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 Kinsolving Investigations

Questions about Kinsolving Investigations
Questions about Searching
 Questions about Kinsolving Investigations
What is Kinsolving Investigations' background?

Kinsolving Investigations is owned and operated by Christine Lee, a licensed Private Investigator and a reunited birthmother.

In the 1970’s, the adoption agency refused to pass on newly learned medical and genetic background information from Chris, and at the recommendation of her physician, to her daughter’s adoptive parents and, later, to her daughter at majority age. That early experience fueled Chris’ passion to search, against all odds at the time.

During the decades-long search process, Chris became a search and support group moderator for the adoption triad members in her state. That led to becoming actively involved in serving and as a speaker in the adoption community through national organizations in an attempt to secure Open Records, not only in her own state, but nationwide. With each step Chris’ expertise in searching was constantly being honed, and her rate of finding increased.

Eventually Chris founded Kinsolving Investigations as a search entity for all adoptees, birthparents and persons involved in searching for someone lost to adoption.

Everyone connected to Kinsolving is a member of the adoption triad. Together their strong ties to the adoption community include a profound understanding of the issues adoptees, adoptive parents and birth families have. Combined, they also bring more than 60 years of actual search experience. The benefit to Kinsolving's clients is that the compassion, integrity and respect they are due and owing is unfettered and ensured.
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How do I know Kinsolving Investigations is a legitimate business?

Kinsolving Investigations is a legitimate business. There are several ways to verify our legality and authenticity. We urge you to make these inquiries before signing a contract so there are no unanswered questions in the course of your search being conducted and completed.

1. NORTH CAROLINA PRIVATE PROTECTIVE SERVICES BOARD
1631 Midtown Place - Suite 104, Raleigh NC 27609
Phone: (919) 875-3611 / Fax: (919) 875-3609
E-mail: PPSASL@mail.jus.state.nc.us
Web Page: http://www.jus.state.nc.us/pps
SUBJECT: Christine M. Lee / Kinsolving Investigations / License #1571 / BPN: 002417P6

2. BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU http://solutions.cccom.com/bbbedex/contactus.cfm?id=6464&refer=list# or email info@charlotte.bbb.org

3. "THE VANGUARD" – Kinsolving’s newsletter located on this website – publishes testimonials provided by our former clients. The best references for any service or product are satisfied customers. Further references will be provided by Kinsolving on request.

4. KINSOLVING INVESTIGATIONS is well known in every state and throughout the adoption search community online.
· Visit any adoption-related site on the Internet and ask about us.
· Talk with members of your group if you belong to one.
Among other things, you'll learn that 95% of Kinsolving's clients are direct referrals from one of our many satisfied clients.
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What is Kinsolving's position on adoption searches?

Kinsolving believes that all birth records should be open to adult members of the adoption community:
_ To adoptees when they reach the age of majority.
_ To birth families when their child becomes an adult.
_ To adoptive parents at any time they deem it beneficial for the adoptee's health and well being, regardless of age.

It is our belief that every adoptee has a RIGHT to know who their families are and fill the gaps that create the 'Black Hole' of unknowns in their lives; the right to know what talents and personality traits exist that have influenced theirs, and to have the medical and genetic information missing in their records and lives on request.

We believe that every birth family has a RIGHT to know whether their adopted family members are alive and well, who and where they are, and to complete the histories that adoptees do not have, if and when they want the information.

We believe that adoptive parents should have full access to all records that would benefit them in raising the adoptee for the physical, emotional, psychic and psychological benefits of the child’s well-being.
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How much does Kinsolving charge?

Kinsolving does NOT have a flat fee for an adoption search. Search fees are based upon the information you provide on Kinsolving's form, called an Interactive.

Each Interactive is examined individually to determine the cost of the search.

The search fee is then emailed to you, with a Contract for review, after which an individual can decide if he/she would like to proceed.
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What information can I expect from a Kinsolving search?

Kinsolving guarantees the current name and address of the person for whom you are searching, or the next of kin in the event that person is deceased.

A telephone number - if it is not unlisted, will be included. In the event a number is unlisted, almost all of the time it will appear on some public record. Every effort is made to locate it for a client. It should be noted that some people actually do not have a home phone.

The degree of additional information will vary greatly from case to case. It is impossible to know beforehand what, exactly, the specific information might be.

Every effort is made to learn as much information about the person as possible - marriages, children, parents, schools, former addresses, etc. Our belief is that the more you know about someone, the more realistic your expectations may be, and the better you can assess how to approach them.
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How long does a search usually take?

This is the #1 question asked. There is no way to accurately make a prediction until the search is underway.

Certainly it is to Kinsolving's advantage to finish a search as soon as possible -- and that is our goal. But some cases take six months or even a year before we are able to obtain even a name, while others take only a matter of days.

Sometimes a guess-estimate can be provided if we have done a number of cases in that particular area, but it is still just a guess. For instance, if we are looking for Ann Smith or Bob Johnson from a major metropolitan area, the time and degree of difficulty rises compared to locating Stephanie Oxmonde or Archibald de Borchgrave from Small Town USA.
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How long does Kinsolving keep a case open?

In the event a search is extremely difficult and will take considerable time to solve, the client will be notified with an estimated timeframe.

Kinsolving believes that no case should be left unsolved for more than a year. In the rare instances when that may occur, the client has a choice to either renew the Contract for another six months, or be released from the terms of the Contract and all of its obligations.
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What if I find on my own after signing the contract?

Kinsolving understands that matches occur on registries and that unexpected contacts are made. The timing of these events is not under anyone's control. We wish everyone could be matched on a registry.

If a client's search is completed by any means, he/she is required to notify Kinsolving in writing with proof of the contact information so that the Contract may be cancelled.

There is one EXCEPTION to the above --
Such written cancellation must be received BEFORE being notified by Kinsolving Investigations that your case has been completed.

Once a search completion notification is issued, an active Contract CANNOT be cancelled as the agreement has been fulfilled by our agency. At that point, the client is obligated to complete his/her part of the contract by tendering payment.
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What are the obligations of a signed contract?

A signed contract is a legal and binding agreement between Kinsolving Investigation and the client.

Briefly, the commitments and responsibilities are:

KINSOLVING IS OBLIGATED TO...
_ Begin work on the search immediately following the three-day grace period without a deposit or fee.
_ Do everything possible to complete the search in a timely manner.
_ Adding on "extra costs" beyond the contractual fee amount is strictly prohibited.
_ Notify the client by email when the search is successfully completed.
_ Provide the client with the all the information resulting from the search within 48-72 hours of the full payment having been processed, meaning posted by the bank.

Once a search has been completed, payment is received, and the identifying information has been conveyed to the client, Kinsolving will have fulfilled its terms of the contract as well as its obligation to the client.

KINSOLVING CLIENTS ARE OBLIGATED TO...
_ Provide all the necessary documents available and information known as requested by Kinsolving Investigations.
_ Cancel the Contract in writing BEFORE notification is made that the search has been completed.
_ Honor the agreement for payment to Kinsolving for (1) the work that you contracted us to do on your behalf, and (2) within the prescribed time as specified in the signed contract.
_ Understand and accept fully the consequences of a breach of contract should that occur.
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Does Kinsolving accept personal checks or credit cards?

Kinsolving does not accept personal checks.

All funds mailed MUST be Certified.

MasterCard & Visa are acceptable methods of payment; however, there is a 5% surcharge added to the cost of the search. (Sorry, we do not take American Express at this time.)
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Does Kinsolving have a Payment Plan?

Under special circumstances payments are acceptable; however, this can only be determined on an individual basis. If this is something you need, please call us.

There are several Payment Plans available and, once one is chosen, it will become a binding part of the Contract.

Please remember that it takes 48 to 72 hours for payment transactions to be posted. It is only after the full payment has been received, and posted, that the search information will be promptly conveyed to the client by Kinsolving.
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 Questions about Searching
Can I search on my own?

You can and a majority of triads do. A very few succeed. Most triads "hit brick walls" or simply do not know what to do.

Some will eventually join search support groups, or find a good soul who can make suggestions about what the next steps are for more or better information. Most search organizations really believe a person should do everything they can on their own. So do we.

When someone contacts us after searching for 30 days or 20 years, they have come to realize that searching is not as easy as some would have you believe. Those clients are bound to be very realistic about what is involved in searching, and the amount of time a search can take.

We appreciate that kind of insight. It makes our job a lot easier.
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Why does searching have to cost money?

When state legislators and adoption agencies refuse to give you a copy of your records and the current whereabouts of your missing family member, with no cost to you, that leaves adoption triads with one choice: search for the facts.

No matter which road is chosen to accomplish that, time, expenses and emotions are involved.

When traveling or visiting a strange place, we sometimes choose to hire a guide. The same is true with a lawyer or a real estate agent. We can choose to travel, represent ourselves, or look for a home on our own. Or we can commission someone with a reputation for success, experience and expertise.

The same is true for hiring a professional searcher. The expectation is that you are paying for expertise, the experience and ability to search successfully.

Like every other profession, there are expenses incurred to be in business as a Private Investigator. Licenses, insurance, bonds, annual subscriptions to organizations open only to licensed professionals, fees for services by those organizations, as well as the general office, website and personnel expenses.
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What alternatives for a paid search are there?

Searches, like life itself, are filled with choices. Even those who search on their own are spending money along the way.

Some eventually choose to invest more by hiring adoption agencies that offer to search, BUT... the agencies demand control not only of the search (which is not guaranteed and sometimes billed hourly), but how the other person is contacted, and what is required in order for a consensual reunion.

Some agencies require months of writing letters through their office, and/or that both parties spend x-number of hours in therapy, at the expense of the parties who want a reunion. The caseworker then decides IF and when a reunion will actually take place.

Others choose to hire unlicensed individuals, organizations, or a Private Investigator without adoption search experience. All of them want to be paid up-front.

They offer no contractual guarantees of success, or that there will not be "additional costs." Nor do they guarantee in a written contract that the search will be completed. Few of those search results are fruitful.

In spite of all that, when a search becomes a priority, or when frustration and stress propel an individual to do something, that something frequently becomes very expensive and more frustrating for the reasons stated above.

For those who want guarantees of a fixed search fee without any "additional costs" and a fee that is payable only AFTER a search is successfully completed -- as well as having complete control of that information with the freedom to make their own choices about contact, Kinsolving Investigations' written contract does it all.
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What about Reunion Registries?

Registries are wonderful, but they only work if BOTH parties have registered on the SAME registry. For many this will simply never be the case. There are other reasons a registry may not make a match:

_ The other party may be deceased.

_ Some registered with the agency years before with the mistaken belief the agencies share the information with a state registry. They do not.

_ An incorrect date of birth was entered. (It can happen for a variety of reasons.)

_ Some states/agencies changed the place of birth.

_ Some states at one time issued a birth certificate from the state of placement instead of state of birth. That is rare, but it did happen.
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How many Registries are there & why are more people not matched?

There are two basic facts about registries:

1. Registries do NOT co-operate with one another.
2. Registries can work and there have been many matches, but certainly the number of people on multiple registries prove that they do not work for the majority

The oldest reunion registries are ISRR (International Soundex Reunion Registry) which is free, and ALMA, which requires a registration fee before any information will be released. Both were established years before the Internet existed.

Almost every state had a support group or groups that kept registries. Many of those groups no longer exist and their registries have disappeared.

State operated registries emerged between late 1980 and 1999. They do charge registration fees, and some prohibit siblings from registering.

The groups that maintained registries certainly did not hand over their records to the state, nor would the states have accepted them.

The number of registries on the Internet is unknown. In an effort to get a somewhat accurate count of the number of registries available, Kinsolving found 289 registries on the Internet in one day, at which point we gave up looking.

Some of the Internet registries only had a few hundred entries. Most had thousands and several had 40,000 plus entries. The collective numbers of entries was staggering. BUT many of the Internet registries have come and gone. The information filed on them has disappeared as well.
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What does a birthmother really hope to accomplish by searching?

Searching, for the greatest majority of birth mothers, is primarily about wanting to give her child the missing information about his/her first families' background including genetic and medical information that non-adopteds take for granted.

It's about knowing a child lost to adoption is alive and well, or deceased - and hopefully having at least a photograph.

It's about reassuring the adoptee that he/she was never forgotten, and that the bond in gestation fostered an enduring love.

It's about closure for the most traumatic loss experience in her life - and adoptees should know that 99.1% of birth mothers were coerced into relinquishment by parents, preachers, lawyers or an adoption agency.

A majority of birthmothers crave hearing their child's voice, and hope that long-awaited hug happens. They may hope for a face-to-face reunion and a relationship, but IF that happens it's a bonus.

Only 1.5% of birthmothers will provide background information and, for whatever their reasons, choose to go no further.
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What does an adoptee really hope to accomplish by searching?

For adoptees searching may be fixed in "only" wanting medical and genetic background information, but soon most of them inevitably want to fill the "Black Hole" of not knowing their how they came to be and what their heritage is.

They want to know who they look like, to hear mother's voice again, to learn who in the family has similar personality traits, what the truth about relinquishment really was and whether they were ever forgotten.

Adoptees may not have considered they have siblings. They often want information about their birth fathers too, even if not in the beginning.

In short, adoptees that search have a mission: a quest for learning more about themselves.

Like the majority of birthmothers, fathers and siblings, most adoptees would like to reunite, if only once. If, after phone calls, letters and/or a physical reunion, a healthy relationship evolves, that's a bonus.
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Are you ready to search?

Ask yourself this question: "Is this a PRIORITY in my life?"

If the answer is no, you need not go any further.

If it is a priority, where does it rank among the others you have? For example, is it more important than a vacation, a new car or a large screen tv?
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If you are ready to search, are you ready to find?

It's vitally important that anyone ready to search keeps in mind that in spite of the bond created in gestation, there are two realities.

First, you are coming together as strangers. Adoptees are adults, not infants. Birthmothers and fathers are no longer teenagers or young adults struggling to forge their way into adulthood.

Secondly, stay real. "The fastest vehicle for encountering disappointment is to harbor unrealistic expectations."

Making contact is about discovering facts, whatever those facts might be.

A wise triad will hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. He/she will know that once the search is completed, no one can ever take away that information again.

You will know who your child, birthmother or siblings are, where they are, and a great deal more than you did before searching.

You will never again have to wonder where or who that someone is.
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Will Kinsolving make the contact for me?

Kinsolving is commissioned only to find facts, and does NOT act as an intermediary.
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How will I know how to make contact?

Almost everyone has in mind before they ever begin to search what they will do when they find. The reality is that those plans are often forgotten once the identifying information is known.

For one thing there is a period of shock that the ˜not knowing" is finally over when in your hands are the illusive keys of a lifetime.

You also don't know what the life situation of the other person is. He/she may be married, live alone, or have/have not told spouses or children about you. Until you do know at least some basic facts about the person, it is advisable to give yourself time to think through how you will make contact.

We will discuss with our clients at length the do's and don'ts of contact when such advice is requested. We cannot, nor do we pretend to tell anyone what they have to do or how. That choice should be yours and yours alone.

Above all we strongly recommend before doing anything, sleep on it!
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What if I am rejected? Do I get a refund?

Rejection is a possibility that everyone should consider and be prepared to accept.

No one can guarantee an open-arms reception when making contact, although it does happen.

For some there will be shock and a need to absorb that this has finally happened. For others the timing might be wrong due to a life crisis, which does not necessarily mean the door is forever closed.

Some will need time to muster the courage to tell their families, spouses and/or children.

A small percentage will claim no interest at all, although they may or may not change their minds weeks, months or years later.

As much as we would like to be able to assure you that the other person will be favorable to a reunion, that is not always the case. That said, statistics ARE in your favor.

There are no refunds for a completed search. Conducting a search is not about relationships. It is about finding facts, and you will indeed have the information for which you commissioned Kinsolving Investigations (the current name, address, phone number if possible) as well as information about the person you were seeking.
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