Man Leaves Nearly $1M to the Residents of His Small Town After Death

A man has made a generous posthumous donation of nearly $1 million to the town he lived in, according to reports.

Educator Daniel Olliver bequeathed €800,000 ($856,695) to the city of Ploubezre in Britanny, which is located in northwestern France, following his death on June 12 at the age of 57.

According to the French newspaper Le Parisien, the donation was made public by Mayor Brigitte Gourhant at the municipal council meeting on Friday, September 15.

Gourhant said Oliver "had a strong work ethic" and was considered by his relatives to be "discreet, cheerful and hardworking."

According to outlet Sud Ouest, the mayor said: "I didn't expect to see an administrator bequeath all his property. We sometimes see that in newspapers, but we don't imagine that it could happen to us."

The money is estimated to be about a third of the municipality's budget and elected officials are now considering what to do with the money. Among the options being discussed is the creation of a children's center, according to the outlet.

In a similar case of a large donation being made to a local authority in the country, centenarian Romaine Carlès left nearly €8 million ($8.5 million) to the small town of Roquefort-les-Pins, located close to the French-Italian border, following his death in 2022, according to Le Parisien.

While there are several ways people can bequeath their money after their death, there are circumstances where they can end up under the control of the state.

When a person's personal property has been abandoned or unclaimed after a period of time—which differs from state to state—an active process must be made to find the account's owner.

According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: "If the firm is unable to do so, and the account has remained inactive for the period of time specified by state law, the firm must report the account to the state where the account is held. The state then claims the account through a process called "escheatment," whereby the state becomes the owner of the account.

"As part of the escheatment process, the state will hold the account as a bookkeeping entry, against which the former account owner may make a claim. States tend to sell the securities in escheated accounts and treat the proceeds as state funds.

"When a former account owner makes a valid request, however, the states will normally provide the former owner with cash equaling the value of the account at the time of escheatment."

Newsweek has contacted the local government of Ploubezre for comment via email.