Confirmation of family ties

Parish registers and registers of civil status

Service that solves issues of a very different kind. It is very in demand in legal matters, when our clients, for example, need to prove their kinship ties to the deceased person for the correct entry into the inheritance, for the burial of the deceased person near to his/her parents. Also, obtaining such a document will make it possible to fill the “white spot” in the family history – to establish the exact date, middle name, maiden name and other details that you have long wanted to find out. In addition, large genealogical research projects on the history of the family often begin with the collection of documents confirming kinship ties.

Speaking about the types of documents used to confirm the relationship, it is worth mentioning that there are two main types:

Parish registers;
Registers of civil status of the civil registration office.

Differences between them are quite significant – we will consider them below. The main similarity is that both types of documents contain information about acts of civil status.

Features of parish registers:

They were conducted at churches of all denominations (Orthodox, Catholics, Greek Catholics, Jews, etc.);
In most cases, register is divided into three parts: about birth, marriage, and death;
Fourth part with records of divorce is typical for synagogue metrics;
Do not contain data on the nationality of the person;
Most of them were conducted before 1921-1922 – before the USSR creation;
This type of sources is stored in the regional archives and in several central archives (Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Kyiv, Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Lviv);
No documents of kinship or power of attorney are needed to obtain information from the metrics.

Orthodox Church records (1913)

Roman Catholic Church records (1863)

Greek Catholic Church records (1846)

Lutheran Church records (1899)

Jewish records (1918)

Features of registers of civil status of the civil registration office:

They began in the 1920s;
In the 1920s-1930s, there was no single unified form for civil-status records, so you can often find documents of varying degrees of information;
Completeness of the form often depended on the scrupulousness of the employees – sometimes not all important fields were filled in;
Registry books are stored in Ukraine in two places: regional archives (documents from the 1920s and early 1940s) and directly civil registration offices (documents after 1945);
There is no complicated access process (power of attorney and proof of kinship) for documents that are stored in the archives, but proof of kinship is required to apply directly to the civil registration office.

Birth record in the vital records of the Civil status registry office (1935)

The cost of obtaining one document in this category of services is $100-$150.

Prices

Consultation, analysis of initial prospects of search	e-mail, Viber, Telegram, WhatsApp – free of charge
Search for a single record from a civil register book in the archive (before 1946)	paper archival reference – $100 digital copy of the document – $50
Search for a single act record directly from civil registry offices (after 1946)	replacement certificate or reference of civil registry office (extract) – $130
Record on birth, marriage or death made in the temple	paper archival reference – $100 digital copy of the document – $50

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I find out my great-grandmother's maiden name?

To do this, it is necessary to find the record of her marriage.

What do I need to prove my relationship to my grandfather?

You need your birth certificate, the birth certificate of the parent to whom the grandfather is the father. If the grandfather is on the mother’s side, you also need the mother’s marriage certificate, which confirms the change of her last name. Your father’s or mother’s birth certificate will list your parents, which will allow you to build a chain from you to your grandfather. Important! The grandfather must be listed on his child’s birth certificate, since if your grandmother does not list the father in the civil registry office, a dash will be put in the document instead, and this automatically makes it impossible to obtain documents for this person from the civil registry office and a number of other structures.