Help! Estranged father died intestate.

rsjg80

I suppose it was facetious of me to put the brackets around things - they are fully related,  it's just I don't consider them family! Not helpful in this context so my apologies.

I have no contact with that side of the family at all. They basically walked out of my life when I was 7 and never tried to contact me.

I am the only surviving child (my sister died as a child) so, as I understand it, I am at 'the top of the list' as regards intestate rules. Then my paternal grandfather who is probably in his 90s, then maybe a few aunts.

I'm going to seek advice over the weekend, but thank you all for your words so far. It's obviously a very weird situation.

I don't know what happens if everyone refuses to administer the estate but, should it be as little as they say, then it falls under the threshold (£5000) to pay for probate.

I just don't even know where to start!

elsien

I think it just sits there for a very long time with very little happening. My aunt died probably about 7 years ago and the executors renounced. Due to family dynamics, although there is a property none of her children applied to administer the estate. Property is sitting there empty and slowly falling apart. No idea who (if anyone) is paying bills as the property was the only asset of the estate. Their problem to sort. 

Do you have an address for him at all? If you do, you could look on land registry for the owner to see if it is him or someone else. Only costs a few pounds and it would let you know at least if there is a property to sort out. 
I think if you were going to administer you would have to visit to gather the relevant information. But depending on where he was living, if it was rented you might only have limited time to visit the property itself and you would need to work out how to gain access, unless aunt has been and taken paperwork and valuable/sentimental items for safekeeping?   Death doesn't automatically end a tenancy but someone may have taken it upon themselves to do that as "next of kin."