Connie Lenzen, CGSM
10411 SW 41st Avenue
Portland, OR 97219-6984
Phone: 503-810-4327
Fax: 503-245-4723
E-mail: clenzen@dialoregon.net

AGREEMENT FORM


You have asked me to undertake professional genealogical services for you. These include

  • Review of information provided by you
  • Formulation of the work plan
  • Research and analysis
  • Written report of findings, including negative findings
  • Recommendations for future research
  • Copies, transcriptions, or abstracts of documents, as appropriate
  • Evaluation of documents
This form describes the agreement between us regarding the professional genealogical service that you have asked me to do.
If you agree with the terms, please sign in the space provided and return a copy to me. I will sign and return a copy to you.

Our agreement will become effective, and I will begin work, when I have received

  • Material describing the information you already have
  • Copy of this agreement form, with your signature accepting it
  • Your check for the initial retainer

 

ACCEPTED BY CLIENT:

Enclosed is a check or money order for the initial retainer fee of $ ___ for a ___-hour research block. Additional ______ hours are authorized. Balance for additional time and/or reimbursable expenses are payable upon completion of the research. It is understood that time leading to negative findings is also charged.

Research goals in order of priority:

1.

2.

3.
Limitations (time, collateral lines, historical period, etc.)

 

I do ____ do not _____ give permission for Connie Lenzen, CG, to use the research findings in lectures, published materials, and in the renewal portfolio submitted periodically to the Board for Certification of Genealogists for renewal of certification.
Date:
Client signature:

Client Contact Information:

Name:

Address:

Telephone #:

Fax #

E-mail:

 


THE "FINE PRINT"

I will perform this work as an independent contractor in accordance with prevailing professional standards in genealogy, including the Code of Ethics of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Code of Ethics adopted by the Board for Certification of Genealogists.
I do not want to duplicate work already done. This is wasteful for your time and money and for my time. To avoid this, please provide information you already have on the matter, including copies of reports or summaries of previous research touching on the problem, copies of significant records, and notes on sources or collections already searched.
After I have analyzed your problem, completed the research, and reached my conclusions, I will provide you with a documented report describing my findings and the basis for my conclusions,and copies of relevant documents with source citations.
I will hold confidential any information you provide that is not already a matter of public record or public knowledge. I will treat with discretion, even if they are already matters of public record, issues that concern living persons, their parents, or immediate families, as well as items that you have specifically noted as sensitive.
I retain the right to make use of the results of work done at your request. This may include publication in articles or books, with acknowledgment of your sponsorship of the research, unless you request anonymity. I will exclude information about living persons or information that you specically request that I not use. I will not accept fees to provide the research report to other interested persons but will, with your consent, refer them to you for the information and allow you to determine the terms under which you may decide to share it. Exception: work conducted for attorneys and private investigators is not shared with anyone.
You agree that if you distribute to others or publish any information taken from my report, including my findings and conclusions, you will report them accurately. You will include any qualifiers (for example, the words probable or possible, when accompanying a conclusion), and you will credit my report as the source.
I retain the copyright to the report and the manner in which I have expressed the information in it. You may make copies to share with your relatives and friends as a "fair use" of the copyrighted report, but you agree that you will not otherwise publish or make copies of the report without my written permission.
We both agree that if any dispute arises out of this agreement, we will use the arbitration services of the Board for Certification of Genealogists and accept as final and binding on both of us the arbitration decision, and we both consent to the entry of the decision as a final judgment in any court that may have jurisdiction over either of us.
This letter reflects the full scope of our agreement and replaces any earlier, tentative commitments by either of us. Any changes will be effective only if they are also made in writing.
I agree to provide a detailed report, covering all sources checked during the research, with analysis, and a report of time consumed and expenses incurred. The report will be mailed in a reasonable time frame that will generally not exceed four weeks. Time begins upon the receipt of payment and instructions for research

 

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© 2000 - 2008

Connie Lenzen
Last update: 14 April 2008