Looking for heirs

Nada Pinto died in 2013 in Los Angeles, leaving an estate valued at almost $172,000. No one knows the names or whereabouts of her heirs. I am hoping that someone in Israel remembers her family and will contact me.

Nada was born July 23, 1911 or 1917 (it is unclear), to Maurice (Mauro) Pinto and Rifka Montiljo (Montillo). As Nada Kobelev (she was either divorced or her husband had died in the Holocaust), she arrived in New York City on June 21, 1947. The passenger manifest shows her as having been born in Doboj, Bosnia. She became a naturalized US citizen on June 26, 1953. On her naturalization documents, she is shown as “Nada Milland, formerly Nada Kobelev.”

Nada’s brother, James (Haim) Pinto, was born on April 23, 1907, and died in 1987 in San Miguel, Mexico. He was a famous artist. His wife was Ruska. James had come to the United States in September 1939. He spent some time in Brazil before settling in Mexico.

Nada’s sister, Erna Esther Pinto, was born on February 24, 1909, and died in 2008. She married Otto Englander, who worked for Disney Studios in Los Angeles. Otto was born on February 17, 1906, in Czechoslovakia or Yugoslavia to Bella A. Englander (father) and Giselle Lisska. He died in 1969 in Los Angeles.

It seems the family may have been Sephardim, that is, Jews who were expelled from Spain and Portugal in 1492, or their ancestors.

Much of the Jewish community in Serbia was killed during the Holocaust. Only about 787 Jews remain. I contacted Miroslav Rajevic, secretary of the Belgrade Jewish community, but he was unable to find family.

It seems that none of the Pinto siblings had children. Therefore, other children or grandchildren of Nada’s parents may be entitled to the inheritance. They might now live in Israel.

Anyone with information about Nada Pinto’s family is urged to contact me at MazelEq@aol.com. LOREN J. BIALIK

San Francisco The writer is a probate researcher and author of Unclaimed Fortunes: How to Get Your Share.