[ma] While Looking Up Unclaimed Money/property, I Found My Absent Father's Estate. Am I Supposed To Contact An Attorney To Try To Claim It?

Location: Worcester County, Massachusetts

So yesterday I found out that you can Google "unclaimed money (your state)" and get a .gov website where you can see if you're owed anything. I was messing around for a little while and decided to look up my father's name on a whim. Lo and behold, there he is. I know it's him because he is the only person with his exact name ever born in all of New England. All of his obituary information adds up to what my mother told me. Date of birth, brother and parents' names. What city he was born in, other cities he's lived in. It's all there.

The obituary doesn't mention any children, spouse, or any *immediate* family. Only some aunts, uncles, and cousins are mentioned. Even though it's been six years since I found the obituary, that fact still hurts. He passed away in April 2016 and I found out in August 2020. Anyway, if they were able to claim his estate, wouldn't they have done it in the 10 years that he's been gone? But it's still listed. I'm not sure what to do here. Is it possible he told someone about me eventually?

Should I try to claim the estate? Should I get a lawyer to try to contact any relatives and see if they'll do a DNA test to prove I'm telling the truth? I'm conflicted because if he never mentioned me at all then I'd just be opening up old wounds for them. My pain from never meeting him and knowing I'll never get to is still bad, so I can empathize with them not wanting to deal with something like this. Any advice?