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Things you 
need to 
know
Who?

The Forensic Genealogy Institute is not for the casually curious. This intensive course was designed by  professional forensic genealogists for working professional genealogists who:
have experience with research, analysis, and reporting for paying clients,
who are either already engaged in the advanced specialty of forensic genealogy, 
or wish to acquire sufficient education to engage in the specialty.

Attendees should be competent in writing source citations and client reports which meet professional standards.

Forensic genealogy is a demanding, but rewarding business.   This institute will provide the tools you need.
Where?

Wyndham Love Field Hotel,
 3300 W Mockingbird Lane
Dallas  TX  75235
214-357-8500

Institute rate of $109 
plus applicable taxes.

For hotel reservations,
click this link.   

This will take you to a page with instructions for reserving rooms at the hotel.  The national Wyndham registration site has been very unstable.  

This link will provide a couple of instructions to help you set the right booking dates for your needs at the CAFG special rate.
When?

8:00 am Thursday, April 11 through 4:00 pm Saturday, April 13, 2013.

Twenty three -plus hours of instruction in three days to minimize expenses and time away from your business and family.
Cost?

$400 for CAFG members, $450 for non-members.

Registration fee includes enrollment in the Institute and all activities with breakfast, lunch and morning and afternoon break snacks all three days.

One partial scholarship 
will be reimbursed to a 
non-CAFG attendee.  One CAFG Mentor Program enrollee will be reimbursed a partial scholarship. Scholarships sponsored by Forensic Genealogy Services, LLC.
Transportation?

The Wyndham is adjacent to Love Field and provides free shuttle service to and from Love Field.
How to register?

Click here for the link to 123SignUp.com  to register. You may pay by VISA, Mastercard or Dicover, or by check. 
The Forensic Genealogy Institute offers twenty-plus hours of significant hands-on instruction with real-world work examples, resources, sample forms and work materials. The embedded practicum offers an actual forensic case study that will be covered from start to finish.  Those who satisfactorily complete the course will receive a Forensic Genealogy Institute Certificate of Completion.  

Mark your calendars. More information coming soon about the 
Forensic Genealogy Institute 
April 11-13, 2013!
Forensic Research Skills
  • Forensic Techniques for Genetic Genealogy:  Practical understanding of DNA and applications within forensic genealogy.  
  • Proof of lineal descent.
  • Searching for living people:  A unique skill set and the necessary research resources for the non-private investigator.
  • Types of work products:  reports, affidavits, charts, exhibits. 
  • Witness roles:  The roles of the disinterested witnesses and expert witnesses. 

This class will feature a mock hostile examination of a forensic genealogist on the witness stand.  The demonstration is based on actual experience.

Legal and Ethical Considerations 
  • Contracts for research involving missing and unknown heirs, military, adoption, and missing person cases; ethics of contingent fees. 
  • Scope of practice for probate and real estate cases involving missing and unknown heirs,  including what the genealogist can and cannot do from a legal standpoint; intestate succession; due diligence (including Affidavit of Due Diligence and Expert Reports); evidence; burden of proof; use of DNA. 
  • The Expert Witness. 
  • Finding Missing Persons – the legal implications. 
  • Adoption Research.

The Role of the Forensic Genealogist in
  • Probate research missing and unknown heirs.
  • Real estate missing and unknown heirs including quiet title actions, mineral rights, and oil & gas leases.
  • Adoptions and guardianships.
  • Citizenship and emigration.
  • Capital mitigation.
  • Military repatriation.
  • Unclaimed persons and cold cases.

Business Aspects
  • Preparing yourself:  Education, training, experience, credentials. 
  • Business Management:  Structure, licenses, fees, data and records management, record keeping.
  • Elements of good client documents: Do I need a contract, retention agreement, or letter of engagement?  Scope of Work, rate sheets, and other forms.
  • Personal due diligence and risk management:  What to ask (and why) before taking on a case, know who the players are and what is expected, setting boundaries, and pitfalls to avoid.  Do you need Errors & Omissions  insurance? Included is an example of a real-life nightmare forensic case.
  • Potential markets:  Real estate, minerals (including oil and gas), citizenship, benefits (SS, Veteran, etc.), guardianships, adoption, military repatriation, unclaimed persons, capital mitigation, and more.    
  • Marketing:  How to identify potential markets and potential clients within those markets, examples of successful marketing efforts.


Meet the Team
With over fifty years of combined forensic genealogical experience, instructors for the Forensic Genealogy Institute are practicing professional genealogists with real life experience in the field. 
Michael Ramage, J.D., Certified Genealogist (sm)    
Michael S. Ramage  is a full-time, professional genealogist specializing in forensic genealogy and proof of lineal descent including missing and unknown heir research, consulting and expert testimony. Michael has nineteen years experience in forensic genealogy. Board for Certification of Genealogists (Trustee & Officer; Chair of Intellectual Property Committee); Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy (Vice President); Pennsylvania Attorney I.D. No. 22396; Teaching Assistant at Boston University’s Genealogical Research Program.  Past instructor of Wills, Estates & Trusts, and Elder Law courses at Penn State; author of “Missing and Unknown Estate Heir Law Practice and Procedure,” Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly, Volume LXXVI, No. 3 (July 2005): 125.

Leslie Brinkley Lawson,
Forensic Genealogist 
Leslie Lawson has performed genealogical research for attorneys across the United States. She has a range of experience from proving family lines to reuniting family members as well as proving parentage for those unable to speak due to injury or disability [dementia, Alzheimer’s, and schizophrenia]. Leslie created the course, “US: Vital Records, Understanding & Using the Records” for the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. She also created and led a five week genealogy course for a local church in her community. Leslie currently serves as the President of the Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy and President of the Oregon Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists. 
Leslie Lawson has eleven years experience in forensic genealogy.

Teaching Assistant

Catherine W. Desmarais, M.Ed., 
Certified Genealogist
Catherine Desmarais, full-time professional genealogist, has several years forensic genealogy experience in military repatriation, probate, trust and real estate cases.
 She is the owner of Stone House Historical Research, located in Vermont’s Champlain Valley. With over 30 years experience in education, she is currently the Mentor Program representative to the board of the Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy, an active member and past treasurer for the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists, an administrator of a surname DNA project, and an alumna of National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR)  Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research (IGHR), and the Boston University Genealogical Writing course.
Kelvin L. Meyers,  
Forensic Genealogist
With seven years experience in forensic genealogy, a professional genealogist for the last twenty-five years and an avid researcher-historian for the last thirty-three years, Kelvin is a frequent speaker to many genealogical societies and family associations in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. He was employed for ten years in the Genealogy Department of the Dallas Public Library. Kelvin currently contracts with law firms, banks, the US Immigration Service and energy companies as a forensic genealogist searching for missing or unknown heirs to estates and oil and gas leases. Kelvin is a 1989 and 1990 alumni of IGHR. He recently lectured in IGHR Course III Research in the South and Course VIII Researching African American Ancestors. Member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, a past president of the Lone Star Chapter of APG, and board of Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy. 

Dee Dee King, Certified Genealogist  Forensic Genealogist 
Dee Dee King was chosen in 2009 by the US Navy Casualty POW/MIA Branch to serve as its contract genealogist to identify family members eligible to provide mitochondrial DNA samples (mtDNA), or to identify legal Primary Next of Kin of unaccounted for sailors from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, through Desert Storm.  Dee Dee has six years experience in forensic genealogy, with a heavy concentration of probate and oil/gas cases. She is qualified in Texas as an expert witness. Dee Dee King is the owner of Forensic Genealogy Services LLC, was the founding president of the Lone Star Chapter of APG and serves as secretary-treasurer of the Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy.  She has completed the Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis course, IGHR, and the Certificate in Genealogical Research Program of Boston University.

Special Guest Speaker

Debbie Parker Wayne, 
Certified Genealogist, CGL
Debbie Parker Wayne is a full-time genealogist experienced using laws and DNA analysis, as well as more traditional techniques, for genealogical research. She previously worked in the computer industry doing support, training, programming, and Web design.  Debbie is a Trustee for the BCG Education Fund, a board member and Advocacy Committee Chair of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), president of the Lone Star Chapter of APG, and the Texas State Genealogical Society's DNA Project Director. Debbie has completed many courses at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), including advanced methodology courses at both institutes and the Advanced Law Library and GovDocs course at IGHR. She is part of the core staff at Angelina College Genealogy Conference and spoke on DNA at the Texas General Land Office's 2011 Save Texas History Symposium.


Special guest speakers to be announced.
Forensic Genealogy Institute

Forensic genealogy is research,  analysis, and reporting in cases with legal implications.
© 2011-2013 Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy. All rights reserved.
Certified Genealogist (CG) and Certified Genealogical Lecturer (CGL) are service marks (sm) of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, conferred to associates who consistently meet ethical and competency standards in accord with peer-reviewed evaluations every five years.
2101 Cedar Springs Road   Suite 1050,  Dallas,  Texas  75201 | email:  info@forensicgenealogists.org | 
Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy
a professional business league 
Introduction to Forensic Research 
Participants will briefly explore items they need to consider before offering forensic services: experience, education, credentials, skill sets, legal and ethical considerations, business and tax structure, business plan, forensic-specific contracts, and marketing.  

What people are saying about the first Forensic Genealogy Institute, October 2012, Dallas, Texas.

"It was my pleasure to attend the inaugural Forensic Genealogy Institute conducted in Dallas, Texas this past October 25-27.  The quality of instruction, the matter of fact presentations, and the overall business orientation of the class made the entire experience truly remarkable.  I highly recommend anyone interested in the field of forensic genealogy plan to attend."
Frank Southcott, Professional Genealogist, Pennsylvania


"The Forensic Genealogy Institute in Dallas last week [October 2012] was an extremely well organized and informative conference - not easy to do on the first try! Forensic Genealogy, or genealogy with legal implications (such as estate and probate cases), is an emerging field and this institute was an excellent opportunity to learn tricks and techniques from experts in the field. I look forward additional offerings from this group!"
Bethany Waterbury,
Michigan