Unclaimed property generally consists of intangible property that a business or organization has in its possession that has not been claimed by the true owner. In other words, any liability owing to a third party that remains on the business' books for an extended period of time - must be reported to one of the states as unclaimed property. It most often takes the form of uncashed checks (e.g. payroll, accounts payable, stock dividends, etc.), credit balances in customer accounts. unredeemed gift certificates, and unpaid amounts due under insurance and annuity contracts - even if the outstanding amounts have already been taken into income. In almost every state, all companies and organizations (including non-profits) are required to comply with these arcane laws.

After a statutorily-determined holding period (that varies by the type of property in question), unclaimed property must be turned over to the state, which then acts as a custodian of the property forever, or until it is claimed by the rightful owner. Unclaimed property is generally reported and remitted to the state of last known address for the owner. When no address is known, the property must be reported to a company's state of incorporation.

It is no secret that every state uses this collection of funds as an additional revenue source. For recent articles and news stories featuring unclaimed property issues - click over to our news page. As a means of increasing these revenue collections and enforcing these laws, states can audit a company or organization for compliance, often resulting in a windfall to the state. Compounding the concern is that fact that many states have no, or extremely long statutes of limitation for unclaimed property (10 years or more).

It is advisable to explore whether your company or organization is in compliance with each state's unclaimed property laws. This is where we can help. Whether your need is to comply for the first time, defend an audit, and/or effectively manage the ongoing compliance process, we stand at the ready to assist.

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