Asset Recovery Specialists

What You Need to Know About Unclaimed Assets

Unclaimed, abandoned and lost assets are assets that have been escheated (transferred) by the holder (bank, mortgage loan lender, insurance company, utility company, etc.) to the Iowa State Treasurer’s Office, if after three years the holder has not heard from the asset owner or else has lost contact with them (from having an incorrect address, the owner moved without providing a forwarding address, asset owner’s death, etc.). Iowa State law requires holders to escheat unclaimed property to the State Treasurer’s Office annually. The State Treasurer then publishes the names of unclaimed asset owners in the newspaper. Anyone can also look for their name on the State Treasurer’s website to see if they have any abandoned and unclaimed assets.

In order to successfully claim abandoned assets from the State Treasurer’s Office, sufficient documentation must be provided to prove the claimant is the correct owner of the assets. Depending upon the type of asset, other documentation may also be required so the State Treasurer is comfortable that the proceeds would be paid to the rightful owner.

A claim can be submitted via U.S. mail or electronically via a secure website provided by the State Treasurer. Documents must be converted into specific types of formats in order to electronically submit the claim. The higher the claim amount, the more scrutiny the State Treasurer will make on the claim.

How We Can Help

I am a Private Investigator licensed by the Iowa Department of Public Safety. In fact, I cannot legally perform this service (as a “finder” under Iowa law) without receiving this Private Investigator designation. Through my company, Asset Recovery Specialists, L.C., I identify people, businesses and non-profit organizations having unclaimed, abandoned and forgotten assets. I then attempt to find and contact those people and entities to alert them of their unclaimed assets, and discuss the procedure required to claim their assets. In order for me to be a licensed private investigator who assists parties with the claims, I must be cleared through state and Federal finger print and background checks. At no time do I handle any claim money. All successful claim payments are sent directly to the asset owner. Once the claims have been paid, Asset Recovery Specialists bills the asset owner for the service provided, based on the agreed upon fee. The fee is a percentage of the value of the abandoned assets. The fee is clearly stated in the written Agreement between the asset owner and Asset Recovery Specialists.

To learn more about the benefits of engaging the services of Asset Recovery Specialists, please click on any of the topic buttons below: