Few people have any idea of the great number of estates which, in default of heirs to claim them, annually revert to the government. The treasury derives large sums from this source every year. And this is easily explained, for nowadays family ties are becoming less and less binding. A significant portion of the nearly $35 billion which is being held by varies state and federal agencies is a result of unclaimed inheritances.

Unclaimed inheritances are in general treated the same as any unclaimed asset or abandoned property. If the rightful owner or heir fail to communicate an interest in them over a period of time, the asset becomes legally abandoned. This period of time is referred to as the "dormancy period" that can vary both from state to state, as well as, with respect to the type of property, but in general is one to three years.

At the end of this "dormancy period" and no one has filed a claim, by law the holders of these unclaimed assets -banks, brokers, saving & loans, life insurance companies, utility companies and employers -must transfer these assets over to the respective government agency for protective custody. This tranfer process is known as escheat. Even though these assets are under the custody of a government agency, some assets' value may not be protected. It is possible that unclaimed stocks as part of an unclaimed estate or as a result of a life insurance company demutualization could be sold by the custodian and hence future appreciation and dividends would be lost.

With respect to inheritances, the heirs often times are not aware they are entitled to this money because the deceased kept incomplete records or merely forgot to list certain assets in their will. It's not uncommon for someone to have more than one life insurance policy. Also, beneficiaries often times cannot be located beacuse they have moved away or changed their names due to a marriage or divorce.

In any event, the Government agencies make minimal effort in trying to contact and to locate the rightful heirs of these unclaimed inheritances.

For a search in our databases and for information of unclaimed assets of a deceased family member order our Search and Report. Be sure to give special instructions and other information which might assist the search, such other states in which the deceased person may have lived. (There is a $15.00 fee for this Service.)
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