Idaho

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The only requirement for an Idaho Unclaimed Money Finder regards how long the money has been held by the State before you can contact the owner.

The unclaimed money must be held for at least 24 months before you can charge a fee for your service. Otherwise, the agreement is unenforceable.

There is no limit to the fee you can charge as an unclaimed money finder in Idaho. However, Idaho does not have an unclaimed money finder list for sale and the list you can access online does not give you the dollar amount, only an approximate of what it could be such as “more than $100”.

I do not recommend that you charge something like 50% because you will probably have a difficult time getting someone to sign up.

The most I would go is 33% (depending on the size of the account). If someone is not happy with that, there is always room to negotiate a lower price and if you go down to 20%, that works out better for you. I think 20% is more than fair for the amount of work you put in, which really is not much!
The following is taken from the Idaho Unclaimed Money website:

What is an unclaimed money finder? (Idaho Unclaimed Money Finders are called heir finders, but we’ll use money finders)

An unclaimed money finder is a company or individual who can assist the owner of unclaimed property with locating and claiming funds. Unclaimed money finders charge a fee, usually a percentage of the value of the property recovered, for their assistance. The State of Idaho’s Unclaimed Property Office provides this service free of charge.

It does not matter if it is free if the owner of the money does not know about it!

Are there any special rules in Idaho’s Unclaimed Property Law that apply to Idaho Unclaimed Money Finders?

Yes, under Idaho’s Unclaimed Property Law, no person or company is entitled to a fee for discovering abandoned property until it has been in the custody of the state for at least two years. Idaho does not have any special licensing requirements for unclaimed money finders.

Is there a limit to the amount or percentage that a Finder can charge for their services?

Idaho does not currently regulate finders or limit their fees, but if the funds have been held by the state for less than two years, the finder’s contract is unenforceable and the total amount will be remitted directly to the owner.

Does the State of Idaho sell the unclaimed property list?

No, finders can view an owner listing, searchable by owner name, on this web site.

Idaho currently as 57 million dollars being held in unclaimed money.  They definitely cannot return this money all by themselves.

 

 

Please click here if you are interested in becoming an Idaho Unclaimed Money Finder.

Please remember, even if you live in Idaho, you don’t have to search for money only in Idaho.  You can look in any other state you want.

Hawaii

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Wouldn’t it be great to be sitting on a beach in Hawaii with a laptop searching for unclaimed money?

It is pretty easy to become a Hawaii Unclaimed Money Finder.

You can charge up to 25% commission!

The below is taken from the 2019 Hawaii Revised Statutes Title 28. Property 523A. Unclaimed Property.

§523A-25 Agreement to locate property. (a) An agreement by an owner, the primary purpose of which is to locate, deliver, recover, or assist in the recovery of property that is presumed abandoned shall be void and unenforceable if it was entered into during the period commencing on the date the property was presumed abandoned and extending to a time that is twenty-four months after the date the property is paid or delivered to the administrator.

(b) An agreement by an owner, the primary purpose of which is to locate, deliver, recover, or assist in the recovery of property shall be enforceable only if the agreement is in writing, clearly sets forth the nature of the property and the services to be rendered, is signed by the apparent owner, and states the value of the property before and after the fee or other compensation has been deducted.

(c) If an agreement covered by this section applies to mineral proceeds and the agreement contains a provision to pay compensation that includes a portion of the underlying minerals or any mineral proceeds not then presumed abandoned, the provision shall be void and unenforceable.

(d) An agreement covered by this section that provides for compensation that exceeds twenty-five per cent of the total value of the property shall be unenforceable except by the owner. An owner who has agreed to pay compensation that exceeds twenty-five per cent of the total value of the property, or the administrator on behalf of the owner, may maintain an action to reduce the compensation to an amount not to exceed twenty-five per cent of the total value of the property. The court may award reasonable attorney’s fees to an owner who prevails in the action.

(e) This section does not preclude an owner from asserting that an agreement covered by this section is invalid on grounds other than excessive or unjust compensation. The court may award reasonable attorney’s fees to an owner who prevails in the action.

(f) This section does not apply to an owner’s agreement with an attorney to file a claim as to identified property or contest the administrator’s denial of a claim; provided that:

(1) An owner’s agreement with an attorney covered by this subsection that provides for compensation shall not exceed twenty-five per cent of the total value of the property, except as provided in paragraph (2); and

(2) An owner’s agreement with an attorney to maintain an action in circuit court under section 523A-16 may provide for compensation that exceeds twenty-five per cent of the total value of the property only upon approval of the court.

With millions of dollars being held in unclaimed money, Hawaii cannot return it all by themselves.

They need help.

If you are interested in becoming a Hawaii unclaimed money finder, please click here.




Georgia

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You can charge up to 10% as a Georgia Unclaimed Money Finder.

Georgia really only has two basic rules that you need to follow.

From Georgia Code 44-12-224:  Agreement and fees for recovery or assistance in recovery of property reported and delivered to commissioner

(a) All agreements to pay compensation to recover or assist in the recovery of property reported and delivered to the commissioner under this article shall be unenforceable for 24 months after the date of payment or the delivery of property to the commissioner.

(b) The fees charged by any person, firm, or corporation to recover or assist in the recovery for and on behalf of a claimant of property reported and delivered to the commissioner under this article shall not exceed 10 percent of the value of the property recovered.

 

All funds or property located by a person to be compensated by the payment of such a fee shall be paid or delivered directly to the owner and may not be paid or delivered to the person to receive the fee whether pursuant to a duly executed power of attorney or otherwise.

That’s pretty much it.  Georgia sells their unclaimed money finder list for $50.

If you want to read the complete Georgia code, please click here:

 

http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/Default.asp

 

The easiest way to pull up the correct statute is to enter 44-12-224 in the search box.


The following questions relate to becoming an unclaimed money finder in Georgia: (O.C.G.A. § 44-12-224):

1. How do I start an unclaimed money finder business?

Pursuant to O.C.G.A. 44-12-224, person(s) operating a Georgia unclaimed money business must observe the following:

Agreements to recover property for an owner are unenforceable unless the property in question has been in the state’s possession for 2 years;

Fees to assist in recovery cannot exceed 10%;

Powers of Attorney from asset recovery services are not recognized in Georgia. Our section communicates directly with the property owner in the repayment of funds.

2. Does Georgia have a list of unclaimed property owners available for purchase?

Yes. Georgia’s list of unclaimed property owners is updated annually in July. The list contains all types of accounts over $50.00. Any account that has been paid to the owner or has a pending claim is not on the list. Information currently provided on the list includes the internal tracking number of the account, the owner’s name and the company or bank that remitted the account to Georgia. NEITHER THE LAST KNOWN ADDRESS NOR THE VALUE OF EACH OWNER ACCOUNT IS PROVIDED!

The list is available on CD and can be purchased for $50.00 from the Georgia Department of Revenue, Unclaimed Property Program. When placing your order, please send a cashier’s check or money order payable to Georgia Department of Revenue – Unclaimed Property Program to:

Georgia Department of Revenue
Unclaimed Property Program
4245 International Parkway, Suite A
Hapeville, Georgia 30354-3918

Personal checks are not accepted. Please allow ten working days to process your order.

The request for this list does not have to made under Georgia’s Open Records Act.

3. Can the Unclaimed Property Program provide me with the dollar value, last known address and claim status of accounts that I may be interested in?

No. Our section does not provide this information to protect the owner’s privacy. The annually updated list deletes accounts that have been settled.

4. If the list is only updated once a year, how will I know if an account is still available for claim?

The updated list will be the only source of available accounts. Most individuals will inform you if they have already filed a claim or received their money.

5. Are there any laws regarding becoming a Georgia unclaimed money finder

Yes. O.C.G.A. 44-12-224 provides:

Agreements to pay compensation to assist in the recovery of unclaimed accounts are unenforceable until the account has been in the state’s possession for 24 months.

Fees charged to assist in the recovery of an unclaimed account cannot exceed 10%.

Payments for unclaimed accounts are made directly to the owner. Powers of Attorney from asset recovery services are not recognized.

6. If I find an owner, what is the next step?

You will need to provide the following information to our section:

Name and current mailing address of the claimant.

Name of the owner exactly as it appears on the list.

Owner’s filing status (i.e. original owner, heir, trustee, company designee)

Owner identification number.

We will send the necessary forms directly to the owner.

7. What information will I need to complete the claim form?

You will not need to complete any portion of the form. The owner will complete the form and submit supporting documentation proving ownership to our office.

8. What happens after the claim form is submitted to your office?

When the claimant returns the form and supporting documents, the package is reviewed by a Claims Examiner. If ownership of the account has been proven and the form is completed correctly, the claim is approved and a request for a check to be issued is sent to a designated office in the Department of Revenue. When checks are issued they are delivered to the Unclaimed Property Section and mailed immediately to the owner. This process can take up to ninety days, but most claims are processed within thirty days.

9. Will the state notify me when the check is mailed to the claimant?

No. You will need to maintain close contact with your claimants to know when they receive their money.

10. Can the check be made payable to me?

No. The money belongs to the claimant.

11. Will the State issue a separate check to me?

No. The State’s obligation is to the rightful owner.

12. What assurances do I have that I will get my fee once the claimant receives payment?

Your rights of recourse are matters you should discuss with your attorney.

13. Must I obtain a private investigators license to locate owners in Georgia?

It is not a function of our office to verify the need for a private investigators license. You should correspond with the Secretary of State’s Private Investigator’s Licensing Unit to ensure compliance with the Georgia unclaimed money finder laws in this area.

 



After reading all this, you might think that the state doesn’t make it easy to become a Georgia unclaimed money finder.

It’s not that they don’t make it easy, it’s just that they don’t seem to be what I like to call “finder friendly”.

For example, they don’t seem to give the dollar amounts on their list, which pretty much makes it useless.

Well, we’re in New York. New York doesn’t give the dollar amounts on their unclaimed money finder list either.

So, do you know what we do? We look for unclaimed money in other states.

The point is, you can become a Georgia unclaimed money finder, it’s just better to look for money in other states.

 

 

 

 

 

If you are interested in becoming an Unclaimed Money Finder please click here.