With the unclaimed property accounts now totally over $1 trillion dollars we have discovered the motivation for government offices and corporate holders to find the beneficiaries is very limited at best.

Out of all the stories "cases I worked on" I have one which left me with the incredible feeling of satisfaction and drive to continue in this business for the next two decades.

In the early 1980s I was working on a sizable unclaimed account from a man that had passed away about 15 years earlier. He was never married and never had children so the trail for his heirs ran cold pretty fast. It was a difficult situation attempting to back track the family history since they had relocated several times across the country.

Well after several weeks of searching I discovered that the sole living heir to his unclaimed estate was an elderly woman residing in a poverty stricken neighborhood in South Phoenix. Our normal process was to send letters and call the beneficiary. Unfortunately her phone was disconnected and she was not responding to our letters. So, I got in my car one afternoon and drove out to her house.

What I found when I arrived was the most heart wrenching thing I could imagine. Carol Smith, whose name as been changed here for obvious reasons, was 68 years old, on welfare and social security with income that barely allowed her to pay for her house payment, electric and food for the table. Her table and her 9 cats.

The house was a mess. The odor was so bad I had a difficult time sitting still in her living room as we talked.

I asked her if she remembered her relative that had passed away. She did not, other than knew she was related to him. I asked her why she did not answer our letters. She pointed to the desk across the room covered with envelops mostly unpaid bills. She explained she could not longer bear to open her mail since these creditors were so mean to her.

Her phone had been disconnected for months and she was happy since the calls had stopped.

She had no family left whatsoever. She had no friends, no support and no one to call upon for counsel.

I explained the case I was working and the fact she was heir to a $46,000.00 estate. She did not understand half of what I was trying to tell her and most importantly all she could think of is a way to pay for the food for her family "the nine cats".

I left that day with all the paper work signed, copies of the documents I needed and identification to be able to prove her case for her.

Three weeks later I arrived with her check.

I handed her the check and felt incredible inside. As I started to leave I turned and said Carol, are you ok? Can you make it to the bank?

She looked at me confused and still unaware of what the $46,000 means and what to do with it.

The next thing I know, Carol and I are in my car and heading to the bank. After arriving at the bank, I asked for a bank officer. We met and discussed Carol's needs, her bills, her house payment, etc. We found that by setting the money aside in certain interest bearing accounts and with set dates for withdrawl and with safe guards built in that the money could pay all of her living expenses and bills for several years.

When I drove Carol home, she thanked me so much for the help. And then she asked me. Can I answer my phone now?

This to me was an incredible moment in my life knowing she would sleep well and had a guaranteed roof over her head and a friend at the bank to help answer her questions and make sure the money did not disappear or bills left unpaid.

Carol is one of the reasons my business, LostMoney.com has become a not-for-profit organization and is dedicated today to help millions of Americans recover their piece of the $1 trillion dollar unclaimed property pie and do so absolutely free of charge.

We ask only that once we help our members that our members help others by donating 10% of what we recover for them to their favorite charity or humanitarian cause.