Have you ever received notice from your bank saying you haven’t had a deposit or a withdrawal out of that account in a number of years and if you do not do a transaction soon, they will consider that a dormant account and turn it over to the state? What happens to those funds if you do nothing?
If any unclaimed or abandoned property is being held by banks, financial institutions and other businesses, they must report it to the state and then submit the property to the state after a certain period of time. This period of time can be a short as three years for property such as bank accounts or as long as 15 years for property like travelers’ checks.
If the property is not claimed within three years from the state receiving it, the state is mandated to sell the property at a public auction. In the case of marketable securities, the time period before sale on the open market at prevailing prices is only one year. Any funds received by the state from holder submissions or from the sale of unclaimed property shall be promptly submitted to the state General Fund.
Even though those funds are deposited in the state General Fund, there is no time limit for you to make a claim to the state for your unclaimed or abandoned property. You always have an opportunity to reclaim those funds even though they have been turned over to the state many years ago. But how do you find out if you have any unclaimed property?
In order to find unclaimed property, you can go to the state website www.michigan.gov and search “unclaimed property”. Another way to look is to Google “MI unclaimed property” and you will be directed to the appropriate state web page. Another alternative is to go to the state web page directly at HYPERLINK “http://www.michigan.gov/unclaimedproperty” www.michigan.gov/unclaimedproperty. The state website has links to other web pages where you can search variations of your name for property abandoned in Michigan and also across the entire country.
If you find that you may have abandoned property that has been submitted to the state, then there is an Unclaimed Property Inquiry form on the state website that you can fill out and mail to the state Treasury Department. If the Treasury Department determines that the property or funds are yours, the state then sends you another form that you submit with additional identifying information. When the state receives the claim form, it is reviewed. If the claim is deemed valid, the Department of Treasury will cut you a check.
While you are on the state website doing the searching, don’t just search for yourself. Also search for other names. If Aunt Bessie has died, search for unclaimed property under her name. If you find something, it may be worth your while to pursue it if you can prove you are Aunt Bessie’s heir or beneficiary.
For example, a number of years ago, I saw a situation in which a woman found her deceased’s sister-in-law’s name on the state website. The sister-in-law’s only heir was the woman’s husband, who was also deceased. And since her husband had no kids, she was the sole heir of her husband. After filing the forms with the state, including proof of heirship, the woman received nearly $50,000. The funds came from her sister-in-law’s State of Michigan retirement pension accumulation that had never previously been claimed by anyone.
You may receive a letter from the Department of Treasury notifying you that unclaimed property in your name has been submitted to the state. Complete the form and send it in. What have you got to lose? You may just be entitled to your abandoned property.
However if you receive a letter from some company saying they have found unclaimed property of yours, watch out. They do not tell you what the property is or how much you can expect to recover. They keep half of the proceeds recovered as their fee. You look at their agreement and it requests all kinds of personal information, including your social security number. Be careful of these letters as they may likely be scams to acquire your personal information for identity theft purposes.
If you have some time, check out the state website. Do some modern day treasure hunting. You just might get lucky and find something.
By: Matthew M. Wallace, CPA, JD
Published edited February 5, 2012 in The Times Herald newspaper, Port Huron, Michigan as: Treasure Hunting Seekers look for riches in unclaimed property searches