Issue in relation to grandparents’ estate - possible compensation

[IWonderWhatItCouldBe]

I’ve received a letter from a solicitor acting on behalf of a bank, in relation to the estates of my grandparents, who died almost 20 years ago.

The letter says that ‘a potential issue may have arisen’ in relation to their estates, ‘that may result in compensation becoming payable’.

They died within a week of each other, intestate. I am estranged from my father (their son) due to domestic violence - he lived with them, and I hadn’t seen them for almost ten years before they died.

I don’t know how these solicitors got my married name or address. My father doesn’t know these details, so it can’t be him that passed that information on to the solicitors.

The bank they’re acting for is the same as my bank.

I’ve needed to confirm my grandparents’ address and my date of birth in order for the solicitor to discuss any further with me. But I got an automated message that they’re out of the office till Tuesday, and I’m going mad wondering what this is all about, what the potential issue is, how they tracked me down etc!

Anyone have any experience of this sort of situation? I’m wondering about the term ‘compensation’ in relation to the mysterious issue with their estates. If there’s a bank account with money in it, wouldn’t that be distributed to my father as next of kin? Unless he’s also died…But they died almost 20 years ago, would their assets have been dealt with by now?

All so curious!

I have a sister, she hasn’t received a similar letter.

Who is older?

My sister is older

Maybe they had a will leaving everything to you. The solicitors lost it, so it was believed they were intestate, and their estate was therfore divided in accordance with the intestacy laws and and such you·lost out.

Look the firm up here and then contact them via the listed switchboard number.

I have now! Yes to both

Is your father likely to have destroyed any existing wills at the time?

I absolutely would not put it past him, this is very plausible

This is very exciting :)

So interesting and wondering why a bank would be involved in a will?

My active brain wonders if somehow, 'a potential issue,' means that a will was in fact found with your grandparents wishes noted?

Or maybe that your father has passed with the residue of the estate passing onto you?

We’re all invested in what happens on Tuesday now! Good luck 😉

Following

Hope your due a windfall.

You don’t get “compensation” for an issue like this. If something went wrong then it’s a negligence claim against the solicitors and/or executors, for which the remedy is damages. If either the solicitors or executors knew that a claim lay against them, they would hardly contact the claimant inviting them to make the claim - they would keep quiet and hope it went unnoticed.

For the above reasons I think this is more likely to be one of those heir-hunter outfits who will take a cut of any money due to you. Nonetheless, something is better than nothing so you may as well listen to what they have to say and then decide what to do.

Me too! Trying to stop my mind racing - if there’s anything due at all, could be on a scale of ‘helpful for a nice Christmas’ to paying off the mortgage….Or maybe it’ll amount to nothing at all.

The solicitors are definitely a real firm with a decent reputation, not an heir hunting company. They’re acting for a bank - one of the major high street banks. They’re not acting directly on behalf of my grandparents - so presumably if it’s a negligence claim, it wouldn’t be against this solicitors firm.

There may have been a debt owed to this bank from your grandparents estate. If your father failed to pay the debt they may be investigating him.

Which bank is it? Is it Lloyds?

I have a sister, she hasn’t received a similar letter.

That's odd though, isn't it?

NatWest

Shamelessly place marking as I have no idea but am very intrigued!

I had an email from a real solicitor at a real (and quite prestigious) law firm inviting contact about money owed to me. The email address looked suss and I did nothing other than notify said firm who confirmed there are a lot of scams using their name and those of their employees.

Having said that, sometimes people are tracked down about genuine matters. I was, a pension my late DH had never mentioned and I think had completely forgotten about, years after died and I'd remarried and moved, so such things do happen. I'd proceed with extreme caution though, as you are.

How did you get on OP?

Reading this with great interest. Hope you have good news OP.

Have you been able yo contact them today ? @IWonderWhatItCouldBe

Update: my grandparents did leave a will after all. Their wishes were for their residuary estate to be left in trust, the income to go to our father during his lifetime, and then to be split between my sister and I. That didn’t happen I.e. their estate was not put in trust. Hence the term compensation - their actual estate has just gone to my father, who’s probably spent most of it (conjecture but plausible). The value of their estate may have been several hundred thousand pounds. There’s a process to go through to value the estate before we know what will be due to us, but the bank, who were named as executors of the will, apparently want to make sure my grandparents wishes are fulfilled.

I’m in a weird limbo of not being at all shocked that there was a will, to disbelief that we’re going to be offered compensation, of what looks like really quite significant sums. We’ve been through a hell of a lot as a family, never been financially secure. Not really letting myself believe it yet.