Family Wise Limited Reviews 

We cannot thank Family Wise and Director Kirsty enough for the transparent support provided, (very rare in business today, especially around costs) through a very complicated intestacy Case. To add to our emotional rollercoaster this was time sensitive due to the health of some beneficiaries. We found all the team to be empathetic and understanding, the family history sourced fascinating, and highly recommend their expertise and services.

Avoid this "company" like the plague.
If you are notified that you are a beneficiary, find another company.
The staff are rude, unhelpful, and complete time wasters.
Long story, I'll keep it as brief as possible. Over a year ago my sister and I were notified that we are beneficiaries of a relatives estate. The funds were apparently being released today. Absolutely zero communication from family wise, however after my sister emailed them, their response was "there has been a problem", no explanation of what the problem is.
Avoid them. Each time there was communication, I found the staff to be ignorant and extremely rude. Please find another reputable company.
The reviews on here are absolutely correct.
My family will be taking this further.

If you recieve a purple envelope run for the hills !
I shall try to keep this short .
I was contacted to advise I was a beneficiary of an estate in April 2025 and foolishly signed the contract ( They had the estate since Nov 2024 ).
From this time there were missing beneficiaries that could not be found .
Anyway fast forward , through the year I'd advised multiple times that if it was taking this long then that share of theirs could be put in trust .
I'd asked for the accounts ( which we are entitled to ) and any interest that had been accrued , after all it's our money right? .No this is not the case !
Fast forward again Section 27 had passed however still no full update of accounts .
After over a year they finally put missing beneficiary shares in trust and my email stated matters were at a close .
Accounts did not detail ANY interest or pension however, what it did contain was around 25 beneficiaries or more , names and the amount we were each receiving
I was sent accounts and had 14 days to sign and it would be in my bank today 22/6
By this time I could not be bothered challenging anymore therfore I signed and handed over my bank details .
Guess what? It never arrived .
I had to email them asking where it was .
So since I have signed the estate accounts , the executors have a legal right to pay right? No! .
My response I got today was " there's been an issue but can't tell me what apart from we will contact you in 14 days after an audit .
I believe the estate has been mismanaged and will definitely be contacting contentious probate solicitor and the newspaper .
I'm really not interested in the reply just know the negative reviews are absolutely correct.
I just wish I had read through them and not listened to the false information and continually been fobbed off .
The truth will come out eventually! The only people this benefits are FWL .
Good luck

Family Wise were involved in my late father’s estate.

Throughout the process Kirsty Gray was extremely unprofessional, argumentative and continually failed to be transparent with information that should have been available to all beneficiaries, not just one!! As Legal Administrator she was duty bound to act for all three beneficiaries, she did not!!

Had Family Wise been a member of The International Association of Professional Probate Researchers, Genealogists and Heir Hunters (IAPPR), a voluntary organization that are subject to a Professional Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics and Transparency, Kirsty Gray would not be allowed to run her business as she does.

After posting my initial review, FWL asked me if I would consider updating it. This was after I had made an 'official complaint' which basically, in the light of the mistake they made asked for a review of my fees. Whilst they admitted they had made the mistake and it was distressing they would not be giving me a refund. At that stage my advisor said that I stood a good chance of a refund if I took the complaint to the Small Claims Court.
The mistake cause me a lot of stress and I did not want any further stress by going to court. I believe this option is still open for me.
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BACKGROUND
FWL administered my cousin's estate. In their closing documentation they stated that I had a deceased sister who I was totally unaware of. For various reasons, this caused me quite a bit of stress.
My brother carried out some basic research and found that even though we shared the same surname she had absolutely nothing to do with my family. We pointed this out to FWL. They corrected the documents.
The MD claimed that their work from start to finish was impeccable and refused to give any refund even though FWL admitted they had made a distressing mistake.
Impeccable means faultless, flawless, or beyond criticism, describing something perfect, precise, or without error. 
I do not think that including a wrong person in their closing documents plus several minor errors in their handling of the case can be classed as impeccable.
I would not use FWL again.
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Thank you FWL for responding to my review.
Several points I'd like to make.
If the mistake was an administration error it is still an error that FWL made.
The fees paid surely don't go just on the research, some must go on administration and the rest on your profit. As the administration was below your usual standard then that part of the fee I paid could have been reimbursed.
You say that you are unable to do a refund. I think that you are able to but choose not to.
I am pleased that my actions helped you to identify the distressing administration error and also that you have improved your reporting process. This will be of benefit to future customers but not to me.
I would expect a firm of FWL's standing to back up the numerous apologies with at least a 'gesture of goodwill'.

High pressure tactics and deception. I have reported to the FCA, ICO and Citizens Advice.
Beware. Good luck.

Absolutely the worst experience with Kirsty Gray! Refused to pay funds owing into the recipients account. We had to take her to the small claims court, to ensure the funds were handed over. She lied and fabricated the conversation that took place, was hostile and rude beyond belief which was incredibly frustrating and disheartening. I spoke with many staff members who were absolutely lovely, kind and professional. Kirsty Gray was the opposite.
You don't need an heir hunter company to claim funds for you, do it yourself. If you don't do it yourself, research the company that you use, it may save you time and money in the long run.
Please read with caution any response she may write.

Check your facts.

My wife received a call from this company this afternoon, asking her to get in contact with her brother’s son, as he may be able to help with presumably piecing together the will. The thing is … he’s not dead! He’s very much still alive. My wife has only just got off the phone to him this evening, in fact!

1. How have you got my wife’s number and why are you contacting her?
2. Why are you of the view that my wife’s brother is dead, when he’s still alive?

I would advise that you get your facts right before leaving voicemails using terms like ‘late’ when referring to people who are very much still alive.

Edit: The lady I called on the phone was very polite, however, and at least very apologetic about it, and promised the company wouldn’t call us again.

Our experience with Family Wise was frustrating from start to finish. They missed key family members from the tree multiple times, including at final fund distribution. We ended up doing most of the work ourselves while they took a large cut. Communication was often rude and unhelpful. Would not recommend — very poor value for money and seriously lacking in professionalism.

What a great company if they hadn't contacted me I would never have known my oldest brother had passed away,I had tried my best to find my brother but was unable to find him,it was a shock to hear he had passed but now we can visit his resting place whenever we can and for that I thank family wise.the money he left later for him to have a headstone and maintenance.

Last year I got an unexpected call. A family member had died intestate. It wasnt a large amount but Family Wise put in a hugh effort to track me down and to bring matters to close. Very professional and efficient.

When they contacted me out of the blue they were helpful and informative,they kept me informed right the way through 15 months up to conclusion yesterday,if i had questions they answered them clearly,I would recommend them without hesitation,they are professional in every way.

Traced my cousins regarding the monies of a cousin who died intestate. Of the ten cousins some of whom had died I was one of the very few that knew of the intestate cousin and was able to provide some family information. Family Wise were very helpful and professional and kept me up to speed throughout. Eventually resulting in a small pot of unexpected money. Thanks Family Wise

Contacted me about a deceased distant cousin I had no previous knowledge of. They established my share of the cousins estate and eventually sent me a sum of money plus an interesting family tree which was quite complex and explained the length of time it took to reach a resolution. They seem a thoroughly proficient and trustworthy company.

A Company offering a 1st class service for family research.
An excellent company that has provided the following services to myself -
FAMILY HISTORY FOR MY MOTHER AND FATHER
FAMILY MEMBER ON BONA VACANTIA LIST
RESEARCH INTO MY 4TH GREAT GRAND PARENTS

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Family Wise have been excellent and efficient, they kept me updated on a regular basis. Further more, they responded to all of my questions quickly.
Also, and perhaps more importantly, Family Wise have the ability to empathize, in such times when experiencing loss, this above all was much appreciated.
Thank you

This company was a pleasure to deal with. They 1st contacted me about a family matter I was unaware of. They were able to trace my family members and I with little difficulty and deal with the matter highly effectively and solved the situation within a very short space of time. They answered all queries I had very professionally and always treated the matter with respect.

An easy and pleasant company to deal with. Fast responses to email queries with polite, helpful answers.

We were contacted by Family in a very sensitive and personal way to be informed of a relative whom we had no knowledge of had passed away. They are a very professional company and did everything they promised and kept us informed throughout the process. They even provided myself and siblings with a family tree at the end of process so on behalf of us all we would like to thank Family Wise and would recommend them to anyone.

So Family Wise contact me, as they do many people, out of the blue to tell me that a long lost relative had died intestate and that they, as heir hunters, wanted to unite me as a beneficiary with my rightful inheritance.

Amazing start. Who wouldn't want that news?

What's less than good is that FW need a few things to get started - they need to do a bit of CDD, which makes sense, but they then need to have the prospective client (me, and if you're reading this, maybe you?) sign papers instructing them to act, but also entitling FW to 15% of any inheritance.

In my case, FW have been appointed executors and administrators... and here's the rub... executors have a legal duty to unite rightful beneficiaries with their inheritance no matter what. So when others appointed FW the executors, it appears FW took on this duty. Very noble.

My thinking here was that I wanted to understand, before I signed anything, what FW were bound to do. So, because it seemed like the sensible thing to do, I just asked them.

In fact, during my correspondence with them, I asked them, I think, four times directly, if they had a legal duty to unite beneficiaries with inheritance as the executors regardless of whether they'd signed any representation papers.

In my mind that's a simple question - the executor either does or does not have that obligation in law. I also think that any competent executor would know whether that's the case (or so this evening's post-event legal research yielded).

My correspondence rapidly ended up on the desk of the FW Managing Director - one Kirsty Gray. What followed was one of the most thoroughly bizarre email exchanges I think I've ever had.

During that exchange Kirsty couldn't tell me what her legal obligations are, just wouldn't do it. I asked nicely, I asked pretty bluntly, then I highlighted the utterly asinine nature of refusing to say and asked again. Nothing. I just couldn't encourage her to tell me.

Now in this situation, where her company is asking me to sign papers entitling her as the Director and owner of the company to 15% of what might be a six figure estate, her not telling me how it works is a massive, massive red flag to me. Because in this case, I think the estate is based on a house, which may be worth a couple of hundred thousand. Which means 15% of that estate could be in the neightbourhood of thirty thousand into Kirsty's coffers.

There are two likely possibilities - firstly, Kirsty Gray does not know what her obligations are - draw your own conclusions as to how good a thing that is given what she does for a living. The second possibility is that Kirsty Gray did not want to tell me whether she had a legal duty - to my mind, that's much, much worse than not knowing. Because why would she not want me to know? Draw your own conclusions there too.

The discussion went on and felt like a journey into an acid-vivid projection of her ego on crack and steroids at the same time - it was perfect in its inadvertent comedy but also mortifying at the same time.

My favourite part of it was Kirty accusing me of breaching confidentiality on the basis of her email signature saying that our communications are confidential (she said this because I copied someone in on the exchange - another of the beneficiaries, because this lunacy seemed like a perspective they needed). She did this about three times, seemingly ignorant of the fact that I'm not her client so haven't agreed to anything and that an email signature doesn't equal an obligation.

What made this all the more bizarre was that it was Kirsty who contacted me and spoke to me about the claim to begin with. When we spoke, she was nice as pie. Now I'm a cynic - I think she was nice to me because I was, at that time, a 15% cash cow waiting to be signed. The moment I questioned that arrangement, her manner and tone changed completely.

But if you've read this far, don't just take my word for all this. Read the other reviews on here and on Google... the one star reviews. They have a theme. Then when you've done that, read the Glassdoor reviews - they tell you what people who worked for FW have to say. Oddly, there's a theme there too. A name crops up again and again - all those people - are they all wrong? In my experience that many people all telling tales would be unlikely.

So if FW get in touch with you, they'll need to identify you and tell you about the estate they think you're entitled to. When you have that information, go and search on Google for the 'Unclaimed Estates List' and look for the details they've given you.

From there, go to the Law Society web page and go to the 'Find a Solicitor' section (top left of the page). From here you can search for solicitors local to you, you're looking for someone qualified to do 'Private Client - Probate'. Get in touch, agree a fixed fee and register your own claim. Choose to work with a professional.