Abandoned and Unclaimed Property

Unclaimed Property Advocates, LLC (UP Advocates) has the resources and experience to assist industry types with unclaimed and abandoned property related services, including:

• Annual compliance reporting for all reporting jurisdictions
• Risk assessments for companies that have never reported unclaimed property, have incorrectly calculated their liability, have had inconsistent reporting histories or acquired an unclaimed property liability through a merger or acquisition
• Policy and procedure development to ensure that all lines of business, subsidiaries and affiliates are applying the same standards in handling unclaimed property matters
• Negotiation of voluntary disclosure agreements with states, which can minimize, or in some states, eliminate penalties and interest for out of compliance reporting
• Audit defense when a state, or multiple states, exercises its statutory authority to audit your records for unclaimed property compliance
• Ability to assist in reserve calculations (FAS 5 requirements) for financial statement audits

Economic conditions in recent years have resulted in increased attention on unclaimed property compliance, and states have made sweeping legislative changes to reduce dormancy periods (the amount of time a company may hold an account before reporting it as unclaimed property) and change other regulations in attempt to increase compliance and raise a source of non-tax revenue for the state.

In addition to the commonly targeted industries such as retail, healthcare, utilities, and manufacturing ring, the banking, insurance, and financial service industries are now finding themselves under immense scrutiny. Common reportable property types may include:

• Uncashed checks including payroll, vendor, dividend, interest, and travelers checks
• Brokerage, mutual fund and even some individual retirement accounts
• Customer or Consumer credit balances
• Dormant bank accounts
• Uncashed money orders
• Unredeemed gift certificates
• Unclaimed insurance proceeds
• Matured certificates of deposit

Aided by generous look back periods and relaxed statute of limitations, states such as Delaware, New York, and New Jersey have collected billions in unclaimed property. In this environment it is more important than ever to have the assistance of an experienced advocate. UP Advocates works with your staff to set in place policies and procedures specifically designed for your circumstances. We work to minimize your exposure and create value through remediation, due diligence, and application of statutory exemptions.

Press Release: UP Advocates appoints 24-year industry veteran Maureen Ferrari Grollman as new Managing Partner