Why and How Assets Go Unclaimed

• Intangible assets can become abandoned for a number of reasons. For example, an owner moves, changes his name or dies. After a three- to five-year period, depending on the type of intangible asset, a business is required by law to turn over the unclaimed property to the state. There is an unclaimed property division in every state in the U.S. The state of Tennessee lists abandoned property on its website, mails a notice to the last known home and work address of the owner, puts an advertisement in the newspaper and utilizes the Internet and databases to try to find the owner.
  
  

Proving Ownership

• When a claim is made on abandoned property the state first must prove rightful ownership before releasing the intangible assets. To do that the owner must sign and notarize a claim form, provide a photocopy of his driver's license, provide documentation of his address and Social Security number and proof of ownership of the property. In most cases the check will be made out to the original owner. If the original owner is deceased, additional documentation, such as the death certificate, is required to claim property. The claim would then be paid to the estate of the original owner or split among the heirs. Additional documentation is also required for claims of more than $10,000.
  
  

Approval Process and Payment

• Once claims are received they are assigned a claims examiner. Claims are reviewed for the required documentation and in some cases the state requires additional documentation. Depending on the circumstance of the claim, it could require multiple levels of approval. Once the final approval is granted, owners receive their payment in cash in the form of a check or investments, if the claim included investments. It takes about four to six weeks for you to receive a check for unclaimed property.
  
  

Preventing Unclaimed Property

• There are ways to prevent losing intangible property by keeping track of your assets and keeping businesses who have your assets up to date on address changes. If a regular investment check stops coming, you should notify the business immediately, according to The Unclaimed Property Page. You can check to see if you have unclaimed property in Tennessee at the Tennessee Department of Treasury website.