Unclaimed Personal Property - US General Services Administration

US General Services Administration

 The Rules for Unclaimed Property as governed by the GSA

Part 102-41—Disposition of Seized, Forfeited, Voluntarily Abandoned, and Unclaimed Personal Property

 Subpart D—Unclaimed Personal Property

§102-41.120—How long must we hold unclaimed personal property before disposition?

You must generally hold unclaimed personal property for 30 calendar days from the date it was found. Unless the previous owner files a claim, title to the property vests in the Government after 30 days, and you may retain or dispose of the property in accordance with this part. However, see the following sections for handling of unclaimed personal property under specific circumstances. 

§102-41.125—What choices do I have for retaining or disposing of unclaimed personal property?

You may either retain or dispose of unclaimed abandoned personal property based on the following circumstances:

(a) If your agency has a need for the property, you may retain it for official use if you have held the unclaimed property for 30 calendar days and the former owner has not filed a claim. After 30 days, title vests in the Government and you may retain the unclaimed property for official use. Large sedans and limousines which may only be retained for official use as authorized under Part 102-34 of this subchapter B. See 102-41.130 for how retained property must be handled.

(b) If your agency doesn't need the property, you should determine whether it may be immediately abandoned or destroyed in accordance with the provisions at FMR 102-36.305 through 102-36.330. You are not required to hold unclaimed property for 30 days, if you decide to abandon or destroy it. Title to the property immediately vests in the Government in these circumstances. In addition to the circumstances when property may be abandoned or destroyed without public notice at FMR 102-36.330, unclaimed personal property may also be abandoned or destroyed without public notice when the estimated resale value of the property is less than $500. See 102-41.135 for procedures to be followed if a claim is filed.

(c) If the property is not retained for official use or abandoned or destroyed, you must report it to GSA as excess in accordance with 102-41.140.

§102-41.130—What must we do when we retain unclaimed personal property for official use?

(a) You must maintain records of unclaimed personal property retained for official use for 3 years after title vests in the Government to permit identification of the property should the former owner file a claim for the property. You must also deposit funds received from disposal of such property in a special account to cover any valid claim filed within this 3-year period.

(b) When you no longer need the unclaimed property which you have placed in official use, report it as excess in the same manner as other excess property under Part 102-36 of this subchapter B.

§102-41.135—How much reimbursement do we pay the former owner when he or she files a claim for unclaimed personal property that we no longer have?

If the property was sold, reimbursement of the property to the former owner must not exceed any proceeds from the disposal of such property, less the costs of the Government's care and handling of the property. If the property was abandoned or destroyed in accordance with 102-41.125, or otherwise used or transferred, reimbursement of the property to the former owner must not exceed the estimated resale value of the property at the time of the vesting of the property with the Government, less costs incident to the care and handling of the property, as determined by the General Services Administration, Office of Travel, Transportation, and Asset Management (MT), Washington DC, 20405

§102-41.140—When do we report to GSA unclaimed personal property not retained for official use?

After you have held the property for 30 calendar days and no one has filed a claim for it, the title to the property vests in the Government. If you decide not to retain the property for official use, report it as excess to GSA in accordance with Part 102-36 of this subchapter B.

§102-41.145—Where do we send the reports for unclaimed personal property?

Except for the items noted in 102-36.125 of this subchapter B, report unclaimed personal property to the regional GSA Property Management Branch office for the region in which the property is located.

§102-41.150—What special information do we provide on reports of unclaimed personal property?

On reports of unclaimed personal property, you must provide the report or case number assigned by your agency, property description and location, and indicate the property as unclaimed and the estimated fair market value.

§102-41.155—Is unclaimed personal property available for transfer to another Federal agency?

Yes, unclaimed personal property is available for transfer to another Federal agency, but only after 30 calendar days from the date of finding such property and no claim has been filed by the former owner, and with fair market value reimbursement from the recipient agency. The transferred property then loses its identity as unclaimed property and becomes property of the Government, and when no longer needed it must be reported excess in accordance with Part 102-36 of this subchapter B.

§102-41.160—May we retain the reimbursement from transfers of unclaimed personal property?

No, you must deposit the reimbursement from transfers of unclaimed personal property in a special account for a period of 3 years pending a claim from the former owner. After 3 years, you must deposit these funds into miscellaneous receipts of the U.S. Treasury unless your agency has statutory authority to do otherwise.

§102-41.165—May we require reimbursement for the costs incurred in the transfer of unclaimed personal property?

Yes, you may require reimbursement from the recipient agency of any direct costs you incur in the transfer of the unclaimed property (e.g., storage, packing, preparation for shipping, loading, and transportation).

§102-41.170—Is unclaimed personal property available for donation?

No, unclaimed personal property is not available for donation because reimbursement at fair market value is required.

§102-41.175—May we sell unclaimed personal property?

Yes, you may sell unclaimed personal property after title vests in the Government (as provided for in 102-41.120) and when there is no Federal interest. You may sell unclaimed personal property subject to the same terms and conditions as applicable to surplus personal property and in accordance with Part 102-38 of this subchapter B.

§102-41.180—May we retain the proceeds from the sale of unclaimed personal property?

No, you must deposit proceeds from the sale of unclaimed personal property in a special account to be maintained for a period of 3 years pending a possible claim by the former owner. After the 3-year period, you must deposit the funds in the U.S. Treasury as miscellaneous receipts or in such other agency accounts when specifically authorized by statute.

Unclaimed Property in Unusual Places

 

Unclaimed property is not only found in bank accounts and can be event found in doctors offices and Anesthesia practices.

More and more governments are getting disparate for much need operating money, so they are broadening their requirements for business to hand over property and money has is being claimed. One such place is the Anesthesia practice.

In  nut shell, unclaimed property laws also known as escheat laws require unclaimed property, such as patient credit balances, to be reported and turned over to the government. Depending on where the office is located, the time requirements can vary from a year or two to about 5 years before the unclaimed cash gets handed over. 

When it comes to doctors offices unclaimed property can come from overpayments, either by health insurance plans or by patients that have paid for a treatment in advance of receiving it.  Basically they have a credit on their account with a particular office.

Insurance overpayments are another source of unclaimed property. Most of the state statutes specifically list “insurance refunds” as property that must be turned over to them. Unclaimed property is also in the form of refund checks that the practice has sent to a patient, but that the patient has not cashed, as well as, other types of credit balances.

Each state has its own reporting forms and systems and even if there is nothing to report, a practice must still file a report to the state governemnt. In most states, November 1^st of every year is when these reports must be filed.

Until the unclaimed property gets handed over to the State, the holder of it is held liable for it. 

Edward Palonek
Foundmoney.com

 

 

 

 

Unclaimed Property Laws in Canada

Unclaimed Property Laws in Canada

While the majority of unclaimed money held by the governments can always be claimed by the rightful owners there are some places where this is not always the case.

One such place is in Canada the unclaimed property office known a The Bank of Canada holds unclaimed balances of less than $1,000 for thirty years. The unclaimed balances are transferred to them by financial institutions after they have remained unclaimed for 10 years. As such, if you have a unclaimed balance in a bank account you forgotten that is less then $1,000, you have 30 years to make a claim for it once it got transferred to the Bank of Canada. Balances are transferred to the Bank of Canada once a year, on 31 December. Anything more than $1,000 claims can be made at any time. The time frame does not expire. Once the 30 years are up and the balance in the unclaimed account is less that $1,000, the unclaimed money goes directly to the General account for Receiver General for Canada, which can amount to millions of dollars after 30 years. The previous amount was $500 but was then changed the the new amount of $1,000

Approximately 1.3 million unclaimed balances, worth about $496 million, were transfered to the Bank of Canada in 2012. Of that, 93% of unclaimed balances were under $1,000.00

In 2012, the Bank of Canada paid $17.4 million to the unclaimed account holders.

Awesome Video of 100's of Dolpins playing in the wild

While traveling through the Pearl Island of Panama this month, we can across a school of dolphins consisting of well over 100 just playing and swimming along the ferry. 

This was quite an amazing site to see.

Panama Tourism Board

Palonek Reminds Individuals And Companies To Check State And Local Unclaimed Property Records For Money That They May Have Forgotten Or Not Known About

Each State has their own unclaimed property rules on what is classified as unclaimed money, when it actually becomes unclaimed and what must be done with these assets by the holders of them. Once the unclaimed assets are handed over the State Comptroller offices they now become custodian of this abandoned property and they are responsible to safe guard the unclaimed property until its rightful owner(s) comes forward. This new found money is used by each state to help pay their ongoing operating expenses, which helps in keeping tax increases to a minimum.

The various state offices seem to changing the rules constantly on when abandoned cash, assets, property and other items must be handed over to them. These types of laws have added millions to each State’s General Operating Funds”, say Edward Palonek, founder of Foundmoney.com who has been helping individuals and companies locate such unclaimed property since 1995.

Police departments are also cashing in on unclaimed property, literally. They have set up auction websites to sell off items that have become unclaimed. For example, Baltimore County Police Department utilizes the outside auction websites to auction off all of their abandoned, stolen, lawfully seized, or unclaimed property of every kind and description, remaining unclaimed for 30 days or more. This is an ongoing auction available 24 hour a day, 7 days a week and some of the items being auctioned include electronics, jewelry, clothing, bicycles, tools, sporting equipment.

“It’s never too late to make a claim, and State offices are committed to ensuring that hardworking Americans don’t lose a penny. They are holding unto the unclaimed funds until the rightful owners make a claim to this new found money of theirs”, says Palonek

Foundmoney at www.foundmoney.com

Massachusetts Reporting Unclaimed Property

 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Required Information for Reporting. All reporting of unclaimed property must be done in accordance with M.G.L. c. 200A, § 7. Reports submitted to the Division must be in a format approved by the Treasurer and must include the following:

(a) a completed and notarized AP-1 Form; (b) a statement that all due diligence requirements of the law have been met by the holder, signed under the pains and penalty of perjury, along with a copy of a sample due diligence letter;.....

This article is from from the Website of the Treasurer and Receiver General of Massachusetts the balance of the article can be found at the Treasurer Steven Grossman