There are times we must admit that we can’t do it all. I know it causes heart palpitations just thinking about it, but there comes a time when we all need to ask for help. If you have a leak in your kitchen pipes you call a plumber, if you need a will written you call a lawyer, and if you need help finding an elusive ancestor or building a family tree then you call a family researcher.

Whether you are new to genealogy or a seasoned family researcher there are times that you will hit a brick wall or are simply unsure about where to start. I myself have been there. I hired a researcher in Wales to find a birth record for my 5th great grandfather that I had been unable to locate after searching for over a year. The family researcher I hired found the record in less than 30 days. I wasn’t sure whether to be happy or angry that she was able to find what I could not. In the end, I was happy.

I learned an important lesson that day, sometimes you are too close to your own family and letting someone else take a second look is often the best course of action. So when do you know it’s time to hire a professional?

In the beginning it is helpful to consult a professional family researcher to help provide you the tools, research tips, forms, and general guidance that will help you get started tracing your family history. If you are a seasoned researcher and you have hit that inevitable brick wall, a second pair of eyes that may have expertise in a particular country or research area can help provide you the information you are seeking.

Ask yourself a few questions to determine if it’s time to hire a professional:

• Do you have time to do the research yourself?
• Do you have the necessary genealogical research skills to find the information you are seeking?
• Do you have access to the records in the specific locality you are researching?
• Do you know what records exist that might offer a solution to your research problem?
• Can you read the language in which the records are recorded?
• Have you reached a dead-end or hit a brick wall during your research?
• Do you need specific on-site research?
• Do you desire consultation on how to solve a research problem or extend a family line?
• Do you need help writing, editing or publishing your genealogy research?
• Do you want on-site photographs, videos, and/or oral interviews with distant family members?
• Do you need help with adoption/birth parent research projects?
• Do you wish to locate living family members?
• Are you familiar with records pertaining to a particular ethnic group?

If you have answered yes to any of those questions then consider letting me help you begin your journey or get you back on track.