Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

I was able to recover some unclaimed property, through the State of IL Cash Dash website, that had been abandoned in my deceased mother's bank safe deposit box 12 years ago. This included a will and an IRA Time Deposit Certificate ,FDIC insured At the time of her death, in 2000, I was not aware of the existence of either of these documents. Then the bank closed and the building was demolished around that time, without any notification to my mother or to me, her only heir, of the disbursement of the contents of her safe deposit box. Meanwhile, the institution was reacquisitioned twice since then. First Illinois Bank of Evanston became Bank One and is currently a Chase Bank. I went for over a decade unaware of what became of the contents or how to recover them. Then, fortunately, I saw a television news report earlier this year that gave information about the Cash Dash. Were it not for that, I would still be in the dark about these documents and assets.

When I went to Chase Bank to try and track down this account, they informed me that because it had been such a long period of inactivity since the first maturity date, the monies had probably reverted to the state of Illinois. I have contacted the state attempting to claim these funds and they can't seem to find any record of them. What do I do now? My family is in dire need of these funds since my husband has been unemployed for over two years and I only work part time. We are in financial crisis mode and this money that my late mother intended me to have would certainly be a Godsend. Please help. Thanks very much.

Mrs. Allie Zemtseff


Asked on 5/23/12, 2:41 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Jeffrey R. Gottlieb Law Offices of Jeffrey R. Gottlieb, LLC

I'm confused. You first stated that you were able to recover some unclaimed property through Cash Dash. Then later you state that they can't seem to fund any record of them Once property is turned over to the Treasurer then the bank would no longer have it at all Once the Treasurer receives it, they are supposed to keep it forever.

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Answered on 5/23/12, 2:54 pm
Virginia Prihoda Law Offices of Virginia Prihoda

From the information you provided, it's not certain that the account had funds in it on the date of your mother's death. Unfortunately, with the passage of time it becomes hard to prove anything: Chase Bank told you the funds had "probably reverted" to the State of Illinois. I would ask for someone in Chase Bank to research their archives to ascertain exactly when and how the account was disposed of.

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Answered on 5/24/12, 8:32 am


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