United States (PRunderground) November 09, 2009 – Puj, a leading designer of modern baby products that help Simplify Parenthood, is putting its new Puj Tub to the test, literally. The company is looking for 100 parents to act as official product testers for its new Puj Tub. The Puj Tub has been hailed as one of the best baby products to come on the market in years, offering a revolutionary new way to bathe a baby. With this new Puj 100 Tub Challenge, parents can see for themselves how easy bathing a baby with the Puj Tub can be.

Parents everywhere know how anxiety-inducing bathing a newborn can be –such a delicate creature slipping and sliding can quickly cause inner panic. With the Puj Tub, parents are able to bathe their baby in a standard sink so there’s no bending over a big, awkward bathtub. The Puj Tub cradles the baby in a cushiony, non-absorbent and non-slip closed cell foam that is also PVC and BPA free. And once the bath is done, the Puj Tub dries fast and folds flat. The Puj Tub will be available for purchase at the end of November at a price of $39.99; however, through the Puj 100 Tub Giveaway, parents with a blog can go to the Puj site and apply to receive the tub for free in exchange for being a product tester and sharing their honest views on the product. The 100 selected winners will also be listed as official product testers on www.pujbaby.com. In this economy, giving consumers an opportunity to try a product at no cost is welcome news. For more information on the Puj 100 Tub Giveaway please visit www.pujbaby.com.

Puj designs products for parents with the focus on making their lives easier. As parents and designers, Katie and Ben Richardson know how wonderful yet challenging parenting can be and have set out to design products that Simplify Parenthood. Having designed products for numerous name brand companies, it just seemed natural to begin designing products that helped them raise their own children. From shoes that fit baby’s feet perfectly to the latest innovation in baby products, Puj Baby makes parents lives easier. For more information on the Puj Tub and Puj please visit www.pujbaby.com.

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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Phone: 609-372-4121
Email: sales@pujbaby.com
Web: http://www.pujbaby.com

Please direct all questions to the person listed under “contact information” above. PRunderground does not represent this company, we are simply the distributor of this release.

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Vancouver, Ca (PRunderground) November 2nd, 2009 – Flooded by customers’ requests, the PokerTableRatings.com team worked tirelessly to produce Omaha Poker Player Hands and Stats. The company is the only source within the industry that provides this level of in-depth tracking on a poker player’s complete playing history, winning sessions, losing sessions, statistics and playing style.

Omaha shares similarities to the more mainstream Texas Hold’em variation of poker. The major difference between the two forms is that, with Omaha, players start out with four hole cards instead of two. Amongst the highest-stakes games available, it is often called the ‘Game of Nuts’ in reference to the amusing adage that Nuts are what is required to take down a hand.

Omaha adds an interesting edge to the game. Drawing hands often develop into monster hands whereas made hands are much more vulnerable to being outdrawn. Sam at PokerTableRatings.com added, “Demand from our customers for Omaha Poker data tracking has been very high and we felt it to be a necessary addition to our current services. The game naturally attracts action players and gamblers. This makes it far too lucrative for poker players to ignore.”

PokerTableRatings is also one of the premium online sources for hand histories (a complete play-by-play log of a poker hand). It includes all known cards, betting actions, and outcome. The hand histories are considered to be data points of intelligence: each data point on its own doesn’t provide a lot of useful information, however, the aggregated sum of thousands of these data points form very powerful trends and statistics that help online poker players to better analyze their own game and that of their opponent. These Hand Histories can be downloaded for a fee, and then imported and crunched by one of several poker tracking softwares on the market.

PokerTableRatings.com is an industry leader in providing up-to-the-minute information on online poker players and the poker hands they were involved in. The current suite of tools includes: A real time Table Selector to locate the most profitable tables; a player research tool; leader boards for top winners and losers; highlights of the biggest pots; a buddy list with email alerts; intuitive hand replayer to recap visually the hands as they were played; widget tools, which can be incorporated into third party blogs and websites; and a variety of statistical reports.

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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Contact Name: PR & Marketing
Phone: 877-211-9366
Email: marketing@tableratings.com
Web: http://www.pokertableratings.com

Please direct all questions to the person listed under “contact information” above. PRunderground does not represent this company, we are simply the distributor of this release.

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United States (PRunderground) October 27, 2009 – The search engine marketing industry offers so many tools to track your website. There are so many companies that offer you their Search Engine Marketing Tools. Last week I decided to use a link analysis tool to determine how well my website was ranking. knowing that I needed to find a tool that was not a waste of time, I went to Gina Nieves of Marknet Group Inc, I told her what I was looking for and she told me about Caphyon. She stated that their SEO tools were unmatched in the industry. Her exact words were; “Hands down the best website ranking SEO tools I have used to date”.

I decided to take a look at their products to see what all the hype was about. I went to their website http://www.caphyon.com and the first thing I noticed was how clean and fresh their website looked. You can tell a lot about a company if their website is clean, easy to navigate and user friendly. It is like going to someones house. If you go to their house and it is a mess, then chances are their lives are a mess too. Their user support is incredible. They thought of everything from a very descriptive and step by step user manual, FAQ’s, Forums, Email to even phone support. All the bases are covered and believe me they are fast to respond and help with every question.

Right away I was able to see that I could download 4 different products. Whether it is for website ranking, link popularity, windows installer or web stats, you can download these products and evaluate the full version of the programs offered for a 30 day trial period. We are not talking about downloading a trial version that does not include every feature. We are talking about downloading the complete program. All the features of Standard, Professional, Enterprise and Server editions are enabled during the 30 day trial period. They are so sure of their products that they want you to try the full package with all the bells and whistles.

This my friends is a great marketing technique which the have mastered. If you are seriously considering getting the most complete search engine visibility software package for your business, I guarantee that after you use the trial version, you will buy the product.

These are the products that were offered by Caphyon:

1. Advanced Installer - Used by top companies around the world such as Intel, Apple, Sony, Nasa, Microsoft Google and Dell, It is a Windows Installer tool for removing installing and maintaining applications that run on windows systems. The beauty of this program is that it is User friendly, completely GUI driven, with no scripts to learn, no databases to edit and no XML to write. This is such an easy product to use that you do not have to be a top software developer to use it. It has so many features that you will without a doubt find this program to be a necessity you cant be without. This is a great java installer program that will really simplify the process.

To learn more about this product click here Advance Installer Features

2. Advanced Link Manager - How would you like to use a program that truly lets you manage and monitor your incoming links. With Advanced Link Manager you can truly analyze your website’s link popularity. It is a great tool to have when trying to find relevant link opportunities. Included in the program are some great features such as - Link popularity analyzer, Keep track of your paid links, find partner links and even information about the partners you plan to link to. valuable information such as domain age and page rank of a potential partner. Again another user friendly, robust and clean program to use. Possibly the best link manager of it’s kind on the market today.

To learn more about this product click here Advance Link Manager Features

3. Advanced Web Stats - Here is another beauty of a program. Advanced Web Stats software allows you to effectively track and analyze your website statistics in real time. Think Google Analytics, now take that 3 steps further. This program has features such as conversion tracking, analyze site performance, visitor behavior, goal verification, hybrid tracking, geographic analysis, server traffic and so much more. There are a couple of major pluses with this program.

One huge plus is that you can fully customize it by adding your own logo and change the CSS. You can easily set the header and footer with your companies information. You can customize this baby any way you want. The ability to customize really makes it your own.

The second huge plus is the fact that Caphyon has decided to have an open Beta testing program to obtain important feedback and suggestions from it’s customers. This somehow reminds me of how Microsoft decided to let PC makers and programmers beta test Windows 7 so that they could make an operating system that would work well with the customers wants needs addressed. To show their appreciation, Caphyon will reward the beta testers who help improve the application with free licenses, once the application is released.

To learn more about this product click here Advance Web Stats Features

4. Advanced Web Ranking - I have tried a number of these applications that say they are robust, dynamic, easy to use, clean interface..etc. Somehow we always find them all to difficult to use. That is until I started using this program to manage my search engine rankings. what a program it is. This program has it all. it really is robust, dynamic, easy to use, clean interface, customizable and just like their other programs, outstanding customer service.

Lets take a look at what this program offers:

• Keyword Research Tool Also included in Keyword Research is the Keyword Builder feature. This feature takes the individual keywords you provided and creates more complicated keywords. It also allows you to find the best keyword combination’s. If you need to target important keywords, no need to worry it also includes a Keyword Suggest feature that works extremely well.

• Keyword Analyzer Another useful Keyword tool is the Keyword Analyzer. It is always important to analyze your website first. doing so you will easily compare keyword prominence between your site and the your competitions site. With this tool you can find out your keyword density, page occurrences, occurrences in the anchor text and the word count of each word found.

• Link Popularity Analyzer In order for you to rank high on the search engines, you need link popularity. Find out what the popular keywords are. With this tool you can find out who links to your website. You can even check out your competition and find out who they link to.

• Keyword Research Tool Need help researching keywords that are powerful and effective, then this tools will work wonders for you. It helps you research and get new keywords ideas by offering you multiple keywords analysis tools to choose from. It automatically imports collected keywords to your project or creates a new project with the collected keywords.

• Google Preview Tool With the Google preview tool it does not matter if you are in the United States, Europe or anywhere else in the world. You can get accurate website rankings with this tool. Using the Google Preview Tool you can check your customers website rankings from your desk regardless of where they are in the world.

• Project Management With Project Management you can manage multiple accounts at once. This area has so many sections. It has the project details, reports, scheduled task, triggers, notes, events, backups and data templates. When I ran my report I was able to customize it with my company logo. It saved me so lot’s of time.

•User Profiles You are allowed to create as many custom user profiles as you wish. You can also set limits to their admin rights.

•Trigger Templates

You can define a condition with the help of the customizable filters and you will receive a special report with only the data you are interested in. Triggers can be created for a certain project or for a list of multiple projects.

There are so many more options that are included with this program. It was with this program that Gina Nieves of Marknet Group Inc got my attention. When I saw the report she had created for a client I was amazed and had to know how this very detailed report was created.

To learn more about this product click here Advance Web Ranking Features

Quite frankly they do offer the best software at the best price. Their SEO tools are unsurpassed in my opinion. As I said before other software companies, small and big should look at their customer support and emulate it. Prunderground will soon have a whole new website with a different interface. You can count that we will definitely be using all their tools for our SEO and website stats needs. Check out http://www.advancedwebranking.com

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CONTACT INFORMATION:

Contact: Alex Miranda
Phone: 845-259-9396
Email: amiranda@prunderground.com
Web: http://www.prunderground.com

Please direct all questions to the person listed under “contact information” above. PRunderground does not represent this company, we are simply the distributor of this release.

Louisville, KY (PRunderground) October 28, 2009 – Today Comwired.com, the Internet’s innovative low-cost, location-based DNS provider, announced it would be unveiling a brand new online interface for its geo-directional DNS platform.

Comwired.com is a leader in providing DNS as a service to companies and individuals who benefit from managing their domain name traffic via geo-targeting. The company offers two lines of DNS server software offerings, a “Domainer” platform and an “Enterprise” platform. Both platforms provide fast, easy DNS hosting, and are geared to divide domain name traffic based on the originating location of visitors accessing domains on the Comwired.com network.

Using Comwired’s DNS servers and admin control panel, users are able to provide a targeted visitor experience within their websites and applications. “Directional DNS benefits our clients by enabling them to send visitors to different pages or websites based on each visitor’s location and routing them to a destination that is more tailored to their geographical location, down to the city level. With this new interface, we’ve made the process easier than ever,” explained Sean Stafford, Director of Technical Support for Comwired.com.

Through a simple unified dashboard, members can view reports and usage as well as add and manage domains, set group rules, and create any combination of country groups.

“There were two main reasons we revamped the Comwired.com interface. First, we wanted to produce software that embodies the phrase, “user friendly.” We wanted to make sure we offered the most easy-to-use and valuable online experience our audience could ask for. Second, we wanted to introduce additional features to our software while striking a balance between a visually rich design and giving our users more control with less confusion. We recognize that the typical DNS user may not be a network engineer. With this newest edition of Comwired I believe we’ve achieved both goals,” continued Stafford.

Comwired uses IP Anycast routing technology to allow visitors going to their clients’ sites to be pointed to the nearest server on a geographically diverse network, minimizing network latency. Customers can serve different content to users visiting the same domain name by directing their visitors to multiple locations – using A records, CNAME records, or URL redirection – based on predefined rules. Because this happens on the DNS level, unlike localization technologies that require ZIP code entry or redirect a user after the page has resolved, the redirection is instantaneous and undetectable by the user.

Established in early 2008, Comwired.com is a trusted DNS provider and leader in directional DNS management. Building on a history providing services in the web hosting and domain name industries, the Comwired.com team brings new innovation to the DNS world by improving old technology for the benefit of domainers and corporate users who require specialized DNS services for localized and targeted advertising. The service has many adaptations which include interactive ad serving, fraud detection, ensuring regulatory compliance, and triggering country- or language-specific payment options. The company offers a free DNS trial encouraging anyone to try out their traffic management features at http://www.comwired.com

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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Contact Name: Sean Stafford
Phone #: (502) 216-8447
Email: eric@comwired.com
Web: http://comwired.com

Please direct all questions to the person listed under “contact information” above. PRunderground does not represent this company, we are simply the distributor of this release.

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United States (PRunderground) October 21, 2009 –Copy Craft Printers, Inc. is proud to introduce “Cards for the Cure” in association with Susan G. Komen for the Cure in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Chances are someone you know will be affected by breast cancer at some point in your life. The results of this disease can be devastating for both friends and family. And now you can help support the fight against breast cancer with the purchase of the simplest of products – business cards!

On October 29-30, 2009, ten dollars ($10) of every business card order from Copy Craft Printers will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

For more information about this program, visit http://www.copycraft.com/komen . For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure and about the fight against breast cancer, please visit http://ww5.komen.org

About Copy Craft Printers

Copy Craft Printers is a full service commercial printing company specializing in offset and digital printing and is dedicated to providing the highest level of product and service quality.

Copy Craft Printers was founded in 1985. During the 90’s, Copy Craft switched to high quality waterless printing and became one of the first printers to market nationally. In 2000, Copy Craft Printers opened its second location in Austin, Texas which operates today as Capital Printing Co. In 2007, Copy Craft Printers added complete digital and mailing services to meet customer demands.

Today the company has grown to over 130 employees and revenues in excess of $20 million and continues to serve customer s across the nation with its web site and professional sales force.

For additional information about Copy Craft Printers visit http://www.copycraft.com or call 800-794-5594.

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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Contact Name: Cory Rogers
Phone #: 806 7947752
Email: cory@copycraft.com
Web: http://www.copycraft.com

Please direct all questions to the person listed under “contact information” above. PRunderground does not represent this company, we are simply the distributor of this release.

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United Kingdom (PRunderground) October 21, 2009 – The first week of October saw what is possibly a unique situation brought up for the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

Not usually known for their risky nature or controversial stances outside of motoring legislation, the DVLA removed two license plates that were to be sold at an auction after a complaint from the gay rights charity Stonewall.

The group, which enjoys support from celebrities such as Alan Carr and Dannii Minogue, contacted the agency about two plates featuring a collection of numbers and letters that could very easily be interpreted as ‘Faggot’ and ‘Dykes’, derogatory terms for gay men and women respectively.

The number plates ‘F4 GOT’ and ‘D1 KES’ had reserves of £900 each, and Stonewall said they objected to people, especially government agencies, “making profit from insults”.

After the complaint, the plates were withdrawn from the auction, and the following statement was issued by the DVLA:

“We have a responsibility to ensure that the combinations used on registration marks do not cause general upset or offence. Having reviewed the appropriateness of the registration marks F4 GOT and D1 KES, we have withdrawn these marks on the grounds of the clear potential offence they may cause.”

Similar withdrawals have been made for licence plates that contain “JE” and “HAD”, which are fairly easy to interpret as “JIHAD”, and combinations that include ‘666’.

The guidelines have relaxed somewhat though. The DVLA previously would never have dreamed of auctioning off a plate like “N4 KED”, but that is to be left in the auction that “F4 GOT” and “D1 KES” have been removed from. “701 LET” or ‘Toilet’ also sold recently.

The sale of personalised license plates through auction by the DVLA began in 1989, and has brought in a large amount of profit for them each year. The 2008 financial year saw them bring in £80,700,000, and that is not set to drop by too much this year.

What the future holds for number plates and what interesting new combinations we will see emerge and be subsequently banned as different words pick up offensive connotations, will be rather interesting both linguistically and to see the slow shuffle of government agencies in progress.

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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Contact Name: Jayne Henry
Phone #: 0845 346 4343
Web: http://www.speedyreg.co.uk

Please direct all questions to the person listed under “contact information” above. PRunderground does not represent this company, we are simply the distributor of this release.

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United States (PRunderground) October 13, 2009 – Small Midwest newspaper and web publisher Harlan Jacobsen is dedicated to exposing a highly effective drug-free asthma cure, which could solve the current asthma epidemic affecting over 300 million asthmatics worldwide. Jacobsen is ‘Betting the farm’ on publicizing this breathing retraining method, which originated in Russia and has been the standard asthma treatment there since 1981. This method has been proven as a totally drug-free asthma cure by six studies in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada, which showed a 90% cut in drug usage.

The ‘Buteyko’ method of breathing retraining was implemented as the standard asthma treatment in Russia following 20 years of tests, which overwhelmingly proved that Dr. Buteyko’s method worked. The method is now taught in Russian hospitals and its use has extended to athletes, astronauts and singers to improve their performance. It has now been tested and perfected in Russia for over 40 years and its success has led to further studies in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK and Canada. Each of the six studies carried out verified that the Russian method of breathing retraining in treating asthma works. The studies each showed a 90% cut in drug usage for asthma sufferers.

There are currently 300 million asthma sufferers worldwide, a figure which has doubled in the last ten years, and it is predicted that 3 out of 5 urban children are soon to be affected. Harlan Jacobsen is now doing his utmost to publicize the Buteyko method in his newspapers and on his asthma website, http://asthmacure101.com . He wishes to stem the tide of this epidemic, and to prevent more lives being ruined by asthma. Jacobsen is a strong advocate of this asthma cure, which he defines as, ‘Regaining your health, discontinuing all medications, and having no return of the affliction’.

The Buteyko method is virtually unheard of in the U.S. Jacobsen says that most media or people in the medical profession are afraid of using, or even mentioning, the word ‘cure’ for fear of being branded charlatans by the American Medical Society, since there is supposedly not an official recognized cure in the U.S. for asthma. Jacobsen notes that it took the American Medical Society 20 years to accept the two-week cure for ulcers developed by a small town doctor in Australia. The same doctor was recently awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery. Jacobsen is calling on the media to prevent the Medical Society from repeating the same delay. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Jacobsen is particularly excited about a funded asthma breathing retraining study currently being conducted by the Southern Methodist University.

Harlan Jacobsen has been a small newspaper publisher for over 40 years, and is a diabetic. He publishes the only hard copy Diabetes newspaper available, and provides a matching website for diabetics at http://diabetescure101.com. His asthma website, uses many graphics and videos to convey the simplicity of understanding Dr. Buteyko’s 40 years of proving that the over-exhalation of carbon dioxide is both the cause and fix of asthma. Jacobsen says his goal is to make his site the U.S Asthma Cure Site, and to provide information proving that this method works and that users who stick with it can become totally asthma and drug free. He says there is abundant evidence to show that many can retrain breathing on their own, totally cost free, and that many sufferers can be removed of the need for drugs within days.

Jacobsen calls his site a FREEmation (dollar free) site. He does not sell courses, books, videos or pills. His primary motivation is to expose the success (cure) of correct re-training that stops hyperventilation and the habitual over-exhaling of carbon dioxide, and show that it does indeed work. Bring this proven cure promptly to the attention of the suffering U.S. public with this totally drug-free asthma cure. Visit http://asthmacure101.com

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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Contact Name: Harlan Jacobsen
Phone: 605-376-4125
Email: harlanjacobsen@webtv.net
Web: http://asthmacure101.com

Please direct all questions to the person listed under “contact information” above. PRunderground does not represent this company, we are simply the distributor of this release.

United States (PRunderground) August 01, 2008 – www.discountswimmingaids.co.uk is a new site dedicated to offering customers both great value for money and a dedicated personal advice service when learning to swim.

The Sales Director “Kev Thomas” is a former Armed Forces PTI and during his 10 years of service helped hundreds of servicemen in the art of learning to swim, “Back then swim aids where very basic, kickboards where about the most ingenious float on the market” he said, “Nowadays the range is very extensive and we have made it our aim to bring all of the best items on the market to our easy to use website.

Our range caters from babies through to adults and aids in the development of swimming both on the top of the water and with gaining confidence when diving below the surface. For children we even have swimming aids which can develop their learning such as number and letter floats. Our Hydrotherapy floats will also help the disabled or those overcoming injury.

The website has been designed to make ordering as simple as possible, all products are placed in categories of similar items, which should save time when ordering. The website also has a `payment on account` setting which enables Local authorities, Schools and approved Swimming clubs to order on a 30 day invoice account when using a valid order number as well as paying by credit/debit card using the secure PROTX system.

Delivery of items is another way in which we at Discount Swimming Aids feel we can stand out from the crowd, once an order has been made you will receive an email alerting you that everything has gone through o.k and another when the items have been dispatched which will in most circumstances be within 48hrs of the order being made. If you have any special delivery instructions you can contact us on our freephone 0800 number which will be displayed on the `contact us` link.

We hope that you will come and take a look at our site and tell us your thoughts when goes live at the end of October, www.discountswimmingaids.co.uk

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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Contact Name: Kevin Thomas
Phone #: 0800 0181227
Email: sales@thomassports.com
Web: http://www.discountswimmingaids.co.uk

Please direct all questions to the person listed under “contact information” above. PRunderground does not represent this company, we are simply the distributor of this release.

Cincinnati, OH (PRunderground) October 09, 2009 –If someone is unsure of how to get to a specific destination and calls to ask for directions, the first question asked is “Where are you now?” It is virtually impossible for anyone to give the directions needed if they don’t know where the starting location is found. This is equally true for assessing your Diversity and Inclusion Initiative.

Diversity University, co-founded by industry expert Patricia Pope, CEO of Pope and Associates, is proud to announce a Free Diversity Webinar Series that begins with “Assessing Your Diversity and Inclusion Initiative” on Thursday, October 22, 2009.

Organizations use assessment regarding diversity and inclusion to get a baseline snapshot of what works, what requires change, and where to do better with encouraging and maximizing the benefits of a diverse workforce. The power of diversity managed well is experienced in terms of high employee engagement and measurable bottom-line results.

Even though an organization may need more representation in certain areas, it is likely that it is already diverse. In a tough economy, as budget cutbacks affect the people in an organization, the loss of employees also reduces the diverse group of people that form the company’s culture of opinions, ideas, and belief systems.

During the webinar session, attendees will answer where they would currently locate their organization’s commitment on a “Readiness for Change” continuum, and learn the five critical elements that must be addressed in order to create meaningful culture change.

Meaningful results require “intentional change” – the absence of which typically produces a lot of “activity” that, at best, creates some short-lived positive “buzz.” Worst-case scenario is that an organization continues to commit human and financial resources to these efforts – while employees become increasingly skeptical that anything will ever really “change.”

Diversity University offers award-winning diversity training e-learning programs including topics such as understanding diversity in the workforce, creating high-performing teams, harassment in the workplace, and dealing with drug and alcohol abuse.

Patti Massey, president of Myca Multimedia & Training Solutions and co-founder of DiversityUniversity.com, said, “We get rave reviews from folks who have participated in our webinar series in the past. It’s a great way to learn directly from industry experts and best of all – they’re free.”

Created as a partnership between Pope and Associates and Myca Multimedia and Training Solutions, Diversity University has over 30 years of proven intellectual content and has been used by major corporations around the world to educate their staff and management. By integrating feedback and measurement tools within the courses, organizations are provided with actionable data that can affect their bottom line growth.

The Diversity Webinar Series includes a selection of targeted areas in diversity training, including management and workforce development, as well as “Fireside Chats” with trend-setting corporations and organizations discussing current and important diversity-related issues. Upcoming webinar topics include: Cultural Audits, Diversity and Inclusion Training, and Recruiting and Retention.

To sign up for the Free Diversity Webinar, log on to “Assessing Your Diversity and Inclusion Initiative Webinar”

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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Contact Name: Patricia Massey
Phone #: 513-608-6033
Email: info@diversityuniversity.com
Web: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/517033216

Please direct all questions to the person listed under “contact information” above. PRunderground does not represent this company, we are simply the distributor of this release.

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United Kingdom (PRunderground) October 09, 2009 – Probate genealogists specialise in identifying and tracing heirs, and locating people who may be beneficiaries under a will or on intestacy. They are frequently instructed by executors, administrators, personal representatives and trustees, or may act directly for the potential beneficiaries. They commonly offer a range of different fee options, depending on the circumstances in which they are acting.

Contingency fees are currently the most popular fee option, as the genealogist’s fees are not charged to the estate, whether or not a missing beneficiary is located. However, there has recently been criticism of contingency fee arrangements, and even calls for them to be prohibited. Whilst it should be noted that this criticism has been generated by one rival genealogy firm alone as part of a marketing exercise, this Briefing Paper describes how contingency fees in the probate genealogy profession work, and explains their potential advantages.

How do the different fee options work?

Under a contingency fee agreement, customers may agree in advance a limit to the percentage commission that will be payable out of the inheritance of the successfully located beneficiary once the estate has been distributed. If the search by the genealogist is unsuccessful, whether because the missing heir is dead, cannot be found, or does not exist (e.g. a will leaves everything to the children of the testator’s son, but there are no children), then no fee is payable to the genealogist by the estate and the inheritance of a previously known heir, or heirs, will remain unaffected. The genealogy firm is solely responsible for all charges incurred, such as disbursements, agents’ fees, administration or any other charges. If a missing beneficiary is located, and his or her claim on the estate is successful, the genealogist’s fees are paid by the estate out of that beneficiary’s net share of the inheritance, as an agreed percentage figure.

Alternative fee methods used by probate genealogists include the “budget” fee, the fixed fee, the estate/trust agreement, the hourly rate and a “deferred” fee (the latter is not offered by Finders).

In the “budget” research fee structure, a fee limit is set in advance and a report is produced once that limit is reached, irrespective of whether or not the research has been completed. Under a fixed fee arrangement, a previously agreed fee is payable only upon achieving the goal set at the outset. The estate/trust agreement allows a percentage fee to be deducted from an heir’s entitlement through a signed agreement with the estate or trust administrator, executor or trustee. This is primarily used where, for example, the heirs are minors, or otherwise vulnerable, and a traditional contingency fee agreement requiring the heir’s signature is not appropriate. In this instance fees are, again, only payable on final distribution of the estate or trust. Some genealogists work only an hourly rate basis, charging the estate a certain amount per hour worked.

Finders believe that the availability of a range of fee options provides comprehensive consumer choice to cover most circumstances. A “deferred fee” may be offered when there are no known next of kin and the genealogist agrees a fee with a solicitor, payable from the estate, but only after a beneficiary has been found, an Administrator is in place and the solicitor appointed to act for the Estate. Such ‘secret’ deals on fees are unknown to any heirs to the Estate and are potentially unlawful as they are arranged prior to the issue of a Grant and, therefore, without any legal authority in place. Hence Finders does not offer this option.

What are the advantages of contingency fees?

Contingency fees have certain advantages over the other fee structures. As they are only chargeable when the estate is distributed to the heir(s), they do not risk potentially indebting any of the parties involved. This is especially relevant in cases where the estate is or becomes insolvent. Contingency fees also facilitate cost control, as the percentage limit can be set in advance. They entail no hidden charges and may be re-negotiated to manage expectations should new factors come to light while the research work is ongoing. On the other hand, there are clear disadvantages in the use of the hourly rate fee. It is not usually possible to calculate the amount of time that will be required to find a missing beneficiary at the time of engaging probate genealogists. If the genealogist is engaged on an hourly rate, this can result in much higher costs than originally expected. It is possible for the fee payable on a fixed fee basis, or over several budget fee stages, to be disproportionate to the sums involved, and even to be more than the total inheritance recovered. And these fees are payable regardless of the outcome. In a worst-case scenario, no missing beneficiaries are traced, and the fees owing to the probate genealogist out of the estate are more than the total inheritance, resulting in a debt owed by the estate. The budget or fee limit system, further, is open to abuse, in that research may be halted prior to a definitive conclusion being reached simply in order to extract further funds from the estate.

While there is some legal uncertainty, the court has recently held (In the Estate of Cara Prunella Clough-Taylor [2002] EWHC 2460 Ch) that the costs of recovering an asset for the benefit of one beneficiary of an estate should not come from the residue of the estate. Contingency fee arrangements are more in line with this rationale than other fee structures in which the payment for tracing the missing beneficiary is made out of the estate. A further advantage of contingency fees is that they act as a great incentive for the genealogist to complete the research as efficiently, thoroughly and as quickly as possible, as payment will only be secured upon distribution of the estate.

Finally, contingency fees tend to be the best, or even the only, option available for bona vacantia estates (usually intestate estates where there appear to be no heirs), where the lack of a Grant of Letters of Administration means that no person has the legal authority to pay any fees from the estate or to agree to the subsequent payment of deferred fees to a third party. The acceptability of contingency fee arrangements has been questioned, on the basis that they may be abused in order to exploit vulnerable beneficiaries, who may be induced to sign contingency fee agreements by misrepresentation. Indeed, the problems relating to firms that engage in any improper behaviour should be addressed. Firms or individuals intent on ignoring proper and professional conduct for their own gain will always consider methods of unscrupulous behaviour that a reputable firm would never employ. However, this issue would not be tackled by discouraging solicitors from instructing probate genealogists on a contingency fee basis. Discouraging contingency fee agreements would be a disproportionate reaction and would restrict consumer choice. If contingency fee agreements were not available, there would be cases where a search for a missing heir is simply not undertaken, and others where the estate of known heirs is used up in searching for missing heirs.

Conclusion:

Contingency fee arrangements may not always be the most appropriate method of charging in every circumstance. However, they provide customers with a wider choice of fee option, and can carry less risk than some other options for the estate, and for beneficiaries.

Finders International Probate Genealogists can be contacted at 6 – 8 Vestry Street, London N1 7RE Tel: +44 (0)20 7490 4935 www.findersuk.com

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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Contact Name: James Hughes
Phone #: +44 (0)20 7490 4935
Email: contact@findersuk.com
Web: http://www.findersuk.com

Please direct all questions to the person listed under “contact information” above. PRunderground does not represent this company, we are simply the distributor of this release.

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