Unclaimed Inheritance From Wills - Is Money Owed to You?

Unclaimed Inheritance From Wills - Is Money Owed to You?
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Unclaimed Inheritance From Wills - Is Money Owed to You?

Each year, unclaimed inheritance from Wills generates a surplus of several billion dollars. Experts suggest there are currently millions of heirs entitled to money left to them by deceased relatives. Oftentimes, the inheritance assets go unclaimed because beneficiaries moved or changed their name.

Unclaimed Inheritance From Wills - Is Money Owed to You?

Unclaimed Inheritance From Wills - Is Money Owed to You?

One of the most prevalent sources of unclaimed inheritance from Wills stems from life insurance policies. When a person dies, their heirs must notify the life insurance company in order to obtain their benefits. If heirs are unaware the policy exists, the issuing company has no way of knowing the policyholder has died.

Unclaimed Inheritance From Wills - Is Money Owed to You?

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When a person dies, all of their worldly possessions are transferred to probate. The exception to this rule is when a person transfers assets to a living trust or irrevocable life insurance trust. Probate is the process used to validate the decedent's Will.

Unclaimed Inheritance From Wills - Is Money Owed to You?

Unclaimed Inheritance From Wills - Is Money Owed to You?

In cases where the decedent died intestate (without a Will), assets are distributed according to probate laws in the decedent's state of residence.

Oftentimes, beneficiaries are unaware they have been named in the decedent's Will. If the probate administrator is unable to track down named beneficiaries, the assets must be held by the state in order to give beneficiaries an opportunity to claim their inheritance.

The majority of unclaimed inheritance assets stems from address changes, expired postal forwarding, name changes after marriage or divorce, and incomplete or illegible records.

Unclaimed inheritance from Wills must be held for a specific period of time before assets can be considered legally abandoned. Dormancy periods are set by law and typically range between 1 and 5 years. Dormancy periods vary depending on the type of inheritance property involved.

Once the dormancy period expires, unclaimed inheritance from Wills must be transferred to a government property trust account. This is referred to as 'escheat'. More than billion of unclaimed assets were transferred to escheat last year alone. Of that, a mere 6 million was claimed by beneficiaries. The balance remains in trust accounts all across the nation.

Indiana and Idaho escheat laws state assets left unclaimed after a specific number of years will no longer be claimable by the Owner and will become property of the State. Therefore, it is important to check unclaimed money databases on a regular basis.

There are several companies that charge a fee to locate unclaimed money. These organizations generally charge a 'finder's fee' which consists of 30- to 40-percent of the total amount they are able to obtain. For instance, if an organization located ,000 in unclaimed money, their fee would range from 00 to 00.

Many states provide unclaimed money databases which can be searched for free. Typically, unclaimed inheritance assets are held within each state's Department of Revenue. To locate each state's DOR website, type in "department of revenue+name of state" at your favorite search engine.

One excellent source for locating unclaimed inheritance from Will is The Final Arrangements Network. This website provides unclaimed money resources for all 50 states and does not charge a fee for the information.

Unclaimed Inheritance From Wills - Is Money Owed to You?

Unclaimed Inheritance From Wills - Is Money Owed to You?

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Unclaimed Inheritance From Wills - Is Money Owed to You?