If you cannot find all of your loved one’s accounts and properties, you may want to get a professional asset search.
Types of assets a professional asset search can locate include:
- Life Insurance Policies and Annuity Contracts are crucial aspects to consider during an asset search.
- Financial Accounts (Bank, Brokerage, Mutual Fund and Retirement Accounts)
- Personal/Family Trusts
- Real Property and Tangible Assets (Motor Vehicles, Aircraft, Boats)
- Business Interests (Including Private Companies, Shell Corporations, and Special-Purpose LLCs)
Here are some resources for performing an asset search on your own:
- To track down unclaimed money from the government, click here.
- To find out if your loved one owned any property you didn’t know about, contact their county tax assessor. You can also visit the local Land Records office, sometimes called the Office of Assessor-Recorder.
- For storage units, you should look for monthly charges for storage on a loved one’s bank or credit card accounts. Or if you’ve set up mail forwarding (or live at the same address), you may receive a foreclosure notice from the storage building in the mail, as owners are required to notify clients of a foreclosure (though some states have relaxed this requirement). For help on what to bring to a storage unit that you’re emptying out, click here.
- Gaining access to safe deposit boxes is dependent on your state. Usually an individual will have to present a death certificate and notice of their relation to the decedent, but other paperwork may be necessary. In some states, you can also secure an affidavit in support of search to look in the safe deposit box. Though you won’t be allowed to take anything, this may make you aware of unknown assets.
- To track down bank or other accounts a loved one had, the website MissingMoney lets you perform a free search. You can also file IRS Form 4506. You’ll need a death certificate and court-approved Letters of Testamentary, and pay the necessary fees.
