Category: Unclaimed Property
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Table of Heirship: What It Is and When You Need One
A Table of Heirship lists each heir's relationship to a deceased owner and their proportional share of an estate. It matters most when the estate was small enough to skip formal probate, typically $239,700…
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What California Does With Your Money While It Waits
California does not spend, invest, or time-limit unclaimed property. The State Controller holds it in custody under the property's reported dollar value, indefinitely, until the owner or their heirs file a claim. The only…
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Which Property Types Dominate California’s Unclaimed File?
Across California's unclaimed property file, cashier's checks appear most often, with 682,998 records, but checking accounts hold the most money, at $1,078,405,026. Individual policy benefits rank second by count yet last by value among…
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Why Stale Letters of Administration Delay Estate Claims
An executor or administrator filing a California unclaimed property claim usually needs letters of administration or letters testamentary that are recently issued or certified, often within six months. A copy pulled from an old…
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CUSIPs and Escheated Shares: Tracing Stock Back to You
A CUSIP is the nine-character code identifying a specific security, regardless of what name the issuing company currently uses. Because escheated shares are filed under the CUSIP and the account name, a reader holding…
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Claiming Unclaimed Property for a Business That No Longer Exists
A business that has closed, been acquired, or now trades under a different name can still have unclaimed property sitting on record under its old name. The State keeps the record as the holder…
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Two State Files: Why Dead Relative Searches Come Up Empty
California's State Controller keeps two separate files. The ordinary unclaimed property file holds 14,639,722 records reported by banks and businesses. A second file, the Estates of Deceased Persons File, lists 37,166 probate estates, of…
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When One Heir Cannot Be Found, the Whole Claim Stops
The short answer Where an estate was never probated, the State Controller accepts a Table of Heirship — but every person entitled to succeed has to be identified and has to sign. One heir…
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Someone Else Has Already Filed a Claim on Your Property
The short answer 445,006 records in California’s unclaimed property file already carry a claim. Most were filed by the rightful owner. Some were filed by a relative who got there first, an heir who…
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Claiming Property Reported Under a Company That No Longer Exists
The short answer Property reported under a company that dissolved, merged or was acquired does not disappear with the company. The State Controller will pay it out, but only to a claimant who can…
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