More than 20 years ago, Melvin’s father passed away and had named Melvin as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. After his father’s death, Melvin remembers receiving mail from the insurance company. But at the time, he and his mother didn’t realize how important those documents might become. Eventually, the paperwork was thrown away. …
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Sometimes a family knows that money was left behind. They just don’t know where to find it. Garrett’s grandfather used a Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) custodial account to establish an investment portfolio for his grandchildren. After his grandfather passed away, the family remembered hearing that money had been set aside for the grandchildren. …
Evelyn’s Story How an Incomplete Financial Transaction Can Become a Forgotten Asset Every forgotten asset has a story. Evelyn Mae Carter Bennett lived a long life and was surrounded by family and loved ones. After her passing, financial assets connected to her surfaced that her family had no reason to know existed. The family wasn’t …
How Simple Mistakes Can Cost Families Thousands of Dollars By Maury Osbourne Imagine being 82 and finding out your life insurance policy was canceled over a lapse in payments you weren’t even aware occurred. Yikes! That’s exactly what happened to Chicago octogenarian Dolly Janowiak, who lost her $100,000 policy after she accidentally failed to pay …
A recent news story about a Florida retiree facing foreclosure after discovering an undisclosed reverse mortgage serves as a sobering reminder: assumptions about real estate can be financially dangerous. In that case, a son believed his late mother’s home was fully paid off. Years later, he learned a reverse mortgage had been taken out decades …
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When families discover that a deceased loved one had unclaimed or abandoned assets, one of the first questions they often ask is: “Why didn’t the attorney find this?” It’s a fair question—after all, estate attorneys handle probate, inheritance transfers, and legal oversight. However, locating unclaimed funds is not typically part of the legal responsibilities assigned …
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