Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs Returns $11 Million to Chicago Man’s Family

 Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs Returns $11 Million to Chicago Man’s Family

Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs’ office made history this week when it returned $11 million to the estate of a Chicago man who died of natural causes just before Christmas in 2016.

It is the largest returned unclaimed property dollar amount in the nation’s history.

Most of Joseph Richard Stancak’s 119 heirs reside in Poland, where his parents were born, as well as Slovakia.

And little is known about how Mr. Stancak accumulated
such wealth so quietly, although he did own a boat named
“Easy.”

“This is a life-changing amount of money,” Frerichs said.

“I only wish we knew more about Mr. Stancak.”

Unclaimed property refers to money or accounts within
financial institutions or companies in which there has been
no activity for several years. Unclaimed property includes
forgotten bank accounts, unpaid life insurance benefits, the
contents of safe deposit boxes and other items. Returning
unclaimed property is a core function of the Illinois State
Treasurer’s Office, no matter how long it takes.

Mr. Stancak was born in Chicago in August of 1929. He
last lived in a house on South Troy Street where he was found
on Dec. 23, 2016. He was 87 years old.

His parents were born in Poland and married at St.
Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Passaic, New Jersey, on
Nov 27, 1909. They had seven children – Joseph, Mary, Paul,
Anna, John, Helen and Frances. Only Anna and John married.

Neither Joseph nor any of his siblings had children. Each
passed away before Joseph.

Because Mr. Stancak and his siblings never had children,
the Stancak estate had to identify family through his parents
– essentially going up the family tree before going back down
– and the majority of these heirs reside in Poland and nearby
Slovakia. A few relatives are in the United States, including
New Jersey, New York and Minnesota. Seven are in Chicago
or nearby suburban communities.

It is unclear how Mr. Stancak accumulated such wealth.
In 2019, a variety of investments began to be turned over to
the treasurer’s office as unclaimed property; such investments
typically are surrendered if the owner has not had contact in
three years and the investment firm is unable to locate the
owner.

Attorney Kenneth Piercey is a partner with Piercey &
Associates in Barrington, an expert in high-dollar estate
planning, and the administrator of Mr. Stancak’s estate. The
law firm initiated the claim earlier this year and staff from
the treasurer’s office called after realizing the dollar amount
involved.

“It is a great privilege to be able to assist the heirs in
collecting their rightful inheritance,” Piercey said.

Prior to Mr. Stancak, the highest paid unclaimed property
claim in Illinois was $8.1 million to a suburban manufacturer
of auto components in 2012. The largest claim paid to an individual
was $5 million to a Cook County woman in 2013.

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