Recovering Assets from Non-Escheat Locations

Property owners seeking to claim their abandoned property often limit their success by focusing only on escheated properties – items reported and remitted to the states, which then hold the property until claimed by the owner. States generally host a website for owners to search for and submit a claim for their property.

In addition to escheated items held by state unclaimed property offices, non-escheated items may await property owners. These funds may be held by cities, counties, or other government entities.

Unclaimed funds held by non-escheat locations are often difficult to locate and recover for several reasons:

• Each jurisdiction has unique processes. Some states do not regulate the process for returning property held by local and other government agencies not covered by state unclaimed property statutes.
• Recovery requirements differ depending on the location and entity possessing the property.
• Data regarding property availability is often not easily accessible. Unlike state unclaimed property departments, non-escheat locations don’t usually publish unclaimed items online.
• Non-escheated property doesn’t remain available in perpetuity. After a certain amount of time, the property may be canceled, forfeited, or liquidated. The following examples illustrate how widely municipal unclaimed property policies vary.

The city of Boulder, Colorado, specifies that intangible property held by the city and unclaimed after more than six months “shall escheat to the city as if it were a gift to the city.”

In San Diego, after one year, unclaimed funds become the property of the local agency after public notice and a 45-day waiting period. The funds then escheat to the city’s general fund and cannot be claimed.

Alameda County holds an annual process each spring, publishing a listing of unclaimed warrants in a local newspaper and online for at least two weeks. After publication, unclaimed warrant funds are escheated to the general fund by June 30. Certain unclaimed funds, which remain in the treasury or the custody of a local agency for three years, may become the agency’s property after published notice if it remains unclaimed. Items under $15 do not need to be published for escheatment to occur. Escheatment to the general fund occurs if a verified claim is not filed by the designated date 45-60 days after first publication. After this date, money left unclaimed will become the county’s property.

So, how can property owners determine if a government entity has their property? Calling or emailing locations where you do business is an option. Submitting Freedom of Information Act requests is another tactic. However, with more than 3,000 counties and 19,000 incorporated towns, cities, and villages in the United States, and countless other government entities, the time and effort required for each location could be monotonous. Many companies don’t have the time and resources to develop and execute a process to justify such searches.

Working with a third-party locator is a more efficient and practical way to uncover and return those hard-to-find unclaimed funds. A reputable third-party locator has the experience and dedicated resources to uncover, recover, and return unclaimed assets. Retaining the services of a professional third-party locator can boost the bottom line without adding workload to staff and ensure you potentially don’t end up losing out on funds that are rightfully owed to your organization.

To learn about how MarketSphere’s Corporate Asset Recovery services can help uncover and recover funds for your organization, Contact Us today.

*Content contained in this article is considered accurate as of the publish date.