Mountain Views News          Saturday, July 21, 2012

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THE GOOD LIFE

 Mountain Views News Saturday July 21, 2012

HOW TO SEARCH FOR FORGOTTEN MONEY YOUR LOVED 
ONES LEFT BEHIND

Dear Savvy Senior:

I’ve heard that there are resources available 
that can help people look for lost or forgotten 
money left behind by their diseased relatives. 
When my mother and father passed away 
their financial affairs were in such a mess, I’m 
wondering if there was anything I overlooked. What can you tell me? Searching Son

Dear Searching:

 Lost or forgotten money is actually quite common in the U.S. In fact, according National 
Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, nearly $33 billion in unclaimed assets is 
sitting in state treasuries and other agencies just waiting to be found. 

 These unclaimed assets are from some 117 million accounts that are inactive or whose owners 
or their heirs cannot be located. Unclaimed assets can include things like lost or forgotten 
investments or bank accounts, Social Security payments, utility deposits, tax refunds, life 
insurance proceeds, stocks, un-cashed dividends and more. 

 This typically happens because of a change of address (the owner moved), a name change 
(the owner got married or divorced), or the owner dies and the estate was unaware of the 
money or the heirs could not be located. By law, companies and financial institutions that 
can’t find the owner or their next of kin within two to five years must turn the property over 
to the state where it’s held indefinitely. 

Where to Search

 It’s very possible that your deceased parents, or you, have some unclaimed assets out there 
and you don’t even know it. To start your quest, go to missingmoney.com or unclaimed.org, 
both of which contain records from most state unclaimed property programs. 

 Check every state in which you or your parents have lived, worked or conducted business. 
Also search using maiden names and any previous names, as well as middle names and middle 
initials. Every state can tell you immediately if your parents or you have some unclaimed 
property, as well as how to go about collecting it. If you don’t have a computer, you can call 
the state treasurer’s office for assistance. 

Look Here Too

 Beyond state treasuries, here are some other agencies you should check for lost loot, along 
with a few resources that can help you search. 

 IRS: Each year thousands of refund checks totaling millions of dollars are returned to the 
IRS by the post office. To look for lost tax refund checks go to IRS.gov and click on “Individuals,” 
then on “Where’s My Refund,” or call 800-829-1954. 

 U.S. Treasury: To find out if there are any savings bonds your parents didn’t claim dating 
back to 1974, go to treasurydirect.gov and click on “Check Treasury Hunt to see if you 
own matured savings bonds.” For older bonds or those still drawing interest, use form 1048 
which you can download at www.treasurydirect.gov/forms/sav1048.pdf. 

 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.: If you or your parents worked for a company that went out 
of business or ended its defined benefit pension plan, you may be entitled to some of their 
benefits. Check at pbgc.gov and click on “Missing Participants Search.” 

 The National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits: To search for lost 401(k) plans, 
try unclaimedretirementbenefits.com where plan sponsors, administrators and custodians 
register missing participants who have unclaimed retirement funds. 

 Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.: Search for unclaimed bank accounts at firms that were 
shut down between 1989 and 1993 go to www2.fdic.gov/funds. State treasuries hold assets 
from shutdowns after 1993. 

 Social Security: To find lost Social Security benefits, including the $255 death benefit, call 
800-772-1213. 

 American Council of Life Insurers: If you think your parents had a life-insurance policy 
try missingmoney.com, or for more tips go to acli.com and click on “Missing Policy Tips.” 

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.
org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

SENIOR HAPPENINGS


July Birthdays

Anthony Gheezo, Joanne Gheezo, Betty Hansen, 
Beverly Turko, Vivian Abrams, Shahrzad 
Arzani, Eunice Banis, Cindy Barnard, Christine 
Durfort, Dorothy Montgomery, Beth Pancoska, Janet 
Swanson, Linda Thunes, BarbaraWatson, 


JULY ACTIVITIES

Senior Programs have returned to the Hart 
Park House enior Center, 222 W. Sierra 
Madre Blvd. in Memorial Park - Come by and 
see the changes!!

Meals-On-Wheels

Mondays: City Hall & Lunch Café 

12 noon: Intervale Lunch Café: Come enjoy 
a hot meal with others. Donation for 
seniors (60+) of $2.00; visitors $3.75. Call 
355-0256 to make your daily reservation.

Tuesdays: 

 FREE blood pressure checks by Methodist 
Hospital Nurse; 11 am to 12 noon.

1:30 pm to 3:30 pm: BINGO; cards are 
only 25 cents each so stop by & play

5:15 pm to 6:45 pm: Yoga; $6.00 - 50 
& over. Please call 355-5278 for more 
information

Wednesdays:

11 –11:45 am: Balance Class with Teryl. 
FREE class designed to improve balance 
& refresh the joints

12 noon: Intervale Lunch Café; daily reservations 
needed 355-0256

2nd Wednesday of the month: FREE Legal 
Consultations: 10-11:30 am. Appointments 
call 355-7394

Wii Wednesday - 1:00 pm or call the senior 
desk at 355-7394 to arrange another 
time & day to learn how to play. No previous 
experience or skills required and it is 
great exercise.

Thursdays:

1:00 to 3:30 pm: Game Day. Join us for 
Poker and more. Wii - 1:00 pm or call the 
senior desk at 355-7394 to arrange another 
time & day to learn how to play. No 
previous experience or skills required and 
it is great exercise. Please call for more 
information.

Fridays: Intervale Lunch Café; daily reservations 
needed 355-0256

1:00 pm to 1:45 pm: Strength Training 
with Lisa Brandley. FREE class of stretching 
with light hand weights while you sit.

Saturdays: 11:30 am: Senior Club brown 
bag lunch and BINGO at 12:30 pm. 


Meals are delivered to home-
bound seniors by volunteer drivers 
through the YWCA Intervale 
Lunch Program M-F (with frozen meals for the 
weekend.) 

 Call the YWCA at (626) 214-9460 for more 
information. 


LUNCH & LEARN 

Join the Senior Community Commission

at the HART PARK HOUSE

 for a FREE presentation. Lunch is available 
for a $2 donation 

Call (626) 355-0256 by 

12 noon the day before. 

DIAL - A - RIDE TICKETS

Tickets can now be purchased at:

Sierra Madre City Hall

Sierra Madre Library

NEW! 

Senior Movie Program

The Hart Park House Senior Center is starting 
a brand new monthly movie program beginning 
Wednesday, August 15. 

Each month a movie will be shown at no fee 
in the City Council Chambers located in City 
Hall.

The movie for the month of August is, 

Invasion of the Body Snatchers, filmed in our 
very own Sierra Madre! 

All patrons are encouraged to join us monthly 
and it’s a great way to beat the summer heat.

Location: City Council Chambers, 232 W. Sierra 
Madre Blvd.

Time: 1:00pm-3:00pm

Cost: Free, no charge.

*Food is not allowed in the Council Chambers

2012 EXCURSIONS

NEWPORT BAY CHARTER BOAT 
CRUISE AND LUNCH

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Departure: Charter bus leaves at 9:15am 
from the Hart Park House Senior Center

Boat Charter: 11:00am-12:30pm

Arrival: Charter bus will arrive back in Sierra 
Madre at approximately 3:00pm

Cost: $20 includes transportation and tip 
(Does not include lunch)

More Info: Call the Hart Park House Senior 
Center at 626-355-7394. The 90 minute 
tour views the entire harbor, including 
the 7 Islands of Newport Bay. The tour is 
narrated by the experienced Captain and 
Crew. You will get a chance to see celebrity 
homes, sea lions, and much

more! For more information on the cruise 
please visit their website at www.funzoneboats.
com. Lunch will be on your own 
from 12:30-2:00pm in Newport Beach. 
Please be sure to register early as space is

limited. Registration is available at the Hart 
Park House at 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., 
Community Recreation Center at 611 E. Sierra 
MadreBlvd. or online at www.cityofiserramadre.
com/onlineregistration.

MAKING END-OF-LIFE DECISIONS TOPIC OF JULY 24 SENIOR SEMINAR 

 

If you were ill or injured and unable to speak for yourself, what kind of medical care would you want 
and who would you want to speak for you? The Methodist Hospital 50-plus program will sponsor a 
lecture and panel discussion on advance directives 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 24, at the Arcadia 
Community Center, 365 Campus Drive. 

 The panel will include Brenda Simonds, director, Methodist Hospital spiritual care; Wendy Kohlhase, 
PhD, bioethics consultant; and Pamela Wright, VITAS community liaison.

Panel members will discuss the various advance directives, what a “do not resuscitate” order means 
and the new POLST form that facilitates the continuity of health care. They will explain what each 
does and how it works, and they will answer questions on what you should have in place to help avoid 
confusion later.

 Advance directives help convey your wishes and decisions to your family, friends and health-care 
providers. It is not always easy to decide what you want or whom you would like to speak on your 
behalf. While all advance directives are helpful, not all advance directives are legally binding. The 
panel will identify what makes an advance directive legally binding and what considerations should 
be made in creating an advance directive that works for you.

Immediately following the seminar, a free workshop will provide advance directive forms and help 
completing the form. The workshop and forms are available through VITAS Innovative Hospice Care, 
the San Gabriel Valley End-of-Life Coalition and Methodist Hospital. Reservations, call 626-574-
5130.

HEALTH & FITNESS

THE JOY OF YOGA

THE SILENCE


ene
By Rene Quenell, Founder/Owner Yoga Madre - Sierra Madre 

 People tell me all the 
time that they are not able 
to meditate. They have 
too much on their minds. 

 What happens when 
you sit in silence? What 
do you hear? Do you 
hear the roaring of 
your thoughts? Is your 
mind jumping around 
like a monkey? Are you too fidgety? Some styles of 
meditation are to just sit there and watch as those 
thoughts jump around. Some styles are guided, so that 
you follow along and then have brief pauses. Some 
styles say “just clear your mind”. 

 What is the right style for you? We are all very 
different. There are many, many styles. But here 
is what works for me, most of the time: I start by 
practicing yoga. 

 You knew I was going to say that right? Well, yoga was 
designed as a back strengthener. Yoga was designed to 
help us learn to breathe better, to increase our capacity 
so we can sit in meditation and do pranayama (breath 
work). 

 But honestly, I need to get the ya-yas out. I can’t 
just sit down and expect my mind to be quiet. I can’t 
just sit down and be still. I need to move and get the 
body calmed down first. The yogis knew this. In fact, 
in Classical and Tantric yoga science, it is the nervous 
system that we need to calm down before we can 
meditate. 

 If we are in a constant state of the sympathetic 
nervous system being active, then we are in fight or 
flight mode. That means we are waiting for the next 
thing to happen. How can we expect to meditate if 
we have just been driving our cars? Our brains are in 
Drive. 

 So, we know that meditation is the number one thing 
to reduce anxiety, the number one stress reducer. But 
we can’t just go from stress to meditate in 2 seconds.

 Let’s do the yoga first. It really helps!!!

 Trust me, meditation is the balm/bomb, the best 
thing you can possibly do for yourself. And it’s been 
around for thousands of years for just that very reason.

 See you in class. Namasté, René