Surprise contact from Vitality

Long story short, I am estranged from my family for various reasons. My stepdad passed away late last year and I didn’t even go to the funeral because I haven’t spoken to him since 2021 so it just felt stressful to go and have to see everyone.

Anyway I got on with life until last night I received an email telling me that Vitality have received a copy of the will and that I’m one of two beneficiaries on his life insurance policy. Me and my mother. They were asking for my details to they can split the money between us.

This came as a real shock as I wasn’t hoping for or expecting a penny from his estate. When I got the email I kind of thought it would be like it was with my grandad when he died – I would just be designated a small sum as the family saw fit.

But from looking into this more today it would appear I might get a fairly large sum of money – at least more than the zero I expected.

Has anyone had experience of this and can advise? How much did you inherit? How long did the money take to hit your account? I’m in Scotland for context and my stepdad was 70 and had been a glazier on around £40k when he was working

Thanks in advance!