Page 10 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, August 14, 2026 Savvy Senior by Jim Miller How Families Can Find Lost Money After a Loved One Dies Dear Savvy Senior, After my mom passed away, we discovered a few small accounts and an old insurance policy we didn’t know she still had. It made me wonder how often families uncover forgotten or unclaimed money like this after a parent dies. Is it common, and where should I start looking? --Searching Sarah Dear Sarah, It’s actually quite common. After a parent or spouse dies, families often come across small, forgotten accounts, uncashed checks, or old insurance policies that slipped through the cracks over the years. In many cases, paperwork was misplaced, accounts were opened decades ago, or loved ones simply weren’t aware the assets existed. According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, billions of dollars in unclaimed assets are currently being held by state governments and federal agencies, waiting to be claimed by rightful owners or heirs. Unclaimed property usually comes from financial accounts or benefits that became inactive because the owner moved, changed names or died. In many cases, heirs were never aware the money existed or did not know where to look. These assets can include savings or checking accounts, uncashed dividend checks, utility security deposits, life insurance proceeds, pension benefits, tax refunds, matured savings bonds and unpaid wages. By law, banks, employers, insurance companies and other institutions must turn these assets over to the state if they cannot locate the owner or next of kin after a set period, usually two to five years. Once turned over, the money is held indefinitely, so there is no deadline for families to file a claim. Where to start A good place to begin is MissingMoney.com, a free site endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators and the National Association of State Treasurers. It allows users to search for unclaimed property in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico at once. Hawaii is not included but can be searched through a link on the site. When searching, check every state where your mother lived, worked or did business. Be sure to search under maiden names, married names and common misspellings. Using just a first initial and last name can also uncover accounts that do not appear under a full name search. Each state’s site will indicate whether property is listed and explain how to file a claim. Other places to check State treasuries are only part of the picture. Families should also check several other common sources of forgotten money. Pensions and 401(k)s: To search for lost or forgotten retirement benefits your mom may have left behind with an old employer, use the U.S. Department of Labor’s Retirement Savings Lost & Found Database at lostandfound.dol.gov and the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits at unclaimedretirementbenefits.com. Or to search for unclaimed retirement benefits from private-sector plans that have closed down, use the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation search tool at pbgc. gov/workers-retirees. Savings bonds: It’s very common for people to lose track of U.S. Saving Bonds because they are often given to children as gifts, then forgotten before the bonds reach maturity. To find out if your mom had a Savings Bond or other Treasury security visit your state’s unclaimed property office using unclaimed.org. Search the state of residence at the time of the securities purchase or last known address. Lost life insurance: To track down a lost or forgotten life insurance policy, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, an insurance regulatory support organization, offers a free policy locator service at eapps.naic.org/ life-policy-locator. Other refunds: To search for money left at an FDIC insured bank or credit union that has gone out of business, visit closedbanks.fdic.gov/funds. Federal tax refunds can be checked at irs. gov/refunds or by calling 800829-1954. FHA mortgage refunds can be checked at entp.hud.gov/ dsrs/refunds. And unpaid wages are listed at dol.gov/agencies/ whd/wow. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. PRIMARY RESIDENCE OF A MARRIED COUPLE T he general rule is that the primary residence, if located in Massachusetts, and if a spouse is living in the home, will be considered a non-countable asset for Medicaid eligibility purposes with respect to the spouse that is applying for MassHealth, whether in a long-term care facility or whether dealing with a community MassHealth application, such as the Frail Elder Waiver Program. Furthermore, Massachusetts would not be able to place a lien on the home while the community spouse (one not applying for MassHealth) is living there. Also, there is no limit on the value of the equity in the home so long as the community spouse is still living in the home. If, on the date of admission into a nursing home, the principal residence is held jointly (e.g. husband and wife, as tenants by the entirety), this form of ownership should not continue. If the healthy spouse were to suddenly die prior to the institutionalized spouse, the principal residence would then vest in the institutionalized spouse and be subject to a subsequent MassHealth lien for nursing home benefits paid. This is known as estate recovery. MassHealth can seek reimbursement from the probate estate of the nursing home spouse. When a decedent’s estate needs to be probated, the Division of Medical Assistance must be notified of the probate proceedings by the law firm providing the probate services via certified mail, return receipt requested. The Estate Recovery Unit would then be able to file a claim for reimbursement for MassHealth benefits paid on behalf of the decedent. You can transfer the home from the institutionalized spouse to the healthy spouse any time as there are no disqualifying transfers as between spouses. There is no five-year look-back period applicable when spouses are involved in the transfer. Once in the healthy spouse’s name, and once MassHealth is approved, the healthy spouse can transfer the home to an irrevocable trust if that makes sense in the overall estate/Medicaid plan in order to start the five-year look-back period in the event the community spouse ends up needing skilled nursing home care down the line. The transfer by the community spouse to an irrevocable Trust would not be made until after the institutionalized spouse is approved for MassHealth benefits. The Estate Recovery Unit cannot place a lien on the home as long as the spouse not applying for MassHealth benefits is still living in the home. It is best for the community spouse to transfer the home to an irrevocable Trust as opposed to transferring the home to the children with a reserved life estate. If the home is later sold and the children do not live there, the children would have to pay a capital gains tax based upon the percentage of the gross sales price allocable to the remainder interest. The community spouse will be able to take advantage of filing a joint income tax return with the institutionalized spouse and take advantage of the $500,000 capital gains tax exclusion on the sale of the principal residence. You have to utilize the IRC Section 7520 interest rate applicable for the month of the sale of the home, along with Book Aleph to determine the amount of gross sales proceeds allocable to the life tenant, based upon his or her age. Another reason why to utilize an irrevocable Trust, as opposed to a deed to the children with a reserved life estate in the parent, is if one of the children were to die before the parent, the interest in the real estate would constitute a probate asset. The interest in the real estate would also be exposed to creditors or a spouse in a divorce proceeding. The community spouse would also have to get the permission from the children in order to sell the house. The irrevocable Trust avoids all of these potential problems. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a master’s degree in taxation.
11 Publizr Home