I'm curious and a bit suspicious as to why step mom's distant family would go through hoops to reach out after many many years of no contact. Step mom is under hospice and at end of life. Step mom never had children but Dad does. Other than being polite, what else could they possible want?
I am uncertain what you mean by "reaching out". I would simply tell them that your Mom is unwell and unable to communicate with them. Should they pursue I would tell them that she had no contact with them for _______ years and you are not comfortable sharing any information with them. Wish them well. And that's that.
Or it is possible that someone else in the family has recently passed and now their family is going through papers and "finding" relatives.
If you wish, make contact. Keep it on line for now and see what the purpose of the contact is. If these are "distant" as you indicate they should have no "claim" to any assets that step grandma has. But give no information or confirm any info until you feel comfortable. (And if you have a family lawyer you might want to run it by them if there is a sizable estate)
But maybe kindness..?
I'd be polite but wary.
She also shared HUGE genealogy charts with us. They went back hundreds of years. I was grateful that she got in contact with us. No money was ever mentioned.
First thanks to all who have chimed in so far.
I spoke directly to the niece of my mom's step mom, my step grandmother and she restated that she is at end of life and wanted to let her step children know. She further stated that should would be visiting the nursing home tomorrow and would keep us updated.
I'm still not certain if pending death is the reason for the contact.
A bit of backstory: step mom/grandmother came received a large settlement as a result of my dad/granddad's death over three decades ago. I doubt if anything is left.
I did a bit of skimming and I believe that since my mom was never adopted by her step mom she really wouldn't be entitled to anything. As I've stated before, the Dad, my granddad was tragically killed many years ago and I'm sure the money from that incident is long gone.
Thanks everyone!
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