ForeverⓇ Family Research Review:  An Expert-Based Research Solution

This post expands further on how ForeverⓇ Family Research helped me when I needed professional genealogy help.  From my post When You Need To Hire A Pro Genealogist , I mentioned that the Coaching Project Plan was ideal for the type of genealogy research I was working on.  I wanted to do the research myself while having professional genealogy guidance.

Here’s how the ForeverⓇ Family Research 3-Month Coaching Project Plan worked for me:

  • The professional genealogist reached out to me by email to schedule a time to discuss where I was at with my brick wall project.  By email I summarized what the project was, what I did accomplish and what I was stuck on.  
  • We then met via Zoom face-to-face for an hour.  This involved screen sharing and discussion.  This counted as my first month’s coaching session.  By the time the session ended, we figured out how we could approach it.  
  • I was given “homework” with detailed instructions provided during and after the session. I already had a Forever storage account and was able to access that month’s coaching  session summary.  The summary included what we discussed and my homework that was due by next month’s coaching session.
  • The next month’s hour-long Zoom coaching session focused on what I accomplished with the homework that was given.  We examined the results I got from obtaining a digital document that helped answer a research question.  We also went over other documents found since we last met.  
  • Again, I was given homework based on new goals set during the coaching session.  That session’s coaching summary was then loaded into my Forever storage account to access later.  
  • By the third and last month’s hour-long Zoom coaching session, a lot more about my ancestor was revealed than I anticipated.  It amazed me that I was able to uncover more than my initial research goal with the ForeverⓇ professional genealogist’s coaching.  I was curious as to how much more could be revealed.
  • Rather than get a ForeverⓇ Coaching Project Plan extension, to save me time I proceeded with the Research Project Plan for 3 months.  I was able to keep working with the same trained professional genealogist.  
  • Rather than me working on the project, the professional genealogist created a plan to carry out the project, looking into other records further and even translating them into English.  
  • Each month we met for a 2-hour Zoom session, which covered what was found and next month’s research plan.  
  • I received a monthly written report with that and research findings saved directly into my ForeverⓇ storage account for me to access at any time.  

How Easy Was This Service To Use?

Working with a ForeverⓇ professional genealogist for both types of project plans was easy.  The coaching project plan homework assigned was realistic, and the step-by-step guidance was straightforward.  I was able to learn hands-on skills that I can carry forward into future projects on my own. 

What About Support?

The ForeverⓇ professional genealogist was responsive and helpful with providing the research assistance I needed during Zoom sessions and brief emails between the sessions that I needed to send from time to time.  Monthly summaries were well written, making it easy to understand what was accomplished and what goals were set during the Zoom sessions.

Value For Money Spent

The project plan pricing is not that unrealistic were you to pursue hiring a professional genealogist and taking into consideration how much time and money you could waste trying to figure out brick wall issues alone.  Personally, I got a lot more than I expected out of both the coaching project plan and research project plan at just the 3-month increment for each.  

Overall, the ForeverⓇ Family Research genealogy plans are worthwhile purchasing to resolve genealogy research problems with professional guidance, quickly and effectively.  The results I received from the genealogy plans I purchased were beyond my expectations for each. 

When You Need To Hire A Pro Genealogist

After I did as much as I could at the intermediate genealogist level with my great-grandfather’s parent brick wall, I realized it was time to make an important decision.  Should I hire a professional genealogist?  Or, should I just be satisfied that I ruled out who was not his parents?

It wasn’t that easy for me to just simply be satisfied and let this brick wall remain.  I simply had to do something about it!  Especially when a cousin pointed out to me that there was a record worth looking into that was listed in the Social Security Application and Claims Index.  I was aware of it, but we both didn’t know how to pursue it further.

What I Really Needed

What I really needed was a coach at the professional genealogist level.  I had a strong desire to still “do the genealogy” but with a guiding hand and fresh eyes looking at this brick wall.  

This need was met through a company I’m affiliated with through their service, ForeverⓇ Family Research.  The service helps genealogy buffs or family historians with full-service research support, coaching or a one-time consultation.  

Here are the genealogy plans that ForeverⓇ Family Research offers:

  • Research Project Plans
    • A trained professional genealogist creates a full-service plan customized based on your specific needs.
      • The professional genealogist works with you to clearly outline your goals.
      • You begin your personalized research plan looking into records while working out family details.
      • You get help with brick walls, DNA interpretation or foreign language research to get needed answers.
      • You get a monthly written report and a virtual face-to-face meeting with the professional genealogist to guide you through the research and documents located each month. 
      • Findings are saved directly into a ForeverⓇ storage account for you to access at any time.  
      • You may wish to have a personal private ForeverⓇ Family Tree or invite the professional genealogist to have access to a tree you already have created to review with you and add to as the research project progresses.
    • Research Project Plans are available at 12-month, 6-month and 3-month increments.
  • Coaching Project Plans
    • If you just need some guidance and want to do your own genealogy research, a trained professional genealogist can help. Your guidance includes training and resource recommendations to provide you with skills and resources to design and implement your own research journey.
      • The professional genealogist picks up on where you are with your research to provide you with monthly customized coaching sessions.  
      • You are assisted with staying on task and prioritizing your goals while you learn hands-on skills as you progress.
      • Coaching sessions are monthly for one hour face-to-face virtually to discuss research goals, provide you with guidance through research approaches and available resources and recommended next steps to meet goals.
      • You get a monthly coaching report outlining what was discussed and resource recommendations plus your research task assignments.  This is added to a ForeverⓇ storage account for you to access at any time.  
      • You use new skills and resources to finish research task assignments while you do your own genealogy research on your own time before the next coaching session.
    • Coaching Projects are available at 12-month, 6-month and 3-month increments.
  • One-Time Consultation
    • If you aren’t ready to pursue a research or coaching project but have questions related to genealogy research or need some direction to get started, you can book a 1-hour consultation with one of the ForeverⓇ trained professional genealogists.
      • The consultation is done via online video chat.  
      • Topics for discussion:
        • Specific genealogy records
        • Recommended research approaches to make progress on your own
        • Understanding the basics of DNA
        • Strategizing solutions for your own genealogy research needs

What I Opted For

The ForeverⓇ Coaching Plan was perfect for me.  I opted for the 3-month increment plan, which was just right.  Within that timeframe I was educated about the Social Security Application and Claims Index record my cousin and I wanted to explore further.  

Following the steps the ForeverⓇ professional genealogist provided me, I was able to access a digital copy of the document, which answered a brick wall question.  This indeed was a genealogy research victory that was not that hard to achieve once I knew what to do.

Want To Know More?

If you would like to know more about how ForeverⓇ Family Research can help you, go to Forever.com.

If you would like to know more about my own personal experience with ForeverⓇ Family Research, click here.