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I've never had unclaimed funds, but I have been the person who submits funds that have been unclaimed to the state. I work at a law firm that handles a lot of settlements, and sometimes, people are issued a large portion of the settlement while we wrap up a few other things on the case. Once those are taken care of, I reach out to our client to give them whatever funds remain.
But sometimes, I can't find that person no matter how hard I search. Sometimes, our client disagrees with the additional amount that they are receiving and refuses to cash their check. After a certain number of years, and after every possible attempt to give our client their money has been made, I have it sent to the state.
That's fascinating, I assumed it would be the default business to business debt, where most companies would basically hold onto the money until they're asked for it, and just make damn sure they've accounted for it
I'm not a money guy, I just remember hearing some project managers talk about it and thought it was an interesting thing I've never considered, so there might be more to it
Can you tell me a bit about the legality of it? Is it just a matter of balancing your books to avoid getting in trouble, or is it different for individuals than businesses, or am I missing some piece of context and jumped to the wrong conclusion?
Just in general the motivation for you to do it that way for my own edification, I had no idea this kind of process existed
In my line of work, it's a legal thing and a balancing the books thing. The business can't legally keep the money because it is being held in trust for that particular person, and only that person is allowed to get those funds (unless they die, then it becomes part of their estate). We can't just wait a certain number of years and say ha! you didn't get your funds in time, and now they're mine!
While we have the funds in trust, the case isn't fully closed as far as our accounting department is concerned. Accounting doesn't want uncashed checks out there and doesn't like the idea of holding onto client funds indefinitely because they have to keep track of all of that, and we've had something like 40,000 clients in the last 30-40 years. Their goal is to get that account down to zero so there are no funds for that client left in their account.
At a certain point, if we can't hunt that person down, we have to get this money off our books. Otherwise, if it was legally allowed, we could be stuck holding these funds for decades and having to manage them that whole time. In my particular state, businesses legally have to submit it as unclaimed property after 5 years. The goal was to have all these funds in one location so people don't have to search at a bunch of different places to find unclaimed funds. Really, it's a benefit to both the business and the people searching for their funds. We get to clear it off the books, and they have a one-stop shop for receiving any unclaimed funds. It sounds like different types of funds have different waiting periods. I believe the department of revenue also makes efforts to find the owner of those funds.
Lots of different businesses use this system. Say you have a savings account out there somewhere that you completely forgot about, so it's been sitting there with no activity for years. Since then, maybe you've moved or gotten a new phone number. If the bank sends you letters and emails and calls you but still can't get in contact after 5 years, they are going to close the account and send those funds to the state. It could be submitted by an insurance company who has settlement funds or reimbursement funds for ending a policy. It could be that you overpaid on something, and the business is trying to return the difference to you, but can't find you. Basically, if some business owes you money in any way, but can't for some reason get it to you, they have to submit it to the state. I'm assuming it works the same if the next of kin can't be found for an estate.
I'm not sure how the business to business funds would work, but businesses here are required to have a registered agent who is responsible for receiving subpoenas or whatever else for the business, so hunting down the owner seems like it's a bit easier, but I've never worked on that side, so I don't really know.