Solicitor contact 20 years after event of Mother's death?

[kimchifox]

Why would the solicitor who processed my Mother's estate after she died need to track me down now?! Have been forwarded a letter from them by the DWP because I've moved house and they didn't know how to find me. What could they possibly want? It's 20 years ago. She didn't have any money - is there any bad reason they would want to get hold of me? I don't really want to respond but I suppose I have to.

You won’t know till you respond! I can’t think of a bad reason. Distant family trying to track her or you down?

Could you possibly be the next in line for someone in your mother's family who did have money? Or an estate, an estranged aunt that didn't have children or something maybe.

I would be too intrigued not to find out.
Hope it doesn't bring up difficult emotions for you though

Data protection? Could be a scam. If you do contact them reply directly to the firm following a phone number / email from the company website.

Maybe she had a long lost relative that left her something that will now cone to you?

Have you contacted them?

My husband said it's possible an old bank account has been found - perhaps someone opened an account for your mother as a child and they have just come across it (this happened in my husbands family).

It's definitely legitimate - I've been sent the actual solicitors letter with all the correct details and phone number. I don't see how she would have inherited anything since no-one in the family has any money and it specifically says it's about her estate. And clearly any family would have known she had died. So weird.

It has brought up a few emotions - I'm shocked to have received something concerning her estate after such a long interval as well! I don't think I I have any documents from that time so hoping I don't somehow owe someone money! Aargh!

Old bank account might be possible - that no-one knew about I suppose. If it's that it's probably accrued £3.40 in interest or something! 😂

Could be a forgotten pension - i was contacted by DWP about one i had completely forgotten about. Hope its good news OP.

I don't know, so why not ring the solicitor's office to get more information? What did the letter say?

Did you see the original will and do you know the contents? Are you sure there were no assets?

First things first, contact the solicitor's office, and see what they say. Get them to put in writing why they are contacting you. The only things I can think of are that your mother left property to someone else for their lifetime and on their death to you, and that person has now died. OR... as others have said, you are the nearest next of kin to someone known to your mother who did not leave a will.

Anything to do with taxes or Government issues would come directly from them, not as an intermediary as in your case. It must be genuine, otherwise DWP would not get involved due to data protection, but if the letter was still sealed.... well I don't know.

It might not be a family member. It might be an old friend or colleague who had long lost contact, but whose will included your mother as a beneficiary. Or an insurance policy etc that was missed.
Does anyone know if estate debts are wiped after a certain amount of time? In my head I’ve got a timeframe of a year before claims cannot be enforced, but am willing to be corrected.
@kimchifox unless you respond, you will
never know.

Following as from the view point of a complete stranger it is an interesting thread, hope its some long lost inheritance and you are now a millionaire. (Although £3.40 in interest does seem more likely sadly)

Could it be that some distant relative has recently passed away and she was named as a beneficiary in their will?

Ooh that's interesting isn't it. Could be a small amount of money somewhere? Give them a call!

It could still be a convincing scam - make sure you search online and check the solicitor exists, see if the number matches etc. Always better safe than sorry!

The solicitor is the o e who dealt with it at the time & are known to me. Of course, the only way I will find out is by contacting them - but when I called the person who was given as a contact was "away from their desk!".

Will give it another go! Now I've calmed down I'm sure it's something quite innocuous!

Long lost relative?

Update:

Haha - just got through and unfortunately I haven't inherited a fortune from a long lost relative! Could have done with Great Aunt Hilda 4 times removed leaving me a few million!

It looks like another beneficiary of the estate at the time has made some kind of PPI claim to which I may be entitled to, and I quote, "a very, very small amount".

That has really made me laugh at my unnecessary panic!

Anyway, thanks for all the replies - that was a weird one!

Something similar happened a few years ago to my mum and her siblings. Their father died in 1990 and they were contacted in about 2005 about a long forgotten pension that had recently been discovered. They (4 siblings, including my mum) had to jump through a few hoops in providing copies of their birth certificates, passports, proof of residency etc but it turned out to be worth about £1,000 each.

I would be so intrigued it won’t be any debt you wouldn’t be liable at all especially after 20 years

That happened to me. A cousin of my mums that we had never met and had no children died and left a piece of land with an abandoned house on it. Someone wanted to buy the land but they couldn't because she had left it to me, my siblings and two other cousins. They asked us if we would sell it and we said yes. Wasn't a lot of money but I remember it being nice to receive it.