by Doreen Martel

Created on: December 05, 2011   Last Updated: December 07, 2011

In the State of Maine, unclaimed property laws are administered by the Maine Treasurer. The purpose of these laws is to (a) ensure that property is returned to its rightful owner (or heirs) and (b) ensure that businesses are not burdened with maintaining records for accounts that have been abandoned. Companies of all types that hold assets on behalf of account owners are responsible for (a) trying to locate their customers and when that fails, (b) turning property over to the state in compliance with unclaimed property laws.

Property impacted

There are various types of property that are impacted under the unclaimed property laws in Maine. These include (but may not be limited to) proceeds from the sale of property left in apartments, bank account balances, paychecks that have not been cashed, stocks and bonds and contents of safe deposit boxes. Nearly any type of financial account including prepaid debit cards, life insurance proceeds and retirement account benefits may be impacted by these laws.  Those who have done business with companies registered in Maine, have worked in Maine or who have lived in Maine (or have relatives that fit these descriptions) may discover that there is property they are entitled to claim.

Responsibility of companies

Any company who has a fiduciary responsibility that includes acting as a custodian of a checking (or savings) account, mutual fund companies, life insurance company and even courts who have collected restitution is responsible for reporting abandoned funds. The dormancy (e.g., the time between the last contact with the account owner and an abandoned designation) varies from one year to 15 depending on the property. The Treasurer of the State of Maine may impose fines on those who fail to report property in a timely manner. These custodians must also notify the rightful account owner at their last known address not less than 60 days prior to turning funds over to the state.

Some important information

The State of Maine paid more than $172 million dollars back to rightful owners between 1979 and 2011.  These funds were all turned over to the state by account holders who were unable to locate owners. During the first half of 2011, the State of Maine received an additional $23.9 million in abandoned property reports. These funds are held by the State of Maine for the rightful owner in perpetuity.  The state does not charge any fee to file a claim and no heir finding service need be contacted to claim property that belongs to an heir or property owner.

Account owners (heirs or administrators of estates) who believe they may have property being held by the State of Maine may print and fill out the necessary claim forms. In addition, Maine allows for users to file an online claim form if property is found in the Maine abandoned property online database. The unclaimed property laws are very clear and straightforward and are encompassed in the Maine Revised Statutes Title 33, Chapter 41: Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. It is also important to note that if property owners are contacted by a finding service that most need to be registered as private investigators according to unclaimed property laws in Maine.

Learn more about this author, Doreen Martel.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.