Yes, only I bet normally the contractors find this, not the homeowners!

That would be a nice surprise to find a treasure like that!  It sounds like the old Lady's family got what they deserved - nothing. People should not take advantage of others especially when they are sick.  I bet the old lady was smiling in heaven when the young family found the treasure, rather then the greedy family members who tried to take advantage of her during her illness.

Okay, so what is the REST OF THE STORY?  Is this the current homeowner's property now, or ???

'Sounds like she had good reason to hide her property, with relatives like that.

We bought a house out of an estate. The trustee made limited efforts to do a trashout before the sale. Afterwards, as we were doing a more through cleaning we found 5 or 6 pieces of sterling silver in the attic. Not a huge windfall, but the pieces do look nice in my china cabinet.

Some folks do get lucky.... Me. I would not find the jewels but rather the unpaid bills! Thanks for the post.

Hi, Janet- the problem with Alzheimers (aside from the sad obvious problems) is that the disease compels people to "hide" things.  After they do so, they don't recall where they hid it, and wonder who "stole" it (personal experience with a family member).  The important thing to do is acquire a durable power of attorney if it appears that there are forgetful moments- catch it early.  Once the disease kicks in, it's too late to legally be able to protect the victim- and they need the protection.

This is a sad story, reflecting on the elderly lady's illness and predatory family.

I certainly hope the current owners are more deserving of the windfall.

All of us involved in this story had mixed emotions on how to proceed. Yes, Margaret, this treasure that fell from the ceiling is still in the possesion of the young couple. They have never sold the jewelry, or worn it! It just doesn't feel right, I think, considering the circumstances.

Laurie, yes, I do remember a friend's mom who had Alzheimers and was forever hiding things. Thanks for bringing this up. Your suggestion about a durable power of attorney is a good one that I had not thought of

Mike and Donna: Couple were very deserving, and if former owner is looking down from heaven, would not recognize the house after remodel. (That is a story worth another post!) If only she could send a message saying: "go ahead, have fun & enjoy the baubles. I certainly can't where I am!"

Glad that it went to deserving people.  It is so sad when the not only the elderly, but other people as well are taken advantage of. Great Read!!

What a wonderful and at the same time sad story. I am so glad the young couple got to keep the treasure and I am sure if the home owner had any say in the out come that's how she would have wanted it to end.

Wow, how fortunate were they to have removed the false wall! 

A few clients of our have found nice artwork left in an attic, but I'm not sure of the value.  This definitely is a prize find.

I have found a few things of value in rehabs but nothing like this. Did they keep it or send it to the family?

Sounds like you should send this story into HGTV.

Interesting story and excellent advice, Janet !  Some clients of mine bought an old heritage home in Prince Edward County Ontario that overlooked the Bay of Quinte. They did extensive renovations to the house and  in the course of the renovations they found a packet of letters from the early 1800s tied with a ribbon. The letters had belonged to a sea captain who clearly had to be away from home a lot and contained very personal and sad information. His wife had fallen in love with another man during one of his extended times away on his ship. All these years he had saved the letters and they lay in their quiet little place in a wall until one day someone in the far distant future would find them and read about his heartbreak.

Jo 

I don't know what to say JayGeezy! I guess...Why can't this sort of thing happen to me? Hahaha

I don't know what to say JayGeezy! I guess...Why can't this sort of thing happen to me? Hahaha

It is fortunate that nothing personal was left in the hiding place (letters, pictures, etc.) 

 I think this is an important subject because many cultures do not trust banks, and many older citizens hide valuables in their homes!!! Who knows how often this happens... as most owners don't remodel their own kitchens.

I read over the weekend that one in every 89 people is projected to get Alzeimers. So all of us will deal with this sooner or later.

Jo-Anne: I would love to read those letters. How romantic!

great information

the better hidden the valuables are the safer they are... even in a safe isn't safe because if the IRS or State seizes the property they will inventory a safe!

the best thing to do is always have someone know where valuables are hidden so that in any emergency, someone with a key can run into your house and rescue your valuables.

David, excellent suggestion...my observation is that many elders are reluctant to trust anyone, including their own kids. Maybe this post will convice them to trust someone with the info

Janet,
Great story and sage advice.  It reminded me of what happened after my Grannie (great grandmother) died.  While cleaning out her house, my Grandmother and Mother found cash in old gift boxes and shoe boxes in the most unlikely places.  They almost threw them out without looking in them.

Great story and some very good advise. Wow      imagine cash and jewwls raining down on you, what a treat.

Good advice ..  My grandparents lost some old baseball cards and a valueable gun clip that they were hiding in the house for safety ...  still missing years later :)

Ben

Janet .... I know someone whose father died and no one knew he had a stash... she came home to bury him and found a safety deposit box key... this was a man who made very little money in his life and he had $85,000 in cash in that box...

I've also heard of people moving their stash to a known location when they travel out of the country so that if something happens, one person has Power of Attorney, another has the safety deposit box deputy role and a third knows where all the valuables and cash are hidden.

a few friends in other countries told me that most of their friends have loose floorboards in certain places in the house where they store US dollars...

My Grandmother used to hide $20 bills in books.  Don't know if they found all of them or not. 

Great points!  And a wonderful story... I hope that the money and jewelery ended up where it was meant to, and it sounds like it did.  When we bought our house, the kids that were selling the estate also had Alzheimer's in the family and they told us that there was money buried in the back yard in coffee cans.  They had looked for it but failed to find it.  Anyway, we haven't foud it yet either!

Excellent advice, thank you for sharing.  Another common "hiding place" is in the bank.  I've done probate work where dozens of bank accounts were discovered long after the person passed away.  I guess the benefit to the bank accounts is that the new-homeowners can't benefit from an unintended windfall.  :)

Wow...so what does one do with all that? Good advise. (my mom does stuff like that)

Years ago I worked with a gentleman who bought a property in Jersey City. He did his own repairs. Turns out the property was once a boarding house. Similar situation. He found an old metal tin box with jewelry and cash in the ceiling. He brought the find into work to show us. Some of the articles dated back to the 1920's.

I have a friend, an estate planning attorney. Everything like that should be written down, even where any small stashes of money might be in banks or safety deposit boxes. Also, it is best if parents designate which relatives get which belongings. It saves lots of hurt feelings.

     A home next to one I owned in Lackawaxen, Penn. had been vacant for a while. Pretty much torn apart, broken windows etc. The family decided to donate it to the church next door, just for the value of the property. The church decided that they needed the land for parking space and asked the local Volunteer Fire Company to stage a drill with the house prior to final tear down.

     Before the fire company conducted its drill, I asked for permission to salvage from the house. I came out with the most beautiful Black Walnut railings, balustrades, Newel posts, Old skeleton key lock sets with glass and marble doorknobs. But, the prize was a box of old letters I found, including some pictures, dating back to WWII. They had V-stamps attached, I read through them and they were correspondence between a husband and wife during that horrible conflict. 

     I placed those letters away until one day, as I was mowing the lawn, a car stopped and asked me what had happened to the house next door. I explained. She then told me that the house used to be in the family and was sold, She was visiting the area from Florida and was taking a trip down memory lane. I asked her what the family name had been, and when she told me, I said "I have something for you."

     After I retrieved the letter package and handed it to her, she went through a letter and tears formed in her eyes. I knew that those letters had found the person they belonged to. 

Sad that the owner didn't really get full enjoyment of their 'treasures' while they were alive. I hope that I'll remember this post whenever I come across a probate or fixer-upper situation.

What a sad story but it does seem like the homeowner had the last word based on what happened with her family.  When my grandmother was sick she noticed one of her sons had come over and taken pictures of her whole house---and everything in it.  When she knew she was sick she apparently put someone's name on almost everything she owned (it must have taken her a long time).  SHE designated who she wanted her things to go to---and had the last word.  Smart woman.

My dad hid things (stocks, bonds etc.) but they were usually in safety deposit boxes. I think my mom found them all as there were records about, but we aren't sure.

He had bought some property in the Bahamas in 1974, but we were never able to find the deed, so after his death 1983 we were unable to claim the property for the estate. We were all looking forward to developing the land, but it was not to be.

Yes, very sad indeed.  After my parents passed away we rented the house to my cousins kids (newlyweds).  They found items stashed away in a make shift space in the ceiling.  The were kind enough to let us know and give us the items...they were special items too.  They eventually bought the house.  I can remember my mom 'hiding' stuff and then not being able to find it...I find myself doing the same thing now!!!!!!!!!! 

My godmother starting giving away her" pretties" everytime my daughters and I came to visit - they never had children. She would make us pick out one thing each. We felt bad & took the insignificant stuff but got a few nice pieces of china. She suddenly died & no one notified me.  I called her house to talk & the family living there answered and told me "Oh that old lady, who used to live here?  "She died". We have no idea where anything went - but I feel worse I didn't even get to her funeral. She was my second Mom & (sometimes my first).

I  do like the idea of giving things away while you are still alive and seeing the pleasure on the receivers face and know it went right where you wanted it too.

Well, you left me hanging-----Who got to keep the goodies?

Interesting story that brought out some good advice.  Another potential problem in hiding things in your home is the fact that the house could be destroyed by flood or fire in which case, the valuables would have done no one any good.  Of course, a fireproof safe could help in that situation.

WOW!  What a story and what a lesson.  I need to call my family members today.  Thank you!

Janet: How touching this post was.  I am always intrigued with stories such as this and very much enjoy antiques with related history.  To bad no pictures, letters or postcards were found...that would have been icing on the cake.  I have a locket which was my grandmothers along with a picture of her standing next to a victrola on her 16th bithday in which she was wearing this same locket.   I seem to enjoy the little things no one else seems to care much about....lucky me!

For years our children have had "dibs" on particular pieces of furniture, jewelry, etc that they want. They've all agreed.

Give it away while you can - then you know where it's going. 

Poor lady. I bet those nieces and nephews would be kicking themselves if they knew. That would be a great surprise!

If the relatives were that greedy, they probably made a sweep of the house before it went on sale.  Congrats to the new purchasers...

Boy -- maybe things worked out ok in the end.  A friend of my died and his secretary was cleaning out his condo - she pushed on a mirror and it moved -- behind it was a bunch of papers -- she found out he had been a secret agent -- he had a second identy- foreign passport etc. -- you just never know what secrets are hidden behind those walls.

I was wondering what happened to all of my money!

Wow, interesting story and what a topic to ponder! Thanks for sharing!

Janet,

Great reminder about what can happen when the children or others don't know about certain things, including secret hiding places. The elderly should also have a will and store in an easily accessible place all the pertinent information about them, like bank account numbers, mortgage papers etc. That would help settle the estate in a decent time frame. Good post.

Sounds as though she had good reason to hide her valuables. With relatives like you describe - gee.

As a woodworker who loves creating secret places in many of the things I build, I hope I remember them all.  Thanks for sharing.

Interesting, but sad, story (for the former owner). Thanks for sharing.

Jeff

This reminds me about a house that new owners were renovating. When they tore down the walls they found dozen and dozens of old movie posters, all in great shape. Apparently a previous owner had worked for a theatre and had used the posters for some kind of barrier in the walls. Needless to say they were worth a small fortune.

I have heard of demolition companies that make a fortune taking reduced fees for homes like this and finding fortunes in the home.  My own crazy mother does this from time to time. I begged her, "Please don't make us go through cereal boxes when you die!".