Current events, goings-on in Delaware and anything else of interest here.
 #107040  by pick_six
 
i was looking as an article on delawareonline the other day and came across this link.

basically, if you've been around delaware for a while, you may have be "escheated" out of your money, or your parents, or grand parents, or some other relative or friend.

anyway, this site may be worth checking into. check you family names. you may come across something interesting.

i found an aunt/uncle i forwarded to my cousin. don't know how much they may find, or if it will even be worth it, but it may be worth a check.

http://php.delawareonline.com/news/2015 ... -property/
 #107041  by Kuntryboy816
 
So I found my wife's name along with our current property address on the search link above. I only found her name though, not mine..


Definition of escheat

: escheated property

a : the reversion of lands in English feudal law to the lord of the fee when there are no heirs capable of inheriting under the original grant

b : the reversion of property to the crown in England or to the state in the United States when there are no legal heirs


So, I'm not sure exactly what this means. We live in a mobile home park... we own the home but rent the property.. does this mean that I can claim the land and stop paying lot rent? Kind of joking but kind of not.........
 #107043  by CorBon
 
The money in your wife's name is most likely from an account with a financial institution that has been deemed abandoned due to inactivity, or from a security deposit for something. So, for a financial institution, or could be $25 in an old checking account. As to a security deposit, it could be something like the telephone, cable, or water service. Those are the most likely candidates, but it can be other forms of property or money, such as money owed from a previous employer.

These entities really are legitimate, so it's not a scam or one of those arrest-you-when-you-arrive-for-your-overdue-library-books deals. After you fill out the paperwork, they'll let you know who it is and how much money that you are about to lose -- again. Then, you fill out more paperwork, and you get your money.

I routinely check these for names and addresses of people that I may know. Thirty years ago, my grandmother's neighbor found one neighbor $25K, and another one $15K. More recently, I found a co-worker $1. Yep, a buck. So, the amounts can vary from a llittle to a lot. The main thing to remember may be -- if you haven't misplaced $25K, you can't expect to find the not-missing $25K.

And just to show how money can be "abandoned" without even trying, both my mother and I have accounts with a bank that has local branches. Each of us has multiple accounts, with the individual's accounts being connected to the others insofarasmuch as having overdraft protection and that the account information arrives on statements listing these accounts. Recently, each of us received a letter about having savings accounts that had been abandoned and would have shown up on that list if we did not notify the bank that the accounts were not abandoned.

So, it's worth checking out, but you'll still have to pay property rent.
Last edited by CorBon on Tue Dec 29, 2015 10:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
 #107050  by pick_six
 
yeah, i should have been a little more descriptive.

i found about $100 or so, back in the 80's on an old account my father opened for me. someone saw my name in the paper. (not sure if they still publish this in the local papers with the internet around)

but anyway, as noted, it is usually small amounts of money in "forgotten" accounts.

but lets say its enough for 500 rounds of 9mm? or whatever. i'd rather have it then let the state get their hands on it.

i've also noticed that the banks / credit unions, del1 for example, are all doing their best with inactivity fee's, so they have to turn over less. had an account open there for a long time and had to close it out on the last trip back, as they were sucking $5/m out.
CorBon wrote:The money in your wife's name is most likely from an account with a financial institution that has been deemed abandoned due to inactivity, or from a security deposit for something. So, for a financial institution, or could be $25 in an old checking account. As to a security deposit, it could be something like the telephone, cable, or water service. Those are the most likely candidates, but it can be other forms of property or money, such as money owed from a previous employer.

These entities really are legitimate, so it's not a scam or one of those arrest-you-when-you-arrive-for-your-overdue-library-books deals. After you fill out the paperwork, they'll let you know who it is and how much money that you are about to lose -- again. Then, you fill out more paperwork, and you get your money.

I routinely check these for names and addresses of people that I may know. Thirty years ago, my grandmother's neighbor found one neighbor $25K, and another one $15K. More recently, I found a co-worker $1. Yep, a buck. So, the amounts can vary from a llittle to a lot. The main thing to remember may be -- if you haven't misplaced $25K, you can't expect to find the not-missing $25K.

And just to show how money can be "abandoned" without even trying, both my mother and I have accounts with a bank that has local branches. Each of us has multiple accounts, with the individual's accounts being connected to the others insofarasmuch as having overdraft protection and that the account information arrives on statements listing these accounts. Recently, each of us received a letter about having savings accounts that had been abandoned and would have shown up on that list if we did not notify the bank that the accounts were not abandoned.

So, it's worth checking out, but you'll still have to pay property rent.
 #107051  by pick_six
 
regarding the titles, escheator of accounts: when i found a few bucks there a long time ago, that was the name of the office. not sure if that has changed.

it just sounded like cheat, and taking my money... forgotten though it was... i coined my own term. "trying to es-cheat me out of my money." i think for bank accounts, the dormant time is like 8 years of no activity.

the state, delaware, and all of them i'd think, make a good bit of money taking dormant funds and claiming them.

i wouldn't thing it would normally refer to physical land, though i guess someone without heirs could see it happen. or more likely, for land, after the first year or two of someone not paying property taxes, the count/state would probably start looking to getting their hands on the place for unpaid taxes.

it's the same for lottery tickets too, for unpaid winners, where i believe the state keeps the unclaimed winnings. most have a year or two to claim winnings.
Kuntryboy816 wrote:So I found my wife's name along with our current property address on the search link above. I only found her name though, not mine..


Definition of escheat

: escheated property

a : the reversion of lands in English feudal law to the lord of the fee when there are no heirs capable of inheriting under the original grant

b : the reversion of property to the crown in England or to the state in the United States when there are no legal heirs


So, I'm not sure exactly what this means. We live in a mobile home park... we own the home but rent the property.. does this mean that I can claim the land and stop paying lot rent? Kind of joking but kind of not.........
 #107053  by pick_six
 
there is a button there, below the name information, where it says claim form.

your choice pdf or word doc.

download and get the details.
dave_in_delaware wrote:What does it mean if you're listed, but no other information comes up?
Last edited by pick_six on Tue Dec 29, 2015 5:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 #107054  by GatorDude
 
Yeah....only name and address info is given in the list. You have to submit the claim form to get further info on what exactly is being held (source and amount). You then have to provide required i.d. and info (including SSN) to get the property returned to you.
 #107057  by dave_in_delaware
 
GatorDude wrote:Yeah....only name and address info is given in the list....
I mean ONLY my name is listed. No address or anything else.

I guess I can submit a claim and see what happens?