inheritance question

I have found the name of my grandmother's brother in the Illinois State Treasurer's office as having unclaimed $. He died a few years ago (in Chicago). I live in Massachussets. My grandmother is still alive, but she (like the rest of my family) lives in Poland.

My question relates to how I can claim the money. The form I got from the site states that I need to prove my relationship. What kind of documents do I need to do that? Also, do I need a lawyer to do a small estate afadavit? I don' t want to spend a lot of money on this, as I have no idea how much is actually there. The site just said "over $100."

thanks!

OCT. 1, 2001

DEAR GLAMGIRL:

It's great that you were lucky enough to find the listing, but unfortunately you may not be eligible to claim this money.

Were you able to attend the funeral for your grandmother's brother? Technically, what you are supposed to do is to check at the Cook County Courthouse in Chicago (Probate Court) by calling or writing them a letter to ask if your deceased relative has a last will & testament on file (you can visit the courthouse to look at the file in person, or order copies of any documents you want by mail). If there is a will on file, the file will contain the name of the executor of his estate. You should get the name and address of the executor and inform HIM/HER about this money, since it is the executor's legal responsibility to claim this money and distribute it according to the instructions of the will.

The money will be distributed first to any beneficiaries named in the will.

If there was no will, then the Illinois Unclaimed Property Office would want to do an investigation of the decedent's family to find out who his closest living relatives would be, and your grandmother in Poland would qualify to claim this money ahead of you, since she would be determined to be more closely related than you are. If there was no will, you should let the unclaimed property know about your grandmother's address and/or phone number so they can get in touch with her. If possible, it would help if you could get a copy of your grandmother's brother's obituary notice from the newspaper, since it might give the names of a few relatives in it. (If you need help locating that obituary notice, send me an e-mail message.).

Even though you may not benefit personally from this situation, I'm sure your family will appreciate hearing the good news from you.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]