Worldwide Tracing of Missing People, Beneficiaries and Heirs
TracingDirect Ltd specialises in finding beneficiaries and unknown heirs, family and friends, birth parents, as well as undertaking adoption tracing. As genealogists and probate researchers, all our cases are handled with skill and efficiency, with all personal information treated sensitively and in confidence. The managing director, with over 15 years of research experience, formed the company and brought together an ever increasing team of staff and agents, with extensive experience in this field of research. Our work and services are provided on a strict code of practice, both ethically, morally, and professionally. We as a company, operate in a truthful and professional manner, and believe in a sensitive approach, with an adherence to a correct and discretionary behaviour.
Every year thousands of people die without making a Will.
TracingDirect are specialists at finding unknown missing beneficiaries to intestate estates, with many years experience in this field of research. You can feel comfortable in the knowledge that your entitlement to an estate will be dealt with professionally.
Please click below for more information.
- Probate Research & Genealogy Detective Work
- How the System Works
- Services to the Legal Profession
- Costs For The Legal Profession
- Frequently Asked Questions
If you are looking to find your birth parents or your old friends, then we can help you.
We know that taking the decision to find birth parents or lost friends is not one most people take lightly and can be a very emotional experience. We will do all we can to ensure your search will be as pleasant, and as positive an experience, as possible.
Please click below for more information.
- Finding Birth Parents & Old Friends
- Adoption - The Basics
- Adoption - The Law
- Adoption - Counselling
- Adoption Files
- Birth Parent FAQ
- Locate Birth Parents and Old Friends
NEW VIDEO FOR TRACINGDIRECT
Watch below too see a brand new message from TracingDirect.
BBC'S ONE SHOW OFFERS WILL WRITING TIPS
BBC's The One Show has a page on its blog dedicated to helping readers who are planning to write a Will.It covers how to write a Will, what to include in a Will, and what to do if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland (where the law is slightly different to England and Wales).
Top tips include:
- Make sure your Will is drawn up correctly. Poorly written Wills are likely to be null and make proceedings very complicated.
- Some trade unions, charities and banks offer Will writing services.
- When writing a Will, draw up a list of everything you own, including property, savings, cars, jewellery, home contents, bank or building society accounts, any shares and insurance policies.
You can visit the page here.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
We would like to wish all friends of TracingDirect a Merry Christmas and properous 2010.
GENEALOGY UNCOVERS MICHELLE OBAMA'S ROOTS
US journalist Megan Smolenyak has uncovered some fascinating genealogical facts about Michelle Obama. In particular, she has discovered that the US first lady is a distant relative of a young slave girl from South Carolina, once sold for $475, with an Irish-American named Shields.
In compiling this data, Megan Smolenyak spent nine months looking through books, websites, news articles, birth, marriage, death and probate records, agricultural surveys and census information.
She also discovered that the first lady's ancestors could be traced to Illinois, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia.
At TracingDirect we admire Megan Smolenyak’s commitment to this project and wish her luck with all her future genealogical pursuits.
BEREAVED FACE TAX RISE
Bereaved families are facing a 3% interest payment rise on inheritance tax,
HM Revenue and Customs has confirmed. Inheritance tax will be levied on estates with assets worth £325,000. Above this figure estates will be taxed at 40%.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said: “Interest is not a penalty but compensation for tax paid late. We are streamlining the rates charged and paid for interest to simplify and make things fairer for customers. This has been subject to extensive consultation over the last 18 months and has been largely welcomed by customer groups and their representatives.”
Susie Squire, political director of the Taxpayers' Alliance, feels the public should be angry with these changes. She said: “It's a desperate move and a seriously retrograde step for the government. It's basically one rule for them and another for everyone else.”
At TracingDirect we will be following this story as it unfolds. Stay tuned!
PROBATE NEWS
At TracingDirect we welcome the regulation changes to governing intestate Wills.
Since February 2009, the new rules now state that if a person dies without making a Will an increase in the money paid to surviving spouses or civil partners should be applied.
Prior to the 1st of February 2009, the legacy payable to the surviving spouse or civil partner with children was £125,000. Now the surviving spouse or civil partner gets £250,000. If, however, the deceased has no children the legacy payable to the surviving spouse or civil partner goes up from £200,000 to £450,000.
As usual, if there are no available beneficiaries, everything goes to the state!
INHERITANCE TAX CONFUSES FAMILIES
With some families paying more death duty than the government actually needs, TracingDirect is backing Norwich Union’s campaign to amend confusing inheritance tax procedures. In a recent study, conducted by the insurance provider, more than 1 in 5 people had no idea of the requirements surrounding inheritance tax.
Norwich Union also found that 62 per cent of the people, at the inheritance tax threshold, have partial or no understanding of what inheritance tax actually is.
Nicholas Burton, senior marketing manager for Norwich Union, said: "Inheritance tax is not just for the super rich — many of our customers are mystified by the current system and as a result are not taking action or leaving things too late."
TRACINGDIRECT NEEDS YOU!
At TracingDirect we are actively seeking agents to help us with our regular search for missing beneficiaries.
In particular we are looking for someone with their own car, who has a go-getting attitude, and an appetite for the chase. If you are a retired police officer, teacher or professional we would like to hear from you.
Contact us by e-mail at info@tracingdirect.co.uk or call us on 0845 257 3131.
We look forward to hearing from you.
COMING TO TV SOON
Management guru Sir Gerry Robinson is to present a one-off BBC 2 documentary focusing on the importance of writing a Will.
"It shocked me when I found out how many people in this country haven’t written their will," said Sir Gerry Robinson. "If you wrote (your Will) twenty years ago, stuffed it in a drawer and forgot about it you may find that your circumstances have changed so much it no longer applies. And if you didn’t get it properly witnessed at the time, it isn’t valid anyway."
The programme, which airs later this year, aims to break the taboos around inheritance that cause many Britons to die intestate. We look forward to watching Sir Gerry.
TRACINGDIRECT INTERNATIONAL
At TracingDirect we are proud to say that we leave no stone unturned. Our commitment to this philosophy means that our search for missing beneficiaries can often take us anywhere across the globe.
In recent months a number of our successful traces have taken place outside the UK. Our investigations, in particular, have been focused on Spain, Canada and the USA.
One such case involves a brother and sister, who during the depression of the 1930s emigrated to Canada. As you may imagine, this search was loaded with a number of possibilities.
But with diligence, exhaustive research, and a certain amount of luck, our search was ultimately fruitful.
WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
TracingDirect is pleased to announce the winning schools in its family art competition.
Jamie Aherne, director of TracingDirect, was delighted with the entries received. He said: “Our mission has always been to build bridges in the community and we feel that our art competition has achieved this. We were particularly impressed with the commitment of all the schools and quality of the artwork they submitted.”
Stacey Primary in Cardiff was awarded a brand new Personal Computer, impressing the judges with its sheer number of entries. Head teacher, Steffan Wright, is thrilled to bits with the outcome of the competition. He said: “At Stacey Primary our pupils come from a number of ethnic and social backgrounds. Some come from large extended families; others have one parent, and the rest are fairly traditional. I am really proud of all the children who took part. They have done us proud!”
An XBox 36O was won by Brandon Clissold, 7, from Eveswell Primary in Newport. Jamie Aherne, who made the final decision, was particularly impressed by Brandon’s work. He said: “Brandon’s drawing is remarkable for a child of his age. We thought his picture really did capture the essence of family life, and had a style that was head and shoulders above all the other entries.”
Holly Power, 11, from Pentre Primary, RCT won a family ticket to Alton Towers. Her picture depicts her family, as well as Pixie the Cat, Fred the Cockerel, and Lucy the Duck.
To see some of the entries please click here. You could also watch our video below.
TracingDirect Family Art Competition from Hubbub Productions on Vimeo.
SEASONS GREETINGS
We would like to wish all friends of TracingDirect a Merry Christmas and properous New Year.
Please click on the image to the left.
MANY THANKS
Many thanks to all the schools that have kindly participated in our Family Art Competition. Our post bag is bursting with lots of fantastic entries. We will be announcing the winners in due course.
TRACINGDIRECT SUPPORTS NATIONAL ADOPTION WEEK
With National Adoption Week currently in full swing, the need for permanent carer families is as great as ever.
At TracingDirect we thoroughly support these aims and would encourage people to think about the children who have been waiting for months, even years for a new family.
Adoption can be stressful, frustrating and sometimes difficult. This can be particularly relevant when the children begin to ask questions about their real parents. Of course, when they contact us we always sensitively deal with these enquiries, but we are at the long end of a chain.
At TracingDirect we wholeheartedly support the endeavours of adoption charities. We feel passionately that the rewards can be plentiful and life-changing for both the adoptive parents and the children they care for.
Often children waiting for an adoptive family are generally older, have a brother or sister, or a range of emotional or physical difficulties. With over 4000 children on the books of UK adoption agencies we certainly would encourage potential adoptive parents to step forward.
For more information visit: http://www.nationaladoptionweek.org.uk/
MOVING ON UP
We are pleased to announce some changes at TracingDirect.
SOME MISSING PEOPLE JUST DON'T WANT TO BE FOUND
Our philosophy at TracingDirect is to offer help and support to all the missing beneficiaries we locate. We are totally aware that a ‘knock at the door’ can sometimes be a surprise or even a shock.
Like most tracing companies, we always aim to be affable and completely honest in our dealings with the public. Our reputation has been built on such trust.
Some companies though are a lot less scrupulous. For this reason we are calling for a written Code of Conduct to be established for all tracing companies. This will benefit the industry and protect the beneficiary’s inheritance claims. At TracingDirect we never pressure the beneficiary and always offer a fair percentage. Consequently the beneficiary is always pleased with the service they receive, and inherit more from the estate.
Below is a short article from the British press which shows that sometimes our industry can be very complicated. Thankfully it’s not a TracingDirect case, but we thought you’d like to read it anyway.
Recently Angelo Piroddi, a clerk living in a small bedsit, found out that he had inherited a £1million fortune. Surprisingly he dismissed the inheritance as just another problem caused by his mother and pledged to give it all away.
Mr Piroddi, 45 last wrote to his mother in 1992 after his father's death, warning her: "Don't try to find me." But despite their problems, his mother left him her £1million fortune when she died in 1998.
Mr Piroddi said: "I don't want the money. I'm going to give it away to someone else. I don't like the people who gave me that inheritance, so why would I want their money?
"My mother was always giving me problems when she was alive and now she is giving me problems when she is dead. I'm not going to be rich. I'm going to be poor as I am now."
FAMILY ARTWORK COMPETITION
TracingDirect is backing the Family and Parent Institute’s National Parents’ Week — commencing Monday 15th October — with a family and parents artwork competition in South East Wales’ schools.
Jamie Aherne, director of TracingDirect, feels that despite the credit crunch, the issues affecting families should be kept at the top of the political agenda. He said: “Many families are strong and will find it easy to get through these difficult times. Others, who are in trouble, need help. At TracingDirect we wholeheartedly support the Family and Parent Institute with all its endeavours.”
The competition will focus on the family as seen through primary age children. Pupils will be asked to design a poster exploring the significance of the family in the 21st century — with the judges focusing on the overall idea, as well technical ability.
Two additional categories will also be open to the public (for children aged 4 to 6 and 7 to 11). This artwork can be sent directly to TracingDirect.
The first prize is a family games console, the runner-up gets a family ticket to a theme park, and the winning school receives a computer.
For more information please contact:
shaun@hubbubproductions.co.uk
TRACINGDIRECT BACKS THE WRITING OF WILLS
With two thirds of the UK population not making a valid Will, TracingDirect based in the Vale of Glamorgan — a company which seeks out unknown beneficiaries — is casting aside its own personal interest and supporting the “National Make a Will Month” campaign.
