If we have contacted you we know that it’s likely you have no idea that you are owed money. Also, generally speaking, we universally end up answering some combination of the following questions.
The Most Basic Questions (from Home Page)
Why Should You Speak to Us? If we have contacted you it is not randomly. It is only after searching Court tools such as Registries, finding those listed and attempting to locate the correct Person/Company via “people finder” resources we are subscribed to. There is no perfect science to this. Consequently, at times we may contact someone by the same name, incorrectly. Yet, there is nothing to lose by speaking to us even if you wish us to pursue funds we only get paid IF you are paid and only after a check is received. At worst, the Court may be incorrect, or you just share a name with the proper party.
Are you Debt Collectors? NO. People are not used to receiving news that they are owed money. We have gotten this question at times. We work for people to reunite them with funds they may not know about. It should be a good thing if we contact you.
Is this a Scam? NO. You can call us, see that Robert is in good standing with the Supreme Court of Ohio, if nearby meet in person, Skype or whatever makes you comfortable. We will never ask you for money upfront and will reply or provide anything that satisfies any cynicism you may have.
Yes I filed for bankruptcy, but why would I be owed money?
The funds could arise in any of a number of ways. You could either be a debtor or a Creditor with no/very little knowledge of the matter.
If you are the debtor a likely scenario is that you put money into your “bankruptcy estate” and whether the bankruptcy was dismissed or completed there was money left over.
Very often people are in bankruptcy (especially after the 2008 recession) because of mortgage issues, so frequently by the time the Court sent you a check it was returned as undelivered.
But, it simply could have been un-noticed and after about 90 days if the Check is not cashed the Trustee puts it back into the Court’s general fund and it remains there until you are aware of it and properly petition the Court.
If you are a Creditor it could be as simple as the wrong address was identified by the Debtor.
For the “legalese” explanation:
Trustee’s Unclaimed Dividends
Unclaimed dividends arise when dividends (assets) are distributed by the trustee to creditors pursuant to settlement of a bankruptcy case, but the property goes unclaimed, or the check is not negotiated. According to 11 U.S.C. section 347(a), 90 days after the final distribution of assets has been made, any unclaimed property of the estate or dividend checks that have not been negotiated are then paid into the court.
What are you basing your belief that the Court owes me money?
If you know the right places to look especially as an attorney, nearly every bankruptcy (district) court in every state has list(s) of who is owed and how much (with a few exceptions). If we contacted you we are basing our belief on what the Court is listing, and usually reviewing the Docket.
Why hasn’t the Court told me about this?
The Courts have procedure after 90 days following sending an original check. Those procedures do NOT include attempting to find the owner of the funds.
That creates a niche area of practice for us as we review and then, and most difficultly, attempt to find debtors or creditors.
(If you are outside of Ohio) Why would an Attorney from Cleveland be contacting me about this?
With only a few exceptions in New York, Puerto Rico, North Carolina, parts of Indiana/Illinois and a few others we are allowed to petition for others.
Generally speaking no Hearing is required and we have access to other states information so Geography is not really a limitation.
What do I need to do?
This depends on the Jurisdiction. Generally speaking we’ll sign an agreement and need a Power of attorney. Depending on what we agree to with you we will either purchase your claim or file on your behalf after preparing a petition. To do so we need some information from you but so long as you are the proper party you don’t need any sort of detailed or archaic information.
Essentially, after finding you the most difficult part is over.