For all my family lines in Europe I am able to fill in cousins, brothers and sisters etc. when I am able to spend the hours examining the records and taking copious notes. Finding these lateral relatives allowed me to find nearby towns where siblings found a spouse or others who died in a war. On occasion there were second cousins who came and settled in the same community in America and this relationship was discovered because I had already discovered them though my research or was able to go back to the films. Doing your own research allows you to come in contact with your ancestors if only in a small way and personalizes them for you. However, for my ancestors from the Czech Republic I am limited to a specific request for research. While I have had good experiences with the Czech professional researchers and I have much of my direct line, I feel my family tree is incomplete. Who, after all, could put in all the time and persistence that I can do for my own family? I am not allowed to get to know the other members of these small towns and be familiar with the other surnames who lived next to my ancestors. I do not get any personal satisfaction from paid research. Also, I can hire a professional to translate documents I find, but I would not hire a researcher to do blind searching if I have hit a brick wall or to fill in lateral relatives-this is an avocation, not a task that will ever be completed. I am hoping things will change in the Czech Republic and to someday fill in more relatives. I am surprised the Czech officials haven't realized that this is a hobby that can go on and on and never ends. It would stimulate more revenue for them if they loosened up the rules. Jane .