Every single state in America has a trust for unclaimed assets, which contain countless payments, checks, bank accounts, and other types of property. These unclaimed asset trusts contain billions of dollars, with New York alone accounting for more than $17 billion in unclaimed assets. But what is an unclaimed asset trust, and how might that be relevant to you or your business?
What is an Unclaimed Asset?
The term “unclaimed assets” refers to any money or property that was lost, forgotten, abandoned, or otherwise never properly delivered to whomever it belongs to. Often, unclaimed assets are the result of innocent human error, or a consequence of issues outside anyone’s control. Other times, assets get stuck in the legal system, with no one there to receive them when they come out. Some common types of unclaimed assets include:
- Payments delivered to incorrect or defunct addresses
- Assets lost during business mergers or acquisitions
- Settlement payouts held up by litigation
- Assets held up in bankruptcy proceedings
- Assets lost due to lost, damaged, or inaccurate records
- Assets lost due to personnel changes
- Assets held under old business names
Why Is There a Need for a State Unclaimed Asset Trust?
Whenever assets are not properly claimed by their intended owners, they do not simply disappear. Instead, they default to the state, who places them in a trust to be cared for in the name of their actual owners until and unless someone comes along to claim them. The size of these assets range from just a few dollars, to thousands, and in some instances millions of dollars in lost or misplaced money. Poulson Law Offices has recovered millions of dollars in unclaimed assets for our corporate clients. In one case we recovered a single unclaimed asset worth $1.5 million.
Where Do Asset Recovery Attorneys Come Into This?
In theory, the state’s unclaimed asset trust only watches over them until the real owner comes to claim them, at which point those assets are sent to wherever they are intended. In practice, though, the states are not eager to give up the money or property that has fallen into their hands since they can use until the owner shows up to assert a claim. It can sometimes be a struggle to get them to hand it over. Asset recovery attorneys know how to wrest these unclaimed assets free, and ensure they get where they belong. That is why, if you believe you may have unclaimed assets sitting in a state trust, you should speak to an asset recovery lawyer who can help you get the money and property that rightly belongs to you.
Let the asset recovery attorneys at Poulson Law help you recover what is rightfully yours. We do the hard work of recovering undelivered or lost assets wherever they may be hiding, and ensure they are returned to you. With billions of unclaimed assets sitting in state funds, you potentially have a great deal to gain. If you are interested or believe you may have need of our services, please call our Cooperstown office at 607-547-1195 or visit our contact page.
