Etude Guénifey

What Etude Guénifey does

Etude Guénifey is a French probate genealogy firm structured as a société par actions simplifiée (SAS), founded in 2001 and headquartered in Paris at 1 rue de la Faisanderie, with the operational base in Aix-en-Provence. The firm specializes in locating legal heirs up to the sixth degree, verifying inheritance devolutions, and representing identified heirs during estate settlement. It serves institutional clients — notaries, banks, insurance companies, condominium administrators, municipalities, and legal professionals — as well as individual heirs, operating through 21 metropolitan branches plus three international offices in Barcelona, Brussels, and Tunis, and employing more than 200 collaborators including historians, archivists, notary-trained legal specialists, and asset liquidation experts. Its core technology stack centers on a digital family-tree platform that enables collaborative cross-continental research, and a proprietary legal trust mechanism (Fiducie Guénifey, launched in 2018) that segregates heir funds from the firm's estate to protect beneficiaries against creditor claims.

The company's specialized departments address banking and insurance regulatory compliance under France's Eckert law, cultural-property provenance research and WWII-restitution support (Service Mémoires Guénifey), land genealogy, and real-estate escheat, with an international department coordinating correspondents in more than 80 countries for cross-border successions. Commercially, Etude Guénifey operates a transaction-based pricing model combining proportional fees calculated on the heir's share of estate value (adjusted for degree of kinship, geographic complexity, and asset value) with fixed fees for devolution verification mandates, and bears costs itself when estate liabilities exceed assets. Go-to-market is B2B sales-led, primarily through mandates from notaries and institutional clients, supplemented by direct outreach to identified heirs. Share capital stands at €45,114,716 with no disclosed external investors, indicating entirely organic growth since 2001.

Name

Etude Guénifey

Legal name

GUENIFEY

Website

https://etudeguenifey.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Etude Guénifey is a French probate genealogy firm founded in 2001 that locates legal heirs, verifies inheritance devolutions, and represents heirs during estate settlement for notaries, banks, insurers, and individuals across 24 branches in France, Barcelona, Brussels, and Tunis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Probate Genealogy Services

NAICS

Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities (523991), Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592), Legal Services (5411)

akta.pro primary industry

Estate Administration & Probate Services (FSAAANAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Estate & Probate Administration Services (FSAEAKAD), Estate Planning & Trust Structuring Advisory (FSAEAKAC), Trust Administration & Fiduciary Accounting Services (FSAAANAF), Trust & Estate Tax Planning & Compliance (FSAEAKAE)

Keywords

• Probate genealogy
• Heir search services
• Succession verification
• Estate genealogy
• Inheritance research

Headquarters

HQ city

Aix-en-provence

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices25 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Honoraires proportionnels: Rémunération calculée sur la part revenant à l'héritier retrouvé, selon le degré de parenté, le nombre d'héritiers, la situation géographique des recherches, l'importance des diligences nécessaires (nom patronymique répandu, accessibilité des documents) et la valeur de l'actif successoral. Si le passif successoral est supérieur à l'actif, l'Étude conserve à sa charge les frais avancés.
2. Honoraires forfaitaires: Rémunération sous forme d'honoraire forfaitaire préalablement défini lorsque le généalogiste est mandaté par un notaire pour vérifier ou valider une dévolution de succession. La facture est adressée au notaire qui procède à son règlement sur les fonds qu'il détient pour la succession.
3. Service déshérence immobilière: À partir de 150€ HT pour la vérification du statut vital d'un copropriétaire. Si le copropriétaire est vivant, recours au service de localisation. Les créances sont récupérées sans coût pour le demandeur.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Founded in 2001, Étude Généalogique Guénifey is a French probate genealogy firm that locates and identifies legal heirs of deceased persons up to the sixth degree, verifies inheritance devolutions, and represents identified heirs during estate settlement. The firm operates 24 branches across France and internationally (Tunis, Brussels, Barcelona) with correspondents in more than 80 countries, and offers a proprietary Guénifey Trust (Fiducie) mechanism that secures 100% of inherited funds separately from the firm's assets.

Product overview

Étude Guénifey is a genealogical firm providing succession-related professional services in France and internationally. Founded in 2001, the company offers a unified portfolio of genealogical research and legal support services centered on locating heirs, verifying inheritance devolutions, and representing heirs during estate settlement. The core offering consists of heir search and verification services (Recherche d'héritiers, Vérification de dévolutions successorales), supplemented by legal representation (Représentation des héritiers) and a proprietary trust mechanism (Fiducie Guénifey) for securing inheritance funds. Specialized departments address international cases (Département International with 80+ country correspondents), banking and insurance compliance (Département Banques et Assurances), cultural property provenance research (Service Mémoires Guénifey), land genealogy (Généalogie Foncière), and real estate escheat (Déshérence immobilière). The company operates on both proportional fees (calculated on heir's share) and fixed fees for verification services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fiducie Guénifey: Legal mechanism for self-regulation of inherited funds, established in 2018, ensuring 100% secure handling of heir funds.
• Secrets d'Héritage

Products and services

• Recherche d'héritiers (Heir Search) Genealogical research service to locate and identify legal heirs of a deceased person up to the sixth degree, supporting the settlement of estates.
• Vérification de dévolutions successorales Verification service to confirm or validate inheritance devolutions and ensure all rightful heirs are identified for succession settlement, often mandated directly by notaries on a fixed-fee basis.
• Représentation des héritiers Legal representation service for heirs during estate liquidation, handling inventory, asset valuation, debt settlement, and coordination with the notary, delivered by jurists holding notary diplomas.
• Fiducie Guénifey (Heirs Trust) Legal trust mechanism that creates a separate estate for heir funds held temporarily by a trustee, guaranteeing 100% secure handling of inherited funds and protecting beneficiaries from creditors, the trustee, or the genealogist.
• Département International (International Department) International succession research service with correspondents in over 80 countries, handling cross-border inheritance cases including certified translations, foreign legislation expertise, and global network coordination, supported by 12 dedicated international researchers.
• Département Banques et Assurances Banking and insurance department assisting with regulatory compliance under the Eckert law, locating beneficiaries of inactive bank accounts, dormant safe deposit boxes, and unclaimed life insurance contracts.
• Service Mémoires Guénifey Provenance research service for cultural property, specializing in identifying owners of goods looted during WWII and supporting restitution efforts, including Righteous Among the Nations recognition applications.
• Généalogie Foncière (Land Genealogy) Real estate genealogy service to identify property owners, regularize legal situations, and locate owners of unclaimed or abandoned properties for real estate development projects.
• Déshérence immobilière (Real Estate Escheat) Service to locate deceased co-owners and their heirs to recover unpaid condominium charges, verifying whether an estate has been opened and managing succession settlement, priced from €150 excl. VAT for vital status verification.

Quantifiable outcome

• Recherche des héritiers jusqu'au 6e degré
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Congrès des Notaires de FrancecoreOthers · 1 September 2026Partenaire de l'événement pour la remise du prix du concours de droit notarial en septembre 2026. L'accès au congrès est inclus dans les récompenses du concours.
• Lefebvre DallozcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Partenariat stratégique pour le lancement d'un concours national de droit notarial à destination des étudiants en Master 2, avec dotation de 5000€, publication dans la revue Solution Notaire Hebdo, abonnement à Inneo Notaire et accès au Congrès des Notaires 2026. Cette initiative promeut l'excellence académique et renforce les liens entre généalogistes successoraux, notaires et futurs professionnels du droit.
• Espoir au SommetminorOthersAssociation soutenue dans le cadre de la politique de mécénat de l'entreprise. Lève des fonds et organise des événements caritatifs pour soutenir les hôpitaux partenaires dans leur lutte contre le cancer via la Sport-Thérapie.
• Espérance BanlieuesminorOthersAssociation soutenue dans le cadre de la politique de mécénat. Favorise l'accompagnement pédagogique d'enfants originaires des quartiers prioritaires pour lutter contre les inégalités scolaires et culturelles.
• Pure OcéanminorOthersAssociation soutenue dans le cadre de la politique de mécénat. Soutient des projets de recherche pour accroître les connaissances sur l'océan, lutter contre le réchauffement climatique et préserver la biodiversité marine.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• La Généalogie Française: French genealogy firm offering heir search, devolution verification, and succession representation services, directly overlapping Etude Guénifey's core offerings for notarial mandates.
• Geneabank: French genealogical research firm specializing in heir search and devolution verification for notaries. Comparable in service offering and target customer base, though smaller in scale than Etude Guénifey.
• Arkheon: French genealogy firm providing heir research and succession services to notaries and legal professionals, directly competing with Etude Guénifey in the French probate genealogy market.
• Léonardo (Généalogie Léonardo): French probate genealogy firm with operations across France, offering heir search and devolution services comparable to Etude Guénifey's core proposition.
• Coutot-Roehrig: The largest French probate genealogy firm, founded in 1898, serving notaries, banks, and insurers across France with heir search and succession representation. Direct competitor to Etude Guénifey in the same regulated niche.
• Bénéficiales (Groupe Cyrus): French wealth advisory group that includes heir search and succession services within a broader estate planning offering, competing for notarial and institutional mandates in France.

Emerging players

• Heredis: French genealogy software company enabling consumers and professionals to build family trees. Adjacent rather than directly competing, but represents the digitization trend that could pressure traditional heir research services.
• Filae.com: Online genealogy platform providing access to French civil records and family tree tools. Adjacent to Etude Guénifey's research workflow, illustrating how digitised archives could disrupt manual heir search economics.

Broad incumbents

• Notaires de France (Conseil Supérieur du Notariat): The national French notary body representing the notarial profession, the primary buyer channel for Etude Guénifey's services. Not a competitor but the institutional customer whose mandates drive volume.

Others

• Banque de France (Service des Biens Délaissés): French central bank unit managing dormant estate assets under Eckert law. Adjacent ecosystem participant whose regulatory enforcement directly drives demand for Etude Guénifey's bank/insurance compliance services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/%C3%A9tude-g%C3%A9n%C3%A9alogique-gu%C3%A9nifey

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Etude Guénifey