Sleuths Find Lost Money, Consumers Be Careful

From AARP Bulletin – USA Article By Carole Fleck - submitted by Young Australian Recovery Services

Mary Applegate listened in disbelief to the caller. She and her siblings stood to inherit more than $200,000 from a forgotten aunt, said the man, who described himself as a genealogy researcher.

Applegate, of Cincinnati, Ohio, had met old Aunt Margaret only once—back in the 1940s. How could the stranger on the phone know she was kin to Aunt Margaret? Or that her aunt had died without a will?

He knew, as Applegate quickly discovered, because his job is finding heirs to unclaimed estates. Gerard Cushing of Kissimmee, Fla., is a member of a little-known profession of researchers, or in some cases detectives, who track down relatives of people who have died without a will or known next of kin.

Their efforts can change the lives of new heirs—some become rich or at least better off. Others are delighted to find long-lost relatives they didn't even know existed.

Applegate, 69, says she bought a new car and paid off her condo with the windfall Cushing helped her and her siblings claim. "It was like money blowing out in the air and catching it."

But not all "lost legacy" stories have happy endings. Consumer advocates say it is not uncommon for con artists to call or write unsuspecting people falsely claiming they are due to inherit thousands of dollars from a relative's estate. The scammers offer to help the relatives collect the bogus inheritance for a fee.

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