Abandoned Property Recovery (U.S.)

Several of our clients are former U.S. migrants. Frequently we discover they have forgotten/abandoned bank and investment accounts, uncashed checks, unclaimed dividend/settlement checks, etc., often amounting to thousands of dollars.

What Is Abandoned Property?

Abandoned property refers to neglected or inactive accounts or assets that have been turned over to the government for custodianship.

Each state has escheatment laws that determine when an asset is legally considered abandoned and how to recover such assets. States have abandoned property divisions that focus on the management and recovery of unclaimed property. This is known as escheatment.

In general, assets will take this route after a dormancy period of two to five years.

Types of Abandoned Property

Abandoned property takes on a variety of forms and can be both tangible or intangible. Unclaimed property/assets may include:

Once an asset is registered as unclaimed, a certain amount of time must pass, known as the dormancy period, before it can be deemed abandoned and turned over to the state. In the U.S., state laws determine when an asset is legally considered abandoned. Deadlines vary from state to state, though at least two years must typically pass before property acquires this status.

  • If you think that you may have abandoned property, we are here at your service.
  • We will investigate if there are any items listed under your name under various Abandoned Property databases.
  • If your name comes up, we will send you a list to confirm that the abandoned property really belongs to you.
  • When you confirm, we will start the process to recover the abandoned asset by asking you to provide proof that you are the legitimate owner.
  • Once that is done, we can proceed to file a claim and you should receive a check after a few weeks if no further information is requested by the state in question.

Please contact us for more information.

You may visit our News and Blog pages for occasional updates on this topic.