Before you book, please read through these terms and conditions:
General Terms
1. MK Genealogy/Michelle Keel follow the Board of Certified Genealogists’ Genealogist‘s Code of Ethics in all research and business practices.
2. COVID Restrictions. While the COVID pandemic continues, access to repositories, libraries, and other reference locations may be restricted or not permitted. Additionally, for the safety of the researcher, some locations and/or requests may be declined in an abundance of caution. All known restrictions or limitations will be discussed at time of contract. MK Genealogy reserves the right to alter research plans or contracts in response to changing health and safety regulations, recommendations, and common sense.
3. Genealogy results are never guaranteed. You are paying for the research time and resulting report. Due to the passage of time and the nature of historical record keeping, documents and supporting information may no longer exist or never existed. Negative results are part of the process and can help us move the research in new directions. At the end of each project, you will receive a report detailing what was researched, what was or wasn’t found, and, if applicable, what the next steps are for moving forward.
Payment Terms
These are the general payment terms. Individual projects may have unique payment terms. Please refer to your project contract for more details. See below for the Cancellations & Refunds Policy.
1. All research blocks and packages require a 50% non-refundable deposit before research begins. The remainder is due at the completion of the project. Research and report will not be delivered until final payment is received. See cancellation policy below.
2. Final Payment for research blocks and packages is due within 30 days of notification of completion of project. A late fee of 5% will be accrued every month of non-payment beyond the initial payment period. Research and report will not be delivered until final payment is received.
3. Paid Consultations are payable in full prior to the appointment. See cancellation policy below.
4. Payment methods: Payment is available by credit card (MasterCard, Visa, American Express), Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal.
5. No research work is initiated before a contract is completed and the contracted deposit/payment is received. To initiate a project that best suits your needs, please request a free 30 minute consultation.
6. Research block and package pricing is for research time only. Research can incur additional costs, including but not limited to record access and retrieval (both in-person and digital) and mileage. These costs vary by project. Client reserves right to approve, refuse, or limit additional research costs, as outlined in the project contract. Client agrees to pay for all approved additional research costs. These costs will be added to the final invoice. See your project contract for details.
Cancellations & Refunds Policy
Free Consultations: Please provide 24 hours’ notice, if possible. Appointments can also be rescheduled.
Paid Consultations: Full refund if cancelled more than 24 hours in advance. If cancelled within 24 hours, 50% of fee will be refunded. Appointments can also be rescheduled.
Research Projects (Hourly & Packages):
- Project deposits are non-refundable.
- If project is cancelled before 50% deposit is received, project will be closed and no research will occur.
- If project is cancelled after deposit has been received and research has begun, client will receive all research completed up to the period covered by the deposit. E.g. if a 5-hour project is cancelled, up to 2.5 hours of research will be delivered. The full 50% of research hours may not have been achieved at the point of cancellation. If this is the case, all research completed to that point will be delivered. The remainder of the deposit is non-refundable.
- If project is completed and the final payment is not received within the contract payment terms, no research will be delivered.
Local Research: Based on terms made at time of agreement.
No refund is offered due to lack of desired findings. Client is paying for hours spent researching and reporting, not guaranteed results.
Our Privacy Policy can be found here.
Further details can be found in the contract for your project.