Every year on February 1st, we observe National Unclaimed Property Day—a reminder of the staggering $70 billion in forgotten and abandoned assets currently held by state governments across America. These assets include life insurance policies, forgotten bank accounts, uncashed checks, retirement funds, and other valuable resources that have lost their connection to their rightful owners. The main reasons for the mind-boggling number of assets lost in America are due to someone passing away or moving to a new address.
At Family Wealth & Legacy Legal Solutions (FWLLS), we regularly see the consequences of overlooked assets, due to inadequate estate planning (or not planning at all). Let’s explore further how assets become “unclaimed,” how to prevent your assets from ending up in this $70 billion pool, and, most importantly, how to ensure your hard-earned wealth reaches your loved ones as intended.
How Assets Go Unclaimed and What You Can Do
You might wonder how billions of dollars in assets could go missing. The truth is, it happens more easily than you’d think. Imagine you become incapacitated or pass away. Would your family know where to find all your assets? Even if you know what you own today, would someone else be able to track down everything from past jobs, insurance policies, or old accounts?
One reason so many assets become unclaimed is that most people no longer receive hard copies of their account statements in the mail. Without regular paper statements, it’s easy to forget about old bank accounts, retirement funds, or insurance policies. If no one else has access to your email or digital financial records, these assets can slip through the cracks, eventually landing in state custody instead of reaching your family.
Thirty years ago, when someone passed away, you’d simply wait by the mailbox for 30-90 days and you’d receive a statement for every asset they owned. In today’s and age, it doesn’t work that way. We bank on our phones, our statements are delivered by e-mail, and the financial apps on our phone, protected by face recognition or passwords, are the only gateway to our “accounts.” Inevitably, that is why Illinois has gone from having $3.5 billion to $5 billion in “unclaimed property” in the past two years.
When someone passes away without a comprehensive and up-to-date asset inventory—their loved ones often have no idea what assets exist or where to find them. If they aren’t discovered after rifling through filing cabinets and statements in the mail, they may not be discovered at all. Those assets will most likely end up in the hands of your state treasurer instead of benefiting the people you care about. Money that could have funded your children’s education, paid off burdensome debt, supported a loved one’s business, or enhanced your family’s financial security will instead be earning interest in your state’s coffers.
Traditional estate planning often contributes to the problem. Many financial advisors or attorneys who provide a will or trust without a comprehensive plan leave families with little more than a set of documents. Often, there’s no asset inventory included, or it is outdated by decades. Without a structured approach and a system for people to keep it up to date over their lifetime, some assets will inevitably remain undiscovered and eventually become part of that $70 billion in unclaimed property. You can check if you have unclaimed property through the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA). If you live in Illinois, you can also check for unclaimed assets through the state treasurer’s website: Illinois I-Cash.
I’d highly recommend you search to see if you, or your family members, have any outstanding claims because one of seven people will find that they do.
The Key to Protecting Your Assets: Inventory & Regular Reviews
At FWLLS, we know that effective estate planning isn’t a one-time event—it’s an ongoing process. This includes creating an inventory of your assets and regularly updating it alongside your legal documents. Our process begins with a Family Wealth Strategy Session, where we help you create an inventory to ensure nothing that you own will get overlooked. This inventory includes not just the obvious assets like your home and bank accounts, but also:
- Life insurance policies
- Retirement accounts from all previous employers
- Investment accounts
- Business interests
- Valuable personal property
- Intellectual property rights
- Digital assets and cryptocurrency
Digital assets present a particular challenge in today’s world. Without proper documentation and access instructions, online banking accounts, cryptocurrency, and social media profiles can effectively be lost forever, even if your loved ones know they exist.
When you work with FWLLS, we’ll also help you keep your inventory updated throughout your life. We conduct regular reviews of your plan to ensure your asset inventory stays current and properly aligned with your wishes, preventing assets from becoming lost. In my personal opinion, this is one of the most important pieces of our client’s estate plan and what sets us a part from a majority, if not all, of estate planning attorneys.
Estate Planning Beyond Finances: Safeguarding Family Legacies
While creating an asset inventory is crucial, our planning process goes beyond just listing your assets. Ensuring proper titling, updating beneficiary designations, and making sure your loved ones know how to access everything when the time comes is equally important.
There’s another often-overlooked aspect of estate planning: recognizing that some of the most valuable assets aren’t financial. Family photographs stored in the cloud, emails containing family history, and digital collections of music or art hold tremendous sentimental value. Without proper planning, these too can become “unclaimed property”—lost to the people meant to inherit them.
When these invaluable family legacies disappear, their loss can’t be measured in dollars. That’s why we help families not only preserve their wealth, but also their values, traditions, and memories for future generations. That’s why we always say, “there’s more to wealth than money…protect your family, wealth, and legacy.”
Secure Your Family’s Future Today
Proper estate planning isn’t just about having the right documents—it’s about taking all the steps needed to make things as easy as possible for your loved ones. It’s one of the greatest acts of love you can give to the people you cherish most.
At FWLLS, we can help you create a comprehensive plan that includes a complete asset inventory, regular reviews, and updates to ensure nothing gets lost or forgotten. We also support you in creating a Legacy Interview, ensuring your most valuable assets—your values, traditions, and love—are passed on to the people you care about most.
Let’s work together to protect your legacy. Click here to schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation and learn more about how we can help.
This article is a service of Family Wealth & Legacy Legal Solutions (FWLLS). At FWLLS, we do not just draft documents; we ensure you make educated, informed and empowered decisions for yourself and the people you love. That’s why we offer a Family Wealth & Legacy Strategy Session™, during which you will get educated and begin to prepare to avoid life’s most common legal problems and get a plan in place to make the best possible choices for the people you love. You can begin by calling our office today to schedule a Family Wealth & Legacy Strategy Session and mention this article to find out how to get this $900 session at a significantly discounted rate, or even for free.