TheStar.com - Lost bank accounts hold riches, but are tough to track

TheStar.com - Lost bank accounts hold riches, but are tough to track: "Lost bank accounts hold riches, but are tough to track

ELLEN ROSEMAN

My brother Doug heard a CBC radio interview about how to search for unclaimed bank balances.
He went to the Bank of Canada's website, http://www.bankofcan ada.ca, and put different family names into the database.
Eureka. Up popped my grandfather � maybe � with a substantial sum of $918.30 left unclaimed at an unnamed bank branch.
'Is this worth pursuing?' Doug asked me.
After checking the website, I had a few questions of my own. The bank warns to expect a six-week delay when making inquiries.
I called the Bank of Canada for an interview.
Harry Idey, operations manager of banking services, happily told me everything I wanted to know.
What if the first name is misspelled? (Moris instead of Morris.) Does that mean it's the wrong guy?
'A dropped R is not uncommon,' Idey said.
What if the last transaction date is Jan. 15, 1981? How can there be activity in that bank account if my grandfather died in 1972 and my grandmother in 1976?
'It's unusual,' Idey admitted. Bank accounts remain active a year or so after a death, because of security sales and interest payments, but not for five years.
What if we don't recognize the address as my grandfather's?
We have to do research, Idey said, to find any documents with my grandfather's name and the Montreal address listed at the website.
Question four: How do we as grandchildren claim the money?
We track down my grandfather's will and see who the executor was. The Bank of Canada then writes a cheque to the estate, which distributes "