Unclaimed Property Glossary

Personal property whose owner has lost contact with the holder for a state-defined period (typically 3-5 years), at which point the holder must report and remit it to the state.

Abandoned property is the broader legal category that includes unclaimed property. Banks, insurers, employers, brokerages, and utility companies are all required to identify accounts where the owner has stopped responding to mailings or transactions, then turn the property over to the state's unclaimed property office after a statutory dormancy period.

States hold abandoned property indefinitely under the doctrine of escheat. Owners (or their heirs) can claim it back at any time, sometimes decades later.

A sworn statement, usually notarized, identifying the legal heirs of a deceased person — used to claim unclaimed property without going through full probate.

An affidavit of heirship lists the deceased's living heirs (spouse, children, descendants, etc.) and the basis for each person's claim. State unclaimed-property offices accept it when the estate falls below the small-estate threshold and a probate court order isn't required.

Most states require the affidavit to be signed by two disinterested witnesses (people who know the family but don't stand to inherit). Notarization is typically required.

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The person filing a claim for unclaimed property — either the original owner or a legal heir.

Claimants must prove their identity (government ID), prove ownership of the property (typically via address-history evidence), and — for heir claims — prove relationship to the deceased plus the right to inherit (death certificate plus probate or small-estate paperwork).

A tax certain states withhold from unclaimed property payouts when the original holder withheld income tax that was never refunded.

Most unclaimed-property payouts are not taxed by the state, but a small subset — particularly stock dividends and interest — may have had income tax withheld that the state continues to hold. Claimants receive the gross amount minus any CWT withheld, with documentation for filing the appropriate IRS Form 1099 attachments.

The process by which a mutual insurance company converts to a stock corporation, often distributing stock or cash to former policyholders who may not realize they're entitled to a payout.

When a mutual insurer demutualizes, eligible policyholders receive stock or a cash equivalent. Many policyholders never claim their share because they've moved or the insurer can't reach them. The unclaimed shares eventually escheat to state unclaimed-property offices.

Notable demutualizations creating large pools of unclaimed property include MetLife (2000), Prudential (2001), and John Hancock (2000). Payouts often range from $200 to several thousand dollars per policyholder.

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The length of time without owner activity before a holder must report property as unclaimed — typically 3-5 years for bank accounts and 1 year for wages, varying by state and asset type.

Each state's unclaimed property law (Uniform Unclaimed Property Act variants, NAUPA-aligned) defines dormancy periods by asset type. Bank checking and savings accounts typically dormancy 3-5 years. Uncashed payroll checks and refunds typically dormancy 1 year. Life-insurance proceeds dormancy 3-5 years after the insured's death.

Once the dormancy period passes, the holder is legally required to file a holder report and remit the funds to the state.

The legally-required outreach a holder (bank, employer, etc.) must attempt — typically a written notice to the owner's last-known address — before reporting an account as unclaimed.

States require holders to send at least one written notice (often certified mail) to the owner's last-known address shortly before the dormancy period expires. The owner has a chance to claim the property directly from the holder, avoiding the escheat process entirely.

Most owners never receive these letters because they've moved. Due-diligence requirements vary by state — California, for example, requires notice for accounts over $50; some states require notice for any amount.

The legal process by which abandoned property is transferred to the state when its rightful owner cannot be found.

Escheat is the legal doctrine that property without a clear owner reverts to the sovereign — historically the king, now the state. In the US unclaimed-property context, escheat happens after a holder has held property in dormant status for a state-defined period (usually 3-5 years) and made due-diligence outreach.

After escheat, the property is held by the state's unclaimed-property office indefinitely. Owners and heirs retain the right to claim it back at any time — there's no statute of limitations on claiming escheated property in most states.

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A third-party company that searches for unclaimed property and offers to file claims on behalf of owners or heirs in exchange for a percentage fee.

Finders are regulated by state law. Most states cap finder fees at a percentage of the recovery (commonly 10%, sometimes up to 15-30%) and prohibit finders from contacting owners during the first 24 months after escheatment.

Some "finder" outreach is legitimate; some is scam-adjacent (charging upfront fees, charging for free state databases, collecting more than the legal cap). Owners can always claim their property themselves at no cost by going directly to the state portal.

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The original business that holds dormant property and is legally required to report and remit it to the state — typically a bank, employer, insurer, brokerage, or utility.

Every business that holds money or property on behalf of others is a potential holder. When a customer goes silent, the holder must follow state-specific dormancy and due-diligence rules, then file an annual holder report and remit the funds.

Holders include national banks, credit unions, employers (uncashed paychecks), life insurers, health insurers, brokerages, mutual fund administrators, utility companies (deposits and refunds), state and local governments, and even some private trust funds.

The annual filing in which a holder lists every dormant account, identifies the owner where possible, and remits the funds to the state.

Holder reports are typically due in October or November each year (varies by state). They're submitted in NAUPA II format — a standardized text file containing each owner's name, last-known address, account number, property type code, and dollar amount.

Once a holder reports an account, the funds are transferred to the state and the state assumes responsibility for finding the owner.

The free public search tool operated by NAUPA that aggregates many — but not all — state unclaimed-property databases.

MissingMoney.com is run by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) and lets users search records from approximately 40 participating states in a single query. Results link out to each state's individual claim portal.

Limitations: MissingMoney does not cover every state, and several large states (California, New York) maintain their own dedicated portals that aren't always synced. For complete coverage, search directly on each state's portal or use an aggregator that hits every state independently.

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The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators — the trade group of state unclaimed-property regulators that publishes uniform reporting standards and runs MissingMoney.com.

NAUPA is a non-profit affiliate of the National Association of State Treasurers. Its members are the state officials responsible for administering unclaimed-property programs (typically the State Treasurer or State Controller).

NAUPA publishes the standard property-type codes (NAUPA codes) every state uses in holder reports, runs the multi-state MissingMoney.com search, and lobbies for uniform unclaimed-property law across states.

Standardized 2-3 character codes (AC01, IN01, MS16, etc.) every state uses to classify the type of unclaimed property in holder reports.

NAUPA property codes are the universal vocabulary for unclaimed property. Every holder report and state database uses them. Examples: AC01 = checking accounts, IN01 = individual life insurance proceeds, MS16 = unidentified deposits, SC01 = stock dividends.

When you search a state's unclaimed-property database, the results show the NAUPA code so you can verify whether the listed property matches the type of asset you're searching for.

A federal agency that holds pension benefits owed to former participants of terminated private-sector defined-benefit plans.

PBGC's Missing Participants Program holds pension benefits for people who couldn't be located when their employer's defined-benefit plan terminated. PBGC searches its database at pbgc.gov/search-missing-participants and pays out claims directly.

PBGC is separate from state unclaimed-property programs. Pension benefits typically end up at PBGC, not at a state UPL office. If a former employee can't find a pension at any state portal, PBGC is the next stop.

The court-supervised process of administering a deceased person's estate, including paying debts and distributing assets to heirs.

Full probate is required when an estate exceeds the state's small-estate threshold or when ownership of estate property is disputed. The court appoints an executor (named in the will) or administrator (no will), who inventories assets, pays creditors, and distributes the remainder.

For unclaimed-property claims, the state agency requires either letters testamentary (proving the executor's authority) or a small-estate affidavit (when the estate is small enough to skip probate).

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A notarization performed over a live video call by a state-licensed notary, accepted for unclaimed-property documents in most US states as of 2024.

RON has been permanently authorized in about 45 US states. Customers can have affidavits, claim forms, and small-estate affidavits notarized over video without leaving home. Cost is typically $25 per session.

Each state's RON-acceptance policy varies by document type. Most state unclaimed-property offices accept RON for the standard claim affidavit; a handful still require in-person notarization for specific high-value documents.

Physical contents of a bank safe-deposit box that have been escheated to the state after the renter stopped paying rental fees and the bank couldn't locate them.

When a safe deposit box goes unpaid for the dormancy period (varies, often 3-5 years), the bank drills the box, inventories the contents, and turns them over to the state. States typically auction the contents and hold the proceeds; the original cash, stamps, jewelry, etc. is converted to dollar value.

Owners can claim either the original contents (if they're still warehoused) or the auction proceeds (if liquidated). California, for example, holds and warehouses contents for 1.5 years before auction.

A notarized sworn statement allowing heirs to claim a small estate's assets without going through full probate when the estate value falls under the state's threshold.

Small-estate affidavit thresholds vary by state from about $10,000 (New Hampshire) to $200,000 (Wyoming), with most states between $25,000 and $100,000. California's threshold is $184,500 as of 2024.

When the total estate is under the threshold, heirs can use a small-estate affidavit to claim unclaimed property and other assets without opening a probate case — saving months and several thousand dollars in court fees.

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The state-elected official typically responsible for administering the unclaimed-property program, depending on the state.

Roughly half the states administer unclaimed property under the State Treasurer's office (e.g., New York Office of the State Comptroller, Texas Comptroller, Pennsylvania Treasury). The other half administer through the State Controller (e.g., California State Controller's Office). A handful use the Department of Revenue, Department of Commerce, or Attorney General's office.

Each state's unclaimed-property page on HeirClaim lists the specific agency for that state.

Most states impose NO statute of limitations on claiming escheated unclaimed property — owners can claim it back decades later.

Unlike most legal claims, unclaimed property has no expiration. The state holds the property indefinitely on behalf of the rightful owner. A claim filed 50 years after escheatment is just as valid as one filed the first day, provided the owner can prove identity and ownership.

A few states do impose deadlines on specific narrow asset types (most commonly demutualization stock that has been auctioned). But for the vast majority of unclaimed property, there's no rush except your own.

A model state law published by the Uniform Law Commission that most states have adopted with variations — defining dormancy periods, holder duties, and claim procedures.

The UUPA was first published in 1954, revised in 1981, 1995, and 2016. Most states have adopted some version, though each customizes the dormancy periods, finder-fee rules, and claim procedures.

Holders that operate in multiple states must comply with each state's specific variant. The UUPA framework is what makes NAUPA's standardized property codes work across state lines.