The bulk of unclaimed property activity occurs at the state level. In 2006, for example, over 1.9 million state claims were paid to owners totaling at least $1.7 billion. However, many more billions of dollars worth of unclaimed property funds have yet to be distributed and this amount continues to grow each year.
Whether you are a business holding unclaimed property or an individual or business trying to recover abandoned property, each state has its own specific laws and procedures to follow. There are, however, some common themes found across all the states.
Businesses must be aware that they have a number of responsibilities concerning unclaimed property. Initially, written notice must be sent to the apparent owner of the unclaimed property, if known. If the property remains unclaimed, businesses have a number of filing and reporting requirements to fulfill. Most importantly, businesses are required to turn over any and all unclaimed property to the state. Stiff penalties apply to businesses who fail to comply with any of these requirements.
On the other hand, individuals should know that property located in each particular state is generally presumed abandoned after a certain period of inactivity by the owner. This time limit varies depending on the type of property involved. Once abandoned property is turned over to the state by a business, an individual then has the burden of reclaiming it from the state. Also, always remember that if unclaimed property is located in more than one state, the recovery procedures of each state must be followed separately to get all the property back.
For more specific details on the unclaimed property issues above, we include summaries of the laws and procedures for all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia. Click on the map below to access the information for each jurisdiction:
