Found Money” TV Ads Will be Popping Up Soon
February 2010

Attention Estate Planning Attorneys and Financial Planners!!!

Are you taking the time to sit down with your clients and educating them in how important it is to identify their assets or do you just assume that you have everything nailed down? Do you tell your clients to keep the communications open with all of the corporations, banks and brokers, to name a few, that they have accounts with? Most people assume their bank account is safe, they don’t have to do a thing, no activity or visits to the bank is necessary as it’s safe just sitting there, is a dangerous habit. Do you know the five categories that Unclaimed Property can claim? Are you aware that Safe or Safety Deposit Box contents should be identified and photographed? This is a precautionary measure in protecting the family treasures as most everyone just puts their treasures in the Safety Deposit Box and walk away thinking they don’t have to worry as the Bank will protect their treasures! When you open a Safety Deposit Box account with the Banks, they rarely tell you to be sure and visit the Box each year. The only communication you will see is a statement for your annual fee.

Billions of dollars of assets end up in the State Unclaimed Property coffers each year because the owners forget about their assets and haven’t identified all assets or even given a list to their attorneys. They are not aware they have to communicate with the corporations holding their assets, if they move or there has been a death in the family! When the Corporations send out the “Due Diligence” letters right before the assets are set to be escheated, they generally ignore this last warning. Then, the States run the TV Ads of “Money You Didn’t Know You Had” or “Found Money” and some States even have inserts in local papers! Wow, everyone jumps on the bandwagon, contacting the States and possibly finding some money they had forgotten about, wondering how and why it ended up there in the first place. If they knew how important it is to keep better records of their assets, none of this would happen!

Take the time to educate your clients about the five categories of assets Unclaimed Property can capture.If you want to give your clients 150% service, take advantage of the Asset Tracker Program, available in eBook format found at www.assetawareness.com.

I have been working within Corporate America in Unclaimed Property over 18 years, , so I speak from direct experience in seeing billions of dollars escheated to the States due to poor record keeping. It’s time they woke up and learned how to protect their assets.

by Marcia Keppy