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There are many private asset recovery companies and tracers that will offer to help you locate your unclaimed or abandoned property. Some of these firms will try to charge you a 20-35% finder’s fee for the recovery of your lost asset. Any fee is negotiable and never pay up front for such services.
Do your homework. In addition to regularly checking in our database, check all old financial records including brokerage statements and tax returns. Pay special attention to securities with dividend reinvestment plans of companies that have gone through a merger or acquisition.
Asset Tracers specialize in Pre-escheat securities, Court funds and unredeemed government checks. They obtain these records from cooperating Companies as holders, Transfer Agents and by searching Court records before the asset is scheduled to be transferred over to appropriate custodian government agency. This way the Tracer can avoid both any licensing requirement and the finder fee cap imposed by most states' Unclaimed Property Statutes - ie) 10% once the property reaches a Government agency for safekeeping.
In other words, if contacted by a Tracer you can be certain the abandoned asset is likely approaching the end of its 'dormancy period' and will be transferred (escheated) over within the next 6-9 months. If you can wait you may be able to locate the unclaimed asset yourself in our database. If situation warrants that you don't wish to wait, try to negotiate a lower fee. Remember, that once the asset is transferred to a Government agency and you still cannot locate it, you can Contact us and our staff can assist you.
NOTE: If the Tracer cannot give you the exact value of the unclaimed asset, it likely is a security of some sort. If you decide to employ his services, you may wish to pay him the fee without him/you selling the security and paying his fee from the proceeds. There maybe capital gains consequences - check with your accountant. For more information on abandoned securities visit: US Securities & Exchange Commission.
One must also consider that most states will sell a security that is transferred to them and credit the owner's account with the proceeds. So if one waits too long, an unclaimed security will be sold eventually thus creating possible tax consequences and foregoing any additional appreciation and future dividends.
Also keep in mind one may have to search other states for your unclaimed property. Per a 1965 Supreme Court ruling Texas vs New Jersey, if the address of the owner of the unclaimed property is unknown or is a foreign country then the property is transferred to the state in which the holder is incorporated. Start with states such as Connecticut, Delaware, New York and Illinois that are the headquarters for many large publicly traded and financial service companies.
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