FAQ

You are being contacted because a person with whom you share a family connection has passed away without known heirs. As heir researchers, we are legally authorised to investigate up to the 6th degree of kinship and may have identified you as a close relative of the deceased.

While the notary is responsible for the legal settlement of the estate, they do not conduct the genealogical investigation. This highly specialised process involves on-site research, accessing restricted records, and obtaining administrative authorisations. These tasks fall within the scope of professional heir tracing firms, such as Banian Genealogy, which are mandated to comply fully with the French law of June 23, 2006.

Our primary mission is to identify and locate heirs across Southeast Asia on behalf of our exclusive partner Coutot-Roehrig, Europe’s leading probate genealogy firm.

Once potential heirs are identified, Coutot-Roehrig, as a legal expert in inheritance law, handles all steps of the estate settlement, including asset inventory, estate evaluation, tax declarations, and coordination with notaries and public authorities.

Banian ensures accurate identification, contact, and documentation, while Coutot-Roehrig secures your legal rights throughout the succession process.

Under French inheritance law, you may inherit up to the sixth degree of kinship — for instance, from the descendants of the brothers and sisters of your four grandparents. These distant familial links are legally recognised when no closer heir is identified.

Once heirs are confirmed, we offer them to sign a Disclosure Agreement (contrat de révélation). This contract ensures that we will provide full details about the deceased and your inheritance rights. In return, you agree to a success-based fee if you eventually receive an inheritance.

You will never be required to pay anything in advance or in the event of a negative outcome.

No. The Disclosure Agreement does not commit you to accepting the estate. It only allows us to inform you of your potential rights legally. Once you receive all the information, you can decide freely whether to accept the inheritance or not.

If you choose to decline, the agreement becomes null and void.

If the estate proves to be insolvent (with debts exceeding assets), we will cover all research-related costs ourselves. You owe us nothing.

No inheritance = no fees.

No. We take on all expenses — including travel, document retrieval, and legal procedures — until the case is resolved. You are never asked to pay anything up front, and if you inherit nothing, you pay nothing.

Our remuneration is a percentage of the net inheritance you receive, as defined in the Disclosure Agreement. The rate depends on the complexity of the case, the value of the estate, and the degree of kinship.

You are fully protected against any financial risk, including negative estates.

For legal and contractual reasons, we can only disclose the identity of the deceased after you sign the Disclosure Agreement. This contract protects our work and ensures transparency:

• No hidden fees

• No financial risk for you

• Only a commission if you inherit

Our work is conducted in collaboration with Coutot-Roehrig, an internationally recognised legal firm with over 125 years of experience and 48 offices worldwide.

Our process is 100% legal, traceable, and based on an official mandate. You are encouraged to verify our credentials and contact us at any time.

Inheritance cases are subject to specific legal deadlines and may be affected by administrative delays. The sooner you respond, the faster we can secure your rights and protect your potential inheritance.