Frequently Asked Questions

It is a reasonable question and you should keep asking it — of us and of anyone else who contacts you. California genuinely holds billions in unclaimed property, and the State Controller genuinely publishes the whole database. The State Controller publishes the whole database, and every figure we quote comes out of it. What separates a legitimate service from a predatory one is whether they tell you that.

Often you should not, and we will tell you when that is the case. People hire us when the claim involves securities, a deceased owner, a dissolved company, or a name that has changed twice — situations where the documents are genuinely difficult and a rejected claim costs months.

Ten per cent of what is recovered, and not a cent more. Code of Civil Procedure §1582 caps it. (The single exception in the statute is an estate that reached the State through county probate, which sits outside the cap — if that is your situation we will say so before you sign anything, and we will still quote you a fixed percentage in writing.) The same statute requires the agreement in writing, requires it to be signed after we disclose the property and its value, and lets you challenge the agreement as excessive at any time.

After the State Controller has approved your claim and paid you. Never before. That is not our policy, it is the statute — collecting a fee before payment is prohibited.

The parts we control take days. The State Controller’s review takes months. Nobody can shorten that, and anyone promising to has told you something untrue.

If the claim is $1,000 or more in cash, yes. All securities claims and all safe deposit box claims require it regardless of value. We are a commissioned California notary, which is why we handle that step in-house.

No. California places no time limit on claiming. Anyone creating urgency is selling, not informing.

They were inventoried and sold at auction. What the State holds is the proceeds. This is the hardest thing we have to tell people, and it is better heard before you start than after.

Yes, if you can evidence the chain from them to you — a death certificate, proof of relationship, and either court Letters or a small-estate affidavit. That chain is what the Controller is assessing.

No. We are a notary service, not a law firm. We can tell you what the Controller requires and prepare and notarize documents. Whether you are legally entitled to an inheritance is a question for an attorney.