A Man In Chicago Passed Away With $11 Million Dollars That Nobody Knew About, And It Just Got Returned To His Family
A Chicago man who passed away back in 2016 due to natural causes had secretly left behind $11 million.
The money has recently been returned to his remaining family members, making it the largest unclaimed estate in the country’s entire history.
The man’s name was Joseph R. Stancak, and the money was divided between 119 relatives, most of them residing in Poland and Slovakia.
Stancak was found dead in his home on South Troy Street two days before Christmas. He was 87-years-old.
How did Stancak amass such a large amount of money without anyone knowing? Well, Stancak actually had no immediate family members left.
He had seven siblings who all died before him, but none of them had any children, and Stancak himself also never had kids.
According to the treasurer’s office of Illinois, the Stancak estate had to comb through the family tree to identify living relatives, starting with his parents, who were born in Poland.
Although almost all of Stancak’s relatives live in Poland and Slovakia, a handful were found in New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, and the Chicago area.
“Little is known about how Mr. Stancak accumulated so much wealth so quietly, although he did own a boat named ‘Easy,'” the Office of Illinois State Treasurer said in a news release.
Roman Motizov – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purpose only, not the actual person
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
The treasurer’s office defines unclaimed property, such as Stancak’s, as money left sitting in a bank account, unpaid life insurance benefits, or items left in safe deposit boxes.
Attorney Kenneth Piercey is serving as the administrator of Stancak’s estate.
“It is a great privilege to be able to assist the heirs in collecting their rightful inheritance,” stated Piercey.
Before Stancak, the highest unclaimed property in Illinois was $8.1 million, which went to a manufacturer of car parts in 2012.
The largest amount given to an individual was a whopping $5 million to a woman living in Cook County back in 2013.
If true crime defines your free time, this is for you: join Chip Chick’s True Crime Tribe
Loaded Baked Potato Soup Is A Great Recipe To Try When The Temperature Starts To Really Drop
More About:News
Read This Next
