Estate Planning

The House Owner, Her Contractor, The Stasher and His 21 Descendants

By Hull & Hull LLP

Eighty years ago, at the height of the Great Depression, a wealthy Ohio businessman hid $182,000 in minted $50 bills in a wall in his house.  There it hung peacefully by a wire in a green metal lockbox, disturbed only by inflation.  A contractor discovered the money while tearing down the wall, and he honestly and very admirably informed the home owner. 

Unfortunately, things spiralled out of control.  First, the home owner and the contractor were unable to agree on a division of the money.  She offered the contractor 10%, he asked for 40%.  Then the story made it into Cleveland's local news, and the estate of Patrick Dunne, the guy who hid the money, got involved (Patrick Dunne had 21 descendants).  The dispute went to litigation. 

For various reasons, the home owner dropped her claim.  However, the county court probate magistrate ruled that $157,000 was clearly marked as Patrick Dunne's property and therefore was the property of his estate.  Of the remaining $25,000, the judge recommened the estate receive 83.3% and the contractor receive 13.7% - approximately $3,400. 

CBS News produced an interesting podcast of the legal issues, posted here.  More food for thought: $182,000 in 1930 is the equivalent of $2,384,341.68 according to the Bureau of labor Statistics inflation calculator.  Of course, some of the rare bills are worth up to $500,000 to collectors...

There are a lot of lessons here.

Have a great week,

Chris Graham

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on November 10, 2008 (boomark / email).