Unclaimed Property Glossary — Plain English

Unclaimed property has its own vocabulary, and most of it turns up for the first time in a letter or on a State form that assumes you already know it. Every entry here is written for someone meeting the word for the first time.

Claim affirmation form

The form the State generates once a claim is started. You complete sections C and D, sign, and return it with your documents. It is the spine of a paper claim, and nothing moves until the State has it.

Claimant

The person asking for the property back. Usually the owner of record, but it can also be an heir, a business officer, or someone holding power of attorney. The State applies a different documentation list to each.

Contingency

Paid only on success. If the State pays nothing, nothing is owed. It is how a capped recovery fee has to work, and it is not a special offer.

Dormancy period

How long a company must wait, with no contact from you, before it is required to hand your money to the State. In California it is generally three years for most account types and one year for payroll. The clock runs from the last contact, not from when the account was opened.

Due diligence letter

The notice a holder is required to send you, to your last known address, before handing your money to the State. Almost nobody receives one, because the reason the money is being escheated is usually that the address is out of date.

eClaim

California's paperless route. Where a claim qualifies it pays in roughly ten to fourteen days rather than months. It is generally limited to single-owner accounts under a threshold, and excludes securities, safe deposit box contents and multi-owner records. Most people never learn it exists.

Escheat also escheatment, escheated

The legal process by which property nobody has claimed passes to the state for safekeeping. It is not a seizure and it is not a forfeiture: California holds the money indefinitely and hands it back to whoever proves it is theirs. The word is old French and is pronounced "ess-cheat".

See also Dormancy period, Holder.

Finder's fee also locator fee, recovery fee

What a recovery company charges. California caps it at ten per cent of what is actually returned, by Code of Civil Procedure section 1582, and the agreement must be in writing. Anyone quoting more, or asking for money up front, is not operating lawfully.

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Heir

Someone entitled to a deceased owner's property. Unclaimed property does not die with its owner — it passes to the estate. Heir claims need proof of death and proof of the relationship, and they are among the largest records in the file.

See also Probate, Small estate affidavit.

Holder

The company that owed you the money and reported it to the State — the bank, the insurer, the former employer. The holder's name is on the record, and recognising it is often the strongest hint that a property is genuinely yours.

NAUPA code

A two-character code describing what kind of property a record is — a checking account, a dividend, an insurance benefit. NAUPA is the national association whose standard California uses. The codes are why property descriptions on State records read like abbreviations.

Notarization

A notary public witnessing your signature and confirming your identity. California caps what a notary may charge per signature. The State requires it on higher-value claims and on securities and safe deposit box claims.

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Owner of record

The name the holder had on file when the account went quiet. It is whatever a clerk typed at the time, so it may be a maiden name, a misspelling, or an initial rather than a full first name. This is the single most common reason a search comes back empty.

See also Claimant.

Probate

The court process that settles a deceased person's estate. A claim does not always need it: California allows smaller estates to be claimed on an affidavit instead, which is faster and cheaper.

See also Small estate affidavit.

Property ID

The State Controller's own reference number for one unclaimed record. It is public, it never changes, and quoting it is the fastest way to get a straight answer from the Call Center.

Reciprocity

The arrangement under which states pass records to one another so property is held by the state you last lived in. It is why a California search can turn up money from a company you dealt with in another state — and why searching only California may not be enough.

Safe deposit box contents

When rent on a box goes unpaid the bank drills it and sends the contents to the State. These are worth acting on quickly: contents are sold at auction after a period, and what you then recover is the sale proceeds rather than the item.

Securities

Shares, bonds and the dividends they pay. Share registers go stale faster than almost anything else, and once dividend cheques stop being cashed the entire holding is escheated. Securities claims take longer because the State may have sold the shares and be holding the proceeds.

Small estate affidavit

A sworn statement used instead of full probate when an estate falls under California's threshold. It has a waiting period after the death before it can be used, and it must list every person entitled to a share.

Unclaimed property

Money or securities a company owes someone it can no longer reach. Bank balances, uncashed payroll cheques, insurance payouts, utility deposits, refunds, dividends and the contents of safe deposit boxes all qualify. Real estate does not.

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None of this costs anything to act on. Search your own name free, or read the full walkthrough of how a California claim works.