Without a Will, There’s Still a Way on the Web

Hundreds of thousands of hopeful heirs have bombarded a Web site to comb lists of the dead who died without wills and left behind $30 million in unclaimed assets, local authorities said Thursday.

In the two days since https://www.cookcountytreasurer.com went online, the site has been visited 461,000 times and telephone calls have come in from as far away as Poland to ask about making claims, the county treasurer’s spokesman, James Allen, said.

“Some people die not only without a will but they die alone and they die with money,” said Allen.

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas launched the effort to locate the heirs of 1,550 people, with a total of $30 million in assets, who have died since 1964.

Most left estates worth between $2,000 and $10,000--though they range from $1 to $800,000, and names are being added all the time.

“Because Chicago is a melting pot, there are many people who may have come alone, died alone, and their only heirs would come from overseas,” Allen said. “We’ve had many phone calls from people asking, ‘What do I do next?’ ”

After locating a dead relative, potential heirs must go through a court process to determine their share. Unclaimed estates will pass on to local governments.