Amounts owed to you (unclaimed property) can go unclaimed for a myriad of reasons. Your company could have moved locations. They could have changed their process or contact point for payment receipt. A check could literally be lost in the mail. Once those items are lost and go unreconciled they turn in to unclaimed property. Unclaimed property can be funds held by a state/jurisdiction resulting from statutory escheat requirements or they can be outstanding balances held by a government entity (that will never be escheated) until you or your organization come forward.
Whether your unclaimed property is held by a state unclaimed property department or government entity, it is important to know there are two ways to get your property; search and claim it yourself or utilize a Third-Party Recovery Firm.
A Third-Party Recovery Firm is a company who assists owners in the identification and recovery of unclaimed property. For the most part, Third-Party Recovery Firms will contact your organization about funds they have located. If you or your organization has decided to utilize a third-party to recover unclaimed property it is important to consider the following checklist: