RESEARCH AMERICA, INC.
PALM COAST, FLORIDA

History Of Research America Research America was founded by Gary R. Schieferstin in 1991, building on his experience identifying and locating missing heirs on a full time basis for another company. Since 1976, Mr. Schieferstin has visited over a thousand county courthouses across the United States and has located thousands of heirs to hundreds of estates. In 2002, he was joined in his business by his daughter, Heather Spears. Ms. Spears has learned every facet of the business, including constructing family tree charts, the key processes involved in the identification and location of missing or unknown heirs, the necessary accounting functions as well as the ability to work well with attorneys and heirs. Research America conducts research throughout the USA, and works closely with overseas associates in the following locations: London; Paris; Rome; Vienna; Dublin; Stockholm; Budapest, Hungary; and Heilbronn, Germany. Our overseas research network is not limited to these areas. Contact Research America in the United States for our minimum flat-fee of three hundred fifty dollars ($350.00) - or there is no fee due. Please note that a flat-fee search applies only in those cases where the client is able to provide our office with the name of the missing heir/beneficiary; for all other searches, please refer to our hourly or percentage-based contingent fee options (below). Our rate for research in the United States is one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) per hour, plus costs. The client initially authorizes a specific number of hours. If we have not completed the assignment at the conclusion of these hours, we provide the client with an interim report and would then require the client’s authorization in order to proceed with further research for a specified number of additional hours. A final report (and, if appropriate, a genealogical chart and documentary evidence marked for use as court exhibits) is provided to the client upon completion of the assignment. In certain cases, a percentage-based contingent fee negotiated directly with the missing heirs, or their respective attorneys may be a preferable arrangement, as neither the estate nor the personal representative incurs any financial obligation for our fee. Regardless of whether our contingent fee is to be paid as an estate expense or negotiated with the heirs themselves, our search continues until we have exhausted all reasonable means for locating any heirs/beneficiaries. In many cases, we are able to prove there are no heirs, or additional heirs, surviving. Note that we routinely conduct successful contingent searches in virtually every country around the world. Contact Research America Welcome to Research America With over forty years of experience locating missing heirs all over the world, we conduct heir searches on behalf of attorneys for a flat fee or on an hourly or contigency basis. We are often able to offer our services for a fraction of what our competitors charge. If our own advanced methodologies are unable to quickly produce results, Research America is in contact with experienced genealogists and private investigators who can assist with heir searches in all parts of the United States. We have strong working relationships with heir tracing companies in London, Paris, Vienna, Budapest, Rome and Heilbronn, Germany. As a group, they can cover research in most foreign countries, including the eastern European countries and all of the additional countries which used to be a part of the Soviet Union. What if I have been contacted by Research America? We understand that it may seem too good to be true that we would be contacting you out of the blue about collecting an inheritance. Please rest assured that we are a legitimate company who has helped thousands of people recover money and other assets.