Descending genealogy

For whom: complex estates, conditional transfers of assets, family research.

Goal: identify all living descendants of a common ancestor, wherever they live today.

Illustrative example: a will states that the family fortune must be shared among all living descendants of a common ancestor. The genealogist rebuilds the tree over several generations to establish the complete list of beneficiaries.

Sources and Archives Used

Sources vary by country, period and religion. An experienced genealogist knows how to navigate several types of archives, some digitized and available online, others requiring a visit in person:

Civil registration records Births, marriages, deaths. They take different forms depending on the country and period (parish registers before secularization).

Notarial archives Wills, marriage contracts, estate deeds, post-mortem inventories.

Military archives Service records, pension files, lists of soldiers — particularly rich for the 19th and 20th centuries.

Immigration records Ship manifests, passenger lists, naturalization files. Essential for branches that emigrated.

Religious records Baptisms, marriages, burials — often the only source available before civil registration existed.

Censuses Name lists for locating families at a given date and reconstructing households.

                International dimension: migration is the main complexity in professional genealogy. A family may have branches in Europe, North America, South America or Africa. Each country has its own archive systems, access rules and documentary gaps. A local provider knows these specifics — which is why it makes sense to work with experts based in the countries concerned.
            

How Research Typically Unfolds

1

Gathering known information

Starting point: existing records, family accounts, approximate dates and places, photos, family record books, correspondence. The better documented the starting point, the more efficiently the research progresses.

2

Identifying relevant sources

Depending on the period, country and religion of the family, the genealogist determines which archives to consult first — digitized or physical, national or local.

3

Research and verification

Consulting primary sources, cross-checking information to avoid confusion between people with the same name, obtaining the necessary certified records. This step may require visits to archives that are not digitized.

4

Locating people (if needed)

In an estate search, once the heirs are identified, they must be located. This step combines OSINT techniques, public databases and, if needed, field investigation.

5

Report and documentation

Final deliverable: a complete family tree with sources cited for each link, certified records, and a summary report usable by a notary or a court as needed.

Typical Timelines

The time required depends directly on the complexity of the research, the availability and condition of the archives, and the number of borders to cross:

2 – 4 weeks

Simple research, digitized archives available, recent period, limited geographic area

1 – 3 months

Non-digitized archives requiring travel, several generations, a single country

3 – 6 months

International research, translations required, branches that emigrated to several countries

6 – 12 months+

Very old genealogy, partially destroyed archives, many scattered branches

Factors that lengthen timelines: very common names (many namesakes to tell apart), frequent migrations, damaged or destroyed archives (wars, fires, floods), troubled periods with incomplete registers, research in countries where few archives are digitized.

Limits to Be Aware Of

Professional genealogy produces results in the vast majority of cases, but some situations can block or limit the research:

Destroyed or incomplete archives: wars, fires and floods have wiped out entire sections of registers in many countries. When the document no longer exists, no method can recreate it.
Adoptions and anonymous births: depending on the country and period, access to information about biological origins is governed by specific, sometimes very restrictive, rules.
Namesakes and errors in registers: transcription errors, spelling variations and namesakes can lead to false leads. Cross-checking takes time.
No guaranteed result for estate searches: if an heir has deliberately erased their traces or lives in a country without mutual assistance agreements, locating them may fail.
Variable legal value: a family tree is not always enough — documentary evidence requirements vary by country, notary and court. Check with your legal adviser what will be accepted.
DNA tests: useful for guiding research or confirming biological links, but not sufficient on their own to establish inheritance rights in most legal systems.

Market Rates

A professional genealogist's fees vary with the scope of the assignment, the geographic area covered and the fee model chosen:

Targeted research

2 to 3 generations
Limited geographic area

500 – 2 000 €

Digitized archives, recent period, summary report with records.

Typical turnaround: 2 to 4 weeks

Standard research

4 to 5 generations
One or two countries

2 000 – 6 000 €

Multiple archives, possible travel, military or notarial research included.

Typical turnaround: 1 to 3 months

Complex assignment

6+ generations or international
Multiple branches

5 000 – 20 000 €+

Multi-country research, translations, old records, complete estate file.

Typical turnaround: 3 to 12 months

                Estate fee model: for heir searches in an estate, many genealogists work on a contingency basis — a percentage (generally between 10 and 30%) of the share of the estate awarded to the heir found, with no upfront fees. This model is common in several countries, but its terms vary by jurisdiction.
            

These ranges reflect rates generally observed on the market. Seek & Find does not set these prices — each provider quotes according to the actual scope and location of the assignment.

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