An unmarried Chicago man with no children, no living siblings, and no nieces or nephews quietly accumulated an $11 million estate over a long life, in large part through mutual-fund investing. In 2016, he died at home, with no will and no obvious heirs.
Now a team of lawyers is preparing to distribute Joseph Stancak’s estate among 119 relatives, some in North America and some in Europe, and all of them distant cousins. After taxes, each heir will get around $60,000, the news report said. Not a single one had ever heard of Stancak until the estate lawyers consolidated scores of accounts, filled in his family tree and tracked down dozens of surprised relatives.
