Contacted by Asset Recovery Company - Actually not a scam.

December 29, 2015 4:22 PM

How do you collect property/funds from a will you are suggestively entitled to? How do you concretely find out you are entitled to these funds?

Hi. Recently I found out via the contact of an asset company that I am potentially to receive more from a Great Uncle's Will. Sounds absurd- but I've vetted the asset company and called Sec of State(Unclaimed Property), as well as a local shareholder services contact.

The asset recovery company is legit, and their investigation seems legit. I'm now taking steps to do my own work to see if I am actually the heir to somehow collect more on the will. At one point, he had left me seemingly all of his belongings/assets of value - but I was ten years old at the time, and my parents mismanaged nearly everything- so there is nothing left of this. This aside, it I am to some extent concretely on the will. Why or how there are assets left, I'm unsure.

This company contacted me perhaps two months ago. Since then, I haven't been able to do a lot- checking in with the aforementioned as a start. But now that I'm on school break, I have a bit more time to dedicate to this.

It sounds as though it's possible that his property has already been probated- at which point it apparently would be significantly easier for me to just collect- but I haven't gotten this far just yet.

As well - according to SoS and a Shareholder services contact - his funds are being held by the State? So it is possible this company is contacting me because I am a potential "next of kin".

So.

It's very apparent that I'm not entirely certain in what I'm doing with all of this-

Has anyone gone through these processes before? Any advice, operations of process, or suggestion is welcome.

posted by thewolfandewe to Law & Government (11 answers total)

Some years ago I got a phone call suggesting that they could help me reclaim some lost property for a 10% fee. I went and checked with the unclaimed property departments of the various states in which I'd lived, found it, and followed that state's instructions. Easy peasy. Felt like maybe that company should've gotten something for their efforts to find me and tell me about it, but 10% seems steep.
posted by straw at 4:32 PM on December 29, 2015 [8 favorites]

Response by poster: "Some years ago I got a phone call suggesting that they could help me reclaim some lost property for a 10% fee. I went and checked with the unclaimed property departments of the various states in which I'd lived, found it, and followed that state's instructions. Easy peasy. Felt like maybe that company should've gotten something for their efforts to find me and tell me about it, but 10% seems steep."

Exactly! I should have added - This company had wanted about a 1/3rd of the collection as commission- or 33%! Not certain if they really had to go to extra work to do what would entail that much- and I'm trying to figure out if I can do so for substantially less!
posted by thewolfandewe at 4:35 PM on December 29, 2015

Have you checked the web site or called the state's unclaimed property department? It really is pretty much that easy.
posted by straw at 4:43 PM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm trying to figure out if I can do so for substantially less!

Some states have their own govt run sites, and a few have outsourced it- but they are all pretty easy to find via googling "unclaimed assets" + state name.
Double check that they are the govt authorized agencies, and look yourself by full name. There will be more instructions on filing a claim if there is money.
If they found it, you can too.
posted by TenaciousB at 4:45 PM on December 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

When you search, do both your name and uncle's name.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:16 PM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

MissingMoney.com lets you search by name. It will then bounce you to the appropriate state's website which will give you instructions / forms for claiming your funds. There is no fee.

I have done this for both myself and my wife, and it was painless. You don't need to pay anyone else to do this for you.

More info available on USA.gov.
posted by The Deej at 5:16 PM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Right, so I checked the site - but unfortunately it just relays to a SecState Unclaimed Property Unclaimed Property Inquiry Form.

So it looks as though I will file for that, and perhaps just make a few in-person visits to some offices, maybe some more calls tomorrow.

Any more relevant advice/suggestions appreciated.. thanks, guys!

Via The Deej: "You don't need to pay anyone else to do this for you.", Yes, exactly-

Well. Fingers crossed, this is curious- Thanks, guys!


Oh, another question!
is it of concern at all, if the executor of the will turns out to be a disagreeable family member?

I'm wondering if there was never closure for this because that may be the case- or that person has since passed.
posted by thewolfandewe at 5:24 PM on December 29, 2015

is it of concern at all, if the executor of the will turns out to be a disagreeable family member?

Shouldn't be. Basically the executor only has authority and dominion over this situation when the estate is an open, living thing. Once the estate "closes" (final taxes are filed and etc) the executor has no special status except under very weird circumstances. This shouldn't involve them at all though you may need to interact with your parents potentially. Best of luck.
posted by jessamyn at 7:28 PM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

My guess is that the money may be listed as an unclaimed asset in your Great Uncle's name since if it was transferred by the executor into your name your family would have been more likely to know about it. To claim it, you need to prove that you were the proper heir and you would have to split it with anyone else who is equally entitle to inherit. So it might be worth taking the time to see if you can find out who was the executor and get a copy of the will which would have been filed with the state as part of the probate process. You might also need to be able to provide copies of the death certificate etc. In fact, if this asset was not known to the executor at the time of probate, they may have to get involved in the process of claiming it for the estate and then distributing to the proper heir. On the other hand, the asset recovery people would have the same problem so maybe that makes it more likely that it is already in your name?? At any rate, good luck!!
posted by metahawk at 10:50 PM on December 29, 2015

In California you only have to print a form, get it notarized, mail it in, and wait 6mos or so.
posted by rhizome at 2:08 PM on December 30, 2015

Mod note: Final update from the OP:

Hey, folks! I resolved the issue using some of the information found in this thread, and elsewhere.

As luck would have it- I evaded the Asset Recovery Company, filed for escheatment via a few offices in the downtown area of my city- and eventually recovered $19,200.00 from a passed relative in 20yo stocks!

posted by taz (staff) at 12:03 AM on May 2, 2017 [3 favorites]