International Asset ServicesEscheatment & Unclaimed Property
Whether you need us to trace missing heirs to an intestacy or a missing beneficiary of a Will, we are confident we can provide a successful outcome.
“Abandoned” assets
The process of escheatment might have begun without their knowledge, and could only have been stopped by successfully taking an asset out of the deceased person’s ownership before the asset’s escheatment pathway had begun.
But our shares weren’t “abandoned”! We have been trying to get them transferred!
Unfortunately, the State may think otherwise. Companies and other asset-holding financial institutions are required by the State in which they incorporate to report assets deemed “inactive” to that State as ‘abandoned’ or ‘unclaimed’ property. They determine inactivity as a period – usually of about three to five years – in which there has been no activity on an account. During this time, if a shareholder, for example, has lost capacity and later dies, assets such as dividends might pile up uncashed because notifications are going to an old address. This might lead a company to determine the account is ‘dormant’.
Sometimes the shareholder, or their estate representative, was actively trying to attend to the disposal of the shares; but with any period of inactivity, an invisible clock has been ticking, and the process of escheatment might have begun without their knowledge, and could only have been stopped by successfully taking an asset out of the deceased person’s ownership before the escheatment process was completed.
There is no set time limit, or a single set of rules, about when an asset escheats: it can be extremely unpredictable and can be triggered, for example, by dividends piling up uncashed (because the shareholder has moved from their address without realising it was necessary to notify the transfer agent).
Know the service
Find out more about escheatment and how it might affect shares in an estate.
What is the difference between Bona Vacantia and Escheat?
Bona Vacantia and Escheat are both legal concepts related to unclaimed or ownerless property, but they differ in their scope and processes, depending on the legal system of the country in which the law applies.
Bona Vacantia in the United Kingdom refers to “ownerless” or “vacant” goods, property that has (or appears to have) no rightful owner. This usually includes assets like cash, shares and other assets that have been abandoned or left without heirs or claimants, or when corporation owning assets dissolves. Very few estates advertised by the Government Legal Department or the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall are truly ‘bona vacantia’.
On the other hand, the legal doctrine of escheatment is a legal doctrine found in jurisdictions like the USA and Canada, where ownership of property reverts to the relevant State or Province, when a person dies without heirs or the property is considered as abandoned, with no legal claimants.
What does escheatment actually mean?
The term “escheat” has its origins in French and English law, and refers to a process where the property of a person who dies leaving no Will and no heirs, becomes the property of the Crown or State. In the USA, ‘escheatment’ refers to the law, in each US State, allowing the State to take ownership of assets left ‘unclaimed’ for a long period of time. Asset holders have the right, in perpetuity, to reclaim their property from the relevant State.
Explore a range of related services that we offer
Selling shares and other securities
Finders can sell or transfer foreign listed stocks and shares, obtain a Federal Transfer Certificate from the IRS, attend to the re-issue of uncashed dividend cheques, and bring the value back into the estate.
Medallion Guarantee Stamps
Finders can have the Medallion Guarantee stamp affixed as part of the wider work of transfer or sale of shares, or on a standalone basis.
Bank Accounts & Investment Accounts
Struggling to meet the overseas bank’s requirements to close a deceased person’s account? We can help.
Foreign Grants of Probate and resealing
With our network of partners overseas and years of experience, we can help estates clear this obstacle to the recovery of value abroad.
Escheatment & Unclaimed Property
If you are trying to recover overseas assets that have been subject to local escheatment laws, or classified as ‘unclaimed property’, we can help.
Selling shares and other securities
Finders can sell or transfer foreign listed stocks and shares, obtain a Federal Transfer Certificate from the IRS, attend to the re-issue of uncashed dividend cheques, and bring the value back into the estate.
Medallion Guarantee Stamps
Finders can have the Medallion Guarantee stamp affixed as part of the wider work of transfer or sale of shares, or on a standalone basis.
Bank Accounts & Investment Accounts
Struggling to meet the overseas bank’s requirements to close a deceased person’s account? We can help.
Foreign Grants of Probate and resealing
With our network of partners overseas and years of experience, we can help estates clear this obstacle to the recovery of value abroad.
Escheatment & Unclaimed Property
If you are trying to recover overseas assets that have been subject to local escheatment laws, or classified as ‘unclaimed property’, we can help.
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