Aidan founded Estate Research in 2001, having gained vital industry experience in London with two other probate research companies. Over the last 18 years, Aidan has witnessed considerable change within the industry.

When he began his career, research was carried out by painstakingly searching through microfiches, or by visiting St Catherine’s House. These records were matched to the phone book and just one year of electoral rolls and the information obtained was the only way to trace people. More recently, records have been digitalised, the electoral rolls have become freely available and social media has made everyone ‘findable’.

Aidan is dedicated to improving the service for the legal sector and strives to make Estate Research the tried and trusted name in probate genealogy. He splits his time between the Wigan and London offices but his spare time is taken up as taxi driver for his 3 daughters.

Amanda joined Estate Research after 15 years in teaching. She facilitates the smooth running of the office and maintains close contact with our client base. She loves ‘heir hunting’: reuniting lost families and presenting the family tree to her clients.

Estate Research employed Martin as a regional agent over 10 years ago and he has subsequently successfully resolved hundreds of cases over the years; he still enjoys the variety of stories that the job brings.

Outside of work, Martin is an avid vinyl collector and co-owns his own vinyl record shop.

Dominic joined our team in 2015 after eight years’ experience of professional probate research. Dominic enjoys helping those in the legal profession at all stages of estate administration.

His spare time is taken up raising his young twin daughters and following Liverpool Football Club.

With nearly 20 years’ experience in genealogy, Alex heads up the London office. He is instrumental in driving new business and keeping Estate Research abreast of current legislation. Alex successfully completed his law degree (LLB) in July 2014.

Angie joined Estate Research after working for more than 20 years in the legal sector. She is enjoying the challenge of organising the financial side of a busy and diverse company. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her expanding family, planning her next holiday and watching Tom Hanks films.

Gavin joins us as our Legal Services Manager & Head of Overseas Assets after 15 years working in the legal services industry gained at Thomson Reuters, Veyo and Hammicks.

Building relationships and developing products are his strengths and in his spare time he plays tennis and listens to heavy rock music!

Jo worked in the legal sector for 8 years and retrained to become an IT Trainer for a large law firm in East Anglia furthering her knowledge of Practice Management Systems.

Working at Estate Research she has developed and handles our databases. Jo also helps to manage the overseas assets department.

In her spare time she is involved in the local amateur dramatics societies.

Simon has been working in Probate Genealogy since 2005 and joined our team in 2017. Simon’s particular expertise relate to Estates that originate overseas, in particular those from the USA. Simon enjoys the challenges and intricacies of International research.

In his spare time, Simon is an occasional recreational Ice Hockey player and keen follower of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Emily has been working in Probate Genealogy since 2009 and joined our team in 2017. Emily has experience in all parts of the industry having worked in private client and public sector departments as well as having experience working on cases that originate overseas. Emily particularly enjoys the challenge of International probate research.

Emily was a former competitive swimmer for Kent and plays both the Piano and Oboe.

Rebecca brings invaluable public sector knowledge to her role. She relishes the challenge of solving the more complex cases and the social aspect of welfare funeral work is particularly rewarding.

Out of the office her hands are full trying to control her unruly beagle, Hero

Helen worked in the legal profession for over 10 years before moving to Estate Research. With a keen interest in research and family history, she welcomed the opportunity to work for Estate Research, doing what she loves.

Outside of work you she yearns to spend all her free time sipping some sangria in the throbbing hub of Barcelona or attending some concert of some band (strictly “non-cheesy”).

Stuart served as a Police Officer for 30 years until his retirement in 2006. From 2008 he began doing field work and enquiries with potential heirs and at Registrars Offices for a London based probate research company.

He joined Estate Research in 2013 where he continues his interest in this work by conducting client interviews with potential heirs, particularly those who may be appointed as Administrators, and other enquiries across the south of England and Wales.

Jade has an LLB Honors Law Degree and studied at The University of Buckingham.

She has worked within the legal sector for the past 3 years and has extended knowledge of Case Management.

She has a keen interest in Medieval History and previously swam for Lancashire.

Alec has joined the team from a background in the public sector. He has seamlessly fitted into the team, and enjoys conversing with beneficiaries and resolving complex cases. Alec doggedly retains his passion for Bolton Wanderers: regularly attending both home and away games.

Katie has been working as a probate genealogist since 2007. She enjoys the variety of the profession from the international research, travel and direct contact with beneficiaries to the satisfaction of reuniting long lost families. Katie also has an ongoing demolition project she calls home.

A graduate of Manchester University Tom joins the team after 10 years working in the retail sector.

Tom’s enthusiastic attitude has helped Tom to quickly acquire the skills to be an invaluable member of the team of researchers.

Tom is a devoted snooker player and avid film lover and looks forward to the day that they make a film about his hero, Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Having worked in the legal sector for 18 years Zoe was aware of the services genealogists provided. Bearing in mind that she has an innate passion for social history she didn’t hesitate to switch careers when the opportunity arose. She thoroughly enjoys the investigative nature of her job.

Zoe spends her free time viewing historic buildings or attending heavy metal gigs (she does not advocate combining these two pursuits).

Joined Estate Research after spending 10 years in the Welfare to Work Industry.

Really enjoys the problem solving and analytical nature of tasks as well as the satisfaction of “piecing together” cases and family trees.

Matthew enjoys literature (books of Bernard Cornwell in particular), is a keen fisherman and musician as well as proud parent / butler to his two cats Miles and Lancelot.

Lucy thrives in the hustle and bustle of a busy office. Supporting our extensive operations by planning, organising and implementing administrative duties, Lucy is key in facilitating the smooth running of our office.

Ian has worked in probate genealogy for nearly 20 years and still enjoys contacting beneficiaries on a daily basis. Ian specialises in our most complex cases. Outside the office he continues to endure watching Fulham FC’s continued decline.

Jennifer joined Estate Research after a spending several years in the legal sector and working in the competitive world of tender-writing. Jennifer’s attention to detail and eye for presentation have proved to make her an asset to Estate Research.

An accomplished student, Jennifer won a national science award and attended three universities; her academic endeavors are due to come to an end later this year when she is due to graduate with a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice.

In a constantly evolving industry, Jonathan strives to adapt and improve our resources to ensure that service output is consistently excellent.

In his spare time you’ll find him travelling both in the UK and abroad and being dragged around the local countryside by his faithful Labrador.

Lauren joined us after 9 years working for a well-known department store. As a case manager Lauren enjoys the varied nature of the role and the ability to sit down and resolve issues.

She has no such luck at home as Lauren is kept on her feet tending to her three children. When she has free rein as to what to do Lauren enjoys visiting places of historical interest, in particular royal residences.

Elly has recently joined the world of genealogy after fifteen eventful years working in broadcast television, both in the UK and Australia.  Elly is very sociable and loves making new connections. She maintains an interest in the arts and volunteers as the film programmer at an arts centre in Kent. She is also known as a sharp shooter when it comes clay pigeon shooting.

Helen has joined the team from working in corporate finance although it’s not numbers that makes Helen tick but people. Helen studied Psychology at University and puts it to good use in developing rapport.

She is an avid tennis fan having been to Wimbledon four times, Roland Garros and the ATP World Tour Finals.

Lisa joined Estate Research after spending several years working in the legal industry. She enjoys the diverse nature of this role, supporting the case managers, organising and performing administrative duties.

Out of the office, Lisa is a season ticket holder for Wigan Warriors and loves attending the theatre.