Client agreement

Terms of Service

Last updated September 16, 2026

These Terms of Service form an agreement between you and Melissa Reeves Genealogy, operated by Melissa Reeves (the “Researcher”). By submitting a research request, accepting a written project scope, or paying for services, you agree to these Terms.

1. Nature of the service

The Researcher provides historical and genealogical research using available public records, subscription databases, client-provided information, family trees, DNA match information, and other lawful sources. The service is research and interpretation only. It is not legal advice, medical advice, genetic counseling, forensic identification, a legal determination of parentage, an heirship opinion, or a guarantee of citizenship, inheritance, tribal membership, or any other legal status.

2. Eligibility and authority

You must be at least 18 years old to purchase services. You represent that you are authorized to provide the information, documents, photographs, family stories, account permissions, and DNA match information you submit. You must obtain appropriate permission before sharing sensitive information about a living person.

3. Scope of work

Fixed-price packages have set limits so the work and what you will receive are clear. One Family History Question covers one focused question and up to three hours of research. Ancestry Family Tree Build covers one starting person, their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents in the client’s Ancestry account. Tree Review & Cleanup checks up to 25 people. DNA Match Review covers one tester’s matches and up to four hours of review. Family Tree Poster Design covers one digital tree showing up to four generations and one round of changes. “Up to” describes the maximum included work, not a promise that every person, record, date, place, or relationship will be found.

Family History Book Design starts at $395 for up to 20 designed pages using organized client-provided or previously completed research, a print-ready PDF, and one revision. The starting price is not a guaranteed final price. Research, writing beyond light editing, additional pages, extensive image restoration, licensing, printing, binding, extra copies, shipping, and additional revisions are quoted separately.

Paid requests to identify, locate, or contact living people are not currently offered. Research beyond a package limit, foreign-language or onsite research, certificate fees, archive fees, printing, shipping, additional revisions, and other out-of-scope work require a separate written quote or agreement.

Only the work described in the written acceptance message or project summary is included. Any additional work requires your approval before additional fees are charged.

4. Account access and third-party subscriptions

You create, own, and maintain any Ancestry, MyHeritage, DNA, or other third-party account used for the project, including any subscription needed to access records. The Researcher will not request your password. When account access is necessary, you must use the provider’s official guest, viewer, contributor, editor, manager, or collaborator invitation tools. You may revoke that access after the project.

Third-party subscriptions, certificates, archive copies, printing, shipping, and other external costs are not included unless the accepted written scope expressly says otherwise.

5. No guarantee of results

Genealogical research is limited by the survival, availability, accessibility, legibility, completeness, and accuracy of records and databases. Historical records, indexes, family trees, oral histories, and DNA match labels may contain errors. The Researcher does not guarantee that a particular ancestor, biological relative, record, relationship, ethnicity, location, or number of generations will be identified.

Conclusions may change if new records, corrected records, or additional DNA matches become available. Documented facts, reasonable conclusions, and unproven possibilities will be distinguished whenever practical.

6. DNA and sensitive information

Do not submit account passwords, raw DNA files, Social Security numbers, payment card numbers, medical records, or other unnecessary highly sensitive information through the public intake form. If DNA review is accepted, use the testing company’s official viewer, collaborator, or sharing tools whenever available. You are responsible for reviewing and following the testing company’s terms and for revoking access when the project is complete.

DNA research can reveal unexpected parentage, adoptions, donor conception, unknown relatives, family secrets, or relationships that differ from family tradition. By requesting DNA-assisted research, you acknowledge that possibility and accept responsibility for deciding how to use or share the findings.

7. AI-assisted research and human review

The Researcher may use artificial intelligence and other digital tools to organize minimized research notes, compare names and timelines, develop search strategies, summarize working notes, or identify records worth investigating. AI-generated suggestions are not treated as proven facts. Material findings and conclusions are reviewed by the Researcher and evaluated against available records and source evidence. Passwords, raw DNA files, Social Security numbers, payment information, and unnecessary information about living people are not entered into AI tools.

8. Client responsibilities and prohibited uses

You agree to provide information honestly and to use the service only for lawful, personal family-history purposes. You may not use the Researcher’s work to stalk, harass, threaten, impersonate, discriminate against, publicly expose, locate, monitor, or contact a person in a deceptive or coercive manner. You may not request unlawful access to private accounts, restricted records, current addresses, workplaces, private telephone numbers, other nonpublic location or contact details, or information you are not authorized to obtain. You may not use the service to evade a protective order, custody restriction, no-contact request, confidentiality program, or other safety measure.

The Researcher may ask reasonable questions about your identity, relationship, purpose, and authority before accepting a project. The Researcher may decline, pause, or stop any project that raises safety, privacy, fraud, harassment, coercion, or legality concerns. The Researcher is not required to disclose confidential screening methods or the reason a request was declined when doing so could create additional risk.

9. Payment

PayPal and Cash App are the only accepted payment methods. After submitting an intake for a fixed-price package, you may use the website checkout links to pay the price displayed for that package. Research begins only after the Researcher reviews the request, accepts the project, and confirms full payment. If the Researcher declines the request before accepting it, the payment will be returned.

Custom family history book projects require a 50% deposit after you approve the written scope and quote. The deposit becomes nonrefundable when design work begins. The remaining balance is due before delivery of unwatermarked final print-ready files or placement of a printing order. Printing and shipping charges must be paid before production begins.

You are responsible for sending payment only to the verified PayPal or Cash App account identified directly by the Researcher. Payment services are operated by third parties and are governed by their own terms, privacy policies, security practices, and dispute procedures.

10. Cancellations and refunds

The fee purchases the Researcher’s time, search strategy, database and record review, analysis, documentation, and written summary. It does not purchase or guarantee a particular discovery, number of ancestors, number of generations, biological identification, DNA conclusion, or volume of records. Records may be missing, restricted, inaccurate, contradictory, illegible, or never created.

Once the Researcher confirms acceptance and begins the agreed work, all payments are final and nonrefundable. This remains true if few or no new facts are discovered, DNA matches do not answer the question, records are unavailable, or the findings differ from what you hoped or expected. The Researcher will still perform the agreed research effort and provide a summary of the sources searched, findings located, and significant unresolved gaps.

If the Researcher declines the request before accepting it or cannot perform the accepted work, the payment will be returned, less only any nonrefundable processing fee actually charged by the payment provider when permitted by law. Nothing in these Terms limits a refund, dispute right, or consumer remedy that cannot lawfully be waived.

11. Timing and communication

Any completion estimate is an estimate, not a guaranteed deadline. Delays can result from record-access restrictions, archive response times, website outages, record requests, illness, emergencies, or the need for clarification. You agree to respond within a reasonable time when additional information or authorization is needed.

12. Deliverables and permitted use

Unless otherwise agreed, the final deliverable may include a written summary, family tree information, record citations, links, images of lawfully available records, and notes about unresolved questions. Deliverables will not intentionally include a living person’s nonpublic current address, workplace, private telephone number, or other sensitive location details. After full payment, you may use the original written deliverable for personal and family-history purposes and may share it privately with relatives, subject to the privacy and safety restrictions in these Terms. The Researcher retains ownership of original formatting, research notes, methods, templates, and original written analysis. Public records, third-party images, database records, and other third-party materials remain subject to their own rights and restrictions.

Family Tree Poster Design and Family History Book Design include the agreed high-resolution digital file and one round of changes unless the written project details say otherwise. Physical production and shipping are separately quoted. You are responsible for having permission to reproduce photographs, writing, and other protected materials you provide. Final color and appearance may vary by screen, printer, paper, ink, binding, framing, and production method. Printing begins only after you approve the final preview.

13. Confidentiality and privacy

The Researcher will use reasonable care with client information and will use it to evaluate, perform, document, and administer the requested service. Genealogy research is not protected by attorney-client, doctor-patient, therapist-patient, or similar legal privilege. Information may be disclosed when reasonably necessary to use a research or payment provider, comply with law, respond to valid legal process, protect safety or rights, or address fraud or a payment dispute. See the Privacy Notice for more information.

14. Third-party sources and services

The Researcher is not responsible for the availability, accuracy, security, pricing, policies, or conduct of Ancestry, FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Newspapers.com, DNA testing companies, archives, payment services, or other third parties. A link, citation, or use of a third-party source does not create an endorsement or control of that service.

15. Disclaimer and limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, services and findings are provided based on the information and records reasonably available during the project, without warranties of completeness, accuracy, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or a particular result. The Researcher is not liable for decisions, family disputes, contact with relatives, emotional distress, reputational effects, inheritance issues, legal proceedings, or other consequences arising from your use, disclosure, or interpretation of the findings.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Researcher’s total liability arising from a project will not exceed the amount you paid for that project. This limitation does not apply to liability that cannot lawfully be limited, including liability for willful misconduct where applicable.

16. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by Maryland law, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Unless applicable consumer law requires otherwise, any court proceeding must be brought in a court with jurisdiction in Allegany County, Maryland. Before filing a claim, the parties should make a good-faith effort to resolve the concern directly. Nothing in these Terms waives a consumer right or remedy that cannot legally be waived.

17. Changes, severability, and entire agreement

If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect to the extent allowed by law. The accepted project scope, these Terms, and the Privacy Notice contain the entire agreement for the service unless both parties agree to a written change. Updated Terms apply to future projects and will be identified by a new “last updated” date.