Estates Fallen to the Crown

[catchafallingstar]

Brief background to post - my dad didn't get on with his mum and was brought up with by his gran. His mum died in 2009 and I have recently found out that her estate has fallen to the crown (quite a substantial amount).

My parents live abroad, so either they don't know about the money or are not interested. They do know she died but they had not been in contact for 30 odd years.

Should I let them know about this or leave it? Genuine question.

Tell them. If they don't want it, would it come to you? Don't know. Maybe better to let it pay off the national debt.

The estate shouldn't have gone to the crown if there were living relatives - have a look at www.bonavacantia.gov.uk/output/ and contact them to say there are relatives who are entitled on intestacy. If you have contact details for your dad then pass them on to the treasury solicitor and also let them know that you are a relative and give your details. In my (admittedly fairly limited) experience, the Treasury Solicitor likes to find a home for people's money.