Often, we are asked by heirs and others who are blessed to have received a large cash windfall, what, in our opinion having handled such situations over the past thirty years or so, should recipients do with their new found riches.   Not being bankers or wealth advisers, we always refer them to those who […]

  Yesterday, 27 January 2015, was the 70th Anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by Soviet forces, and the occasion is annually marked by the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust .  The United Kingdom’s Telegraph newspaper has an aggregator of stories regarding worldwide Holocaust memorial […]

  If you could be or you have information on her heirs, Heir Hunters International would like to speak with you. Always aware that state vital records before, say 1920, are spotty and inconsistent, particularly for African Americans, our research shows that Mary Moore, an African American, was born in Mississippi about 1871.  As a […]

An article in Bloomberg News serves as an urgent reminder to holders of unclaimed property that November 1st is “the due date for filing annual unclaimed property reports” with state officials.  However, since the 1st of November fell on a Saturday in 2014, the law permits a two day extension or until Monday November 3rd to file […]

According to a report on the web site of KOCO, the ABC affiliate of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma lawmakers will investigate a recent study of the insurance industry which suggests that some companies are lobbying for amendments to stringent disclosure requirements. Currently, many state unclaimed property laws mandate holders of unclaimed property, including life insurance benefits, […]

  When beginning research in a missing heir case, we have absolutely no idea where the historical records will take us.  Unfortunately, after making a substantial commitment of our time, effort and financial resources, we must close a case without finding those entitled to unclaimed money and lost property since, frankly, we cannot afford to go […]

  U.S. Government coffers contain an astounding $18 Billion in unclaimed money. Navigating exactly which branch holds the money is one’s first hurdle, but we ran across a graph which can possibly point one in the right direction. Early last week, NPR posted on its blog an easily readable chart setting forth the amount of unclaimed […]

  In over twenty years of searching for beneficiaries to unclaimed money and lost property, we find that it is not only individuals who benefit, but just about any entity can, such as corporations, L.L.C.s, partnerships, non-profits, charities, churches, and, surprisingly, even some of the nation’s cities.  But as with disbelieving individuals, we must overcover city […]

This weekend as first reported in the German news magazine, Focus, and as reported in the Australian newspaper (and endlessly repeated by the international press), the world learned of the existence of a cache of art work hidden away in the Munich condo of the aged son of Hildebrand Gurlitt, a German art dealer tasked by […]

Faced with the dilemma of paying for growing expenditures with lower tax revenues, governments world wide have aggressively sought new sources of cash, and many have focused their efforts on seizing “unclaimed property,” including “inactive” bank and savings accounts.  A fascinating article in The Sydney Morning Herald sets forth how astoundingly successful these efforts have been. The […]