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Tracing estranged relatives estate?

Quite a complicated tale, so bear with me.

Many years ago we had a family split, My Mum and I became estranged from my paternal grandmother and my sister.

My grandmother, who was a widow, died a few years later (around 1992). I found this out on the grapevine a couple of years after her death.

A few years ago I did a search for her will which came up blank, so I presume she died without having left a will.

My sister and I will have been her only surviving heirs, my dad (grandmothers only child) having died before her.

I'm interested to find out what happened to my grandmothers estate and in particular, where is my share of it.

Obviously my first step will be looking to find out what my grandmothers state was, so I can determine if it's worth my persuing it.

Any tips?
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Comments

  • McKneff
    McKneff Posts: 38,857 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Did your mother have any siblings, they are the ones to ask.
    make the most of it, we are only here for the weekend.
    and we will never, ever return.
  • MrsX_2
    MrsX_2 Posts: 126 Forumite
    No, we had no contact with my paternal grandmother. Her only living relatives were myself and my sister from whom I've been estranged for 25 years.
    I believe she has fraudulently claimed my grandmothers estate and taken my share.
    I am wanting to find out the value of the estate and if theres any possibility of claiming my share, all these years later.
    I don't know how to go about finding out the value of the estate.
  • stebiz
    stebiz Posts: 6,591 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    MrsX wrote: »
    Quite a complicated tale, so bear with me.

    Many years ago we had a family split, My Mum and I became estranged from my paternal grandmother and my sister.

    My grandmother, who was a widow, died a few years later (around 1992). I found this out on the grapevine a couple of years after her death.

    A few years ago I did a search for her will which came up blank, so I presume she died without having left a will.

    My sister and I will have been her only surviving heirs, my dad (grandmothers only child) having died before her.

    I'm interested to find out what happened to my grandmothers estate and in particular, where is my share of it.

    Obviously my first step will be looking to find out what my grandmothers state was, so I can determine if it's worth my persuing it.

    Any tips?

    You've missed the boat sadly. Relatives only have 12 years to come forward and claim their inheritance
    Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies
  • MrsX_2
    MrsX_2 Posts: 126 Forumite
    stebiz wrote: »
    You've missed the boat sadly. Relatives only have 12 years to come forward and claim their inheritance
    I wondered if that would be the case. I would still be interested to find the value of the estate, as a matter of interest.

    Would it also be the case that the CPS wouldn't prosecute such an old case of fraud, given that ther are potentially very large sums of money at stake?
  • stebiz
    stebiz Posts: 6,591 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    MrsX wrote: »
    I wondered if that would be the case.

    Would it also be the case that the CPS wouldn't prosecute such an old case of fraud, given that ther are potentially very large sums of money at stake?

    They would investigate if there was something to investigate. What do you think may have happened?
    Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies
  • stebiz
    stebiz Posts: 6,591 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Do you think she said that there were no other living relatives?
    Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies
  • MrsX_2
    MrsX_2 Posts: 126 Forumite
    edited 14 March 2013 at 10:39AM
    stebiz wrote: »
    Do you think she said that there were no other living relatives?

    Yes, I think thats exactly what has happened.

    Of course, I may be wrong and my share may be sitting somewhere waiting for me to claim it, which is all the more reason to find out what happened.
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,571 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    MrsX wrote: »
    Of course, I may be wrong and my share may be sitting somewhere waiting for me to claim it, which is all the more reason to find out what happened.

    Why don't you contact your sister and ask her?
  • MrsX_2
    MrsX_2 Posts: 126 Forumite
    Mojisola wrote: »
    Why don't you contact your sister and ask her?
    I have very good reasons for not wanting to be in contact with my sister and I doubt very much that the information I require will not be forthcoming.
    I also dont know where she lives.
  • zzzLazyDaisy
    zzzLazyDaisy Posts: 12,497 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    I am not sure what you mean when you say you did a search for the will?

    Wills in general are not registered. There are circumstances where the will must be proved in probate for the executors to act, such as where there is property involved. However it may be that if she once had property it may have been sold, perhaps to pay for care home fees. Or she may have given away most of her money before her death, in which case the estate may have been small enough for the executors to distribute it without the need to apply for probate. Anything less than £5000 does not need probate, and the banks can use their discretion to release the money without probate up to £15,000.

    So the first place to start would be the probate registry, but even if there is no probate for the estate, it does not necessarily follow that she died intestate.
    I'm a retired employment solicitor. Hopefully some of my comments might be useful, but they are only my opinion and not intended as legal advice.
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