Many names have been used for agreements signed between genealogical companies and their clients – "Disclosure contract" Contract of Revelation " etc. however, all these names describe only a part of the components of the work; therefore it is best to use the term “agreement”.

The agreement that sets out the relationship between the genealogical agent (in this case the Company) and the potential heirs to the purchaser of rights is unique in the context of the following components:

1. Part of the professional work/service that is the subject of the agreement is provided before the agreement has been signed (the actual locating of potential heirs is the result of lengthy and complicated research work consisting of identification and location).

2. As long as no agreement has been signed, the genealogical party cannot (for obvious reasons) disclose any information regarding the asset and/or the whereabouts of the estate.

   For this reason the agreement does not specify the nature of the property or the composition of the estate. The agreement specifies only that following a research it appears that the individual to whom the Company turned is entitled to rights in the assets of the estate — of which he is unaware.

   On the face of it disclosure of information should be made immediately upon signing the agreement but in practice the matter is more complicated since there is a need to wait until all the potential heirs have signed on an agreement with the Company (this need also stems from the necessity in most legal systems that settlement of an estate must be implemented for all the heirs and it is not possible to settle an estate for only a few of them).

3. Due to the fact that the entire agreement is based on the assessment that there are inheritance rights due to the individual approached — without possessing any information or professional knowledge as to whether the assessment is realistic and the value of the rights, the following mechanisms are central to the agreement:

   • All expenses for the performance of the work/professional services, the subject of the agreement, will be at the expense of the Company.
   • Fees and reimbursement of expenses due to the Company will be paid only in the case of success — i.e., assignment of inheritance rights into the hands of the inheritors — to be paid out of monies received upon realization of rights (meaning that the heirs are not required to pay money out of their own pockets) simultaneously with transfer of the rights to the heirs.

   Fees are calculated as a percentage of the value of net rights that will actually be transferred to the heirs.

4. From the moment the agreement is signed, most of the work is carried out on behalf of the heirs on the basis of a Power of Attorney given to the attorney acting on behalf of the genealogical agent, thus the professionalism of the advocate and his trustworthiness are no less important than those of the genealogical agent.

   In all cases handled by the Company the advocate acting on behalf of the heirs will be the CEO of the Company himself — Advocate Michael Goldstein.

   Of course the specific agreement is adapted to each individual case (including cases — which are not many — where the initial approach is made by heirs who order the work based on theoretical information as to existence of an asset ...).