If you are interested in the solution to the mystery, you can access Bloomberg Businessweek (May 6, 2019 issue) for the inside information.
An interesting point in the article (which involved a California resident) was the role that county public administrators have in the process of securing the property of someone who dies, locating any relatives of the deceased, and developing inventories of all assets. In addition, there is a more obscure function carried out by companies that work as ‘forensic genealogists’, known as ‘heir finding’.
What exactly is the function of the county public administrator?
First, keep in mind that the title may not be the same for every county in the United States.
In general, the public administrator is employed at the county level. One of their roles is to act as an executor for a person who has died without any known relative who can act as administrators.
The key word here is ‘known’, since one of the functions of the county public administrator can be to locate the heirs of someone who has died ‘intestate’ (without a will that can be located).
Under different circumstances, the public county administrator can also be called upon to oversee affairs for a living person, that is, to act as guardian or conservator for a mentally impaired person who has no family to act on their behalf.
San Diego County California Health and Human Services Agency also published an excellent site about the duties and functions of Public Administrator. The site is https://www.sandiegocounty.gov and search for public administrator.
Using the services of a Public Administrator is not free. There are fees for the Public Administrator. As one example, in San Diego County the fee schedule is set - for estates valued up to $100,000 the fee schedule is 4% (calculated at $4,000 plus extraordinary fees such as tax work, litigation, matters outside normal services, complex accounting or investigations.)
The Fee schedule varies depending on the valuation of the estate.
In Colorado, the county public administrator is a private individual who is bonded, not someone who has been elected as a public official. In Denver, the public administrators are appointed by the Probate Court.
In other states/counties: for example Clark County, Nevada, the Clark County Public Administrator is “an elected Officer entrusted to oversee the administration of the estates of persons deceased in Clark County who have no qualified person willing or able to administer…”
In New York – “The Public Administrator is an agency of the City of New York. Each borough of the City of New York has its own Public Administrator. The Public Administrator of the County of New York administers the estates of New York County residents who die without a will and no one else is eligible or willing to administer the estates.” (note: there are five boroughs in New York City)
An informative website about the functions of the Public Administrator in Queens County New York can be found at the link: http://www.queenscountypa.com/)
In many cases, the public county administrator receives their compensation from the estate of a deceased person based on an agreed scale of payment.
In August, 2017, Colorado Office of the State Auditor published their comprehensive audit of Public Administrators (within the Judicial Branch). You can read those findings in the following link: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/audits/1678p_public_administrators.pdf
The following advice from the Clark County, Nevada website can be valuable: “In the event of an emergency, be sure family and close friends know your wishes and have access to information needed to take care of you, your property, and your affairs. Posting an emergency contacts list in a location where emergency responders will easily find it is one step you can take. Providing your family members and trusted friends with a copy is another step.”
I would add, if you have a Will, make sure someone knows where it can be located (and if it with a bank that someone has authority to access) , so that your final wishes can be followed.
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