After a Will has been probated and estate administration is proceeding for a decedent, it is a good idea to check out the Unclaimed Property Website of the Pennsylvania Treasury Department at www.patreasury.gov. It is one of the jobs of the Executor or Administrator to collect the assets of the decedent. The Executor or Administrator might not know about all of the decedent’s accounts or the decedent may have missed cashing a dividend check or an insurance check from years ago. There is approximately $2.3 billion in unclaimed property. Who knows, some of these funds might belong to the decedent or might even belong to you or another family member!
There is no charge on the Pennsylvania Treasury Department’s website to get information about unclaimed property. All you have to do is enter the last name and the first few letters of the first name. Then, you will get a list of names, cities, names of certain unclaimed property holders and an amount, either over $100 or under $100. If you think the decedent is the person identified by the unclaimed property holder, such as an insurance company, you check the box. You then get more information about the possible property. If you still think that the decedent was owner of that particular property, you have to contact the PA Treasury Department at 1-800-222-2046 and give the Property Id # from the list. You will then get papers to complete to make the claim. Watch out for services that charge to help you collect the unclaimed property.
With any estate administration, which may include searching for unclaimed property possibly owned by the decedent, it is best to have assistance from an elder law attorney.