![]() Once your unclaimed inheritance is moved into state coffers, it will be listed on a database of unclaimed assets and property. Waiting too long to retrieve unclaimed inheritance money from a loved one's unknown savings account can cost you a portion of your potential estate (although the fee is usually minor and even more negligible if the account did not hold much, to begin with). But it does have its benefits.įor one, banks tend to charge a fee on accounts that overstay their welcome and are subsequently escheated by the government. Doing the legwork this way can be tedious, and there is no guarantee that you will get to every potentially unclaimed asset. In most cases, proof of death, your Social Security information, and proof that you are the next of kin would be enough to claim an inheritance. In that case, you can call or contact local bank branches and employers with whom your relative was associated, ask about potentially unclaimed wages, unclaimed bank accounts, and so on. Suppose you know where your loved one was working and where they have kept their money over the years. But you don't necessarily need to wait that long. If money is left unclaimed for years after someone dies, the state will take ownership of it. Contact Banks for Unclaimed Inheritance Money You will have to wait a few years for any unclaimed assets to appear in a state directory. Your best bet at identifying the potential timeline for any unclaimed property in your loved one's past is to go to the website of their respective states or residence and employment and inquire for more information. Each state has its ultimate authority for escheated assets and property, as well as its policies and timelines. States and counties have their systems and respective databanks for unclaimed assets. Depending on the type of asset or property, unclaimed property may be escheated by the government in one to five years.Īt that point, the bank's or company's responsibility is to turn the asset over to the government's unclaimed assets division. The standard procedure for most unclaimed assets and accounts is to turn them over to the state after several years. If any of these things go unclaimed after a person's death, it can take time before they are eventually found. Anything like that is ultimately tied to a company, organization, bank corporation, or government. Such unclaimed assets might include: An unclaimed estate usually takes the form of a forgotten investment, a savings account no one knew about, or a small piece of property with a lost deed. Most examples of unclaimed inheritances aren't that fantastic, though. But without the prerequisite evidence and context of who it might have belonged to, there is no guarantee that an inheritance like that will ever find its way to its rightful heirs. ![]() The money might even go back to the finder if it remains unclaimed. When money is found, the proper thing to do is turn it over to the police. This unclaimed inheritance money can be retrieved once it is found. If your uncle buried $20,000 in cash in 2007 for a rainy day and died without telling anyone where he buried the money or any cash, it might not be found for a long time. Some things are genuinely lost or forgotten over time. A mismanaged estate, missing parcel during the probate process, or assets and property that no one was ever informed of – lost due to poor recordkeeping – can quickly go unclaimed. Nearly any form of wealth, from bank notes to personal property, can become unclaimed in the event of a person's death. What Counts as Unclaimed Inheritance Money? ![]() ![]() This is the case, whether it's a few hundred dollars in a savings account or several thousand dollars worth of stocks that were put aside and forgotten. Aside from federal tax refunds, you have all the time to figure out where the inheritance money is. There is no time limit on claiming an unclaimed inheritance after the death of a loved one, with one crucial exception: federal tax refunds. While the state does collect a lot of unclaimed wealth, it holds most of it in case a potential heir arrives and takes what is rightfully theirs. But an unclaimed inheritance is not automatically forfeited to state coffers. Thankfully, in most cases, there is a relatively simple answer: the government gets to claim it. Many leave behind unclaimed inheritance money because their assets were not properly recorded or written into their will. However, what happens if the residents can't locate what we have left behind? What happens to forgotten bank accounts, retirement funds left inaccessible, unclaimed wages, and property with no deeds or paperwork? What happens to everything that is lost to time or lost amid a sea of poor financial planning and shoddy recordkeeping? Everything we leave behind must be redistributed among the living when we die.
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