Unclaimed money: inactive accounts and abandoned property

When an account goes five years without activity and the institution cannot locate its owner, the money does not vanish: the financial institution, service licensee or holder is required by law to file a report as of 30 June each year and to transfer those sums of money or other liquid property to the OCIF. Each fiscal year the OCIF deposits the whole of the money received into Puerto Rico’s General Fund, but the owner’s right to claim it remains alive within the terms the law provides. Savings and credit cooperatives and insurance institutions licensed in Puerto Rico fall outside this system: the Public Corporation for the Supervision and Insurance of Cooperatives (COSSEC) and the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OCS) administer their own statutes.

The right to claim abandoned or unclaimed money and other liquid property belongs to whoever was its original owner or, failing that, the beneficiary or beneficiaries and heirs of the person entitled to the property. And there are two different deadlines depending on where the money came from. Funds reported by Puerto Rico banks have a term of three years from the date those funds were delivered to the Commissioner, as Ley 55-1933 provides. Funds reported by institutions other than banks can be claimed at any time, as Ley 36-1989 provides. Once the applicable term passes without a claim, the funds are considered lapsed and the OCIF has no jurisdiction over them.

• Being the original owner of the property or, failing that, a beneficiary or heir of the person entitled to it.Verified against the official source
• Contacting the OCIF to confirm the property does belong to you; once confirmed, the OCIF provides a claim form with the documents to submit and the instructions to follow.Verified against the official source
• Registering a bank account with the Department of Treasury to receive the electronic funds transfer: Treasury does not issue checks.Verified against the official source
• Claiming within the applicable term: three years from delivery to the Commissioner if the funds come from a Puerto Rico bank, or at any time if they come from another institution.Verified against the official source

• For estates or inheritances, the claim form must be accompanied by the death certificate, a copy of the Declaration of Heirs, Letters Testamentary or of Executorship, the Treasury Department’s Release, and a sworn statement of all heirs, among other documents.
• Documents executed in other US states or territories must be accompanied by the county clerk’s certification of the executing notary public, known as the county clerk certification.
• Documents executed abroad and outside US jurisdiction must be accompanied by the Apostille.

1. 1

   Step 1: Look yourself up on missingmoney.com

   The OCIF publishes that address as the way to check whether anything is in your name: visit www.missingmoney.com and search with the name of the person presumed to hold inactive accounts or abandoned or unclaimed property. Search for yourself, and for deceased relatives too: heirs have the right to claim.

2. 2

   Step 2: Write to up@ocif.pr.gov

   After checking, the OCIF asks you to send an email to up@ocif.pr.gov with all the identifying information of the person entitled to claim and a short explanation. You can then call 787-723-3131, extensions 2330 and 2354, or toll free from outside the Metropolitan Area at 1-866-928-6243. You can also come to the offices, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

3. 3

   Step 3: Do not pay anyone for this

   The OCIF says it bluntly: the service is free of charge, you do not have to pay anything for your claim to be processed, and you do not have to sign a contract with any person or firm in order to claim your property. There are companies that locate these funds and charge a percentage to “handle” them. None is needed.

4. 4

   Step 4: The OCIF confirms and sends you the form

   The person entitled, or their authorized representative, must contact the OCIF to confirm the property does belong to them. Once confirmed, the OCIF provides a claim form stating the documents to submit and the instructions to follow. If it is an estate or inheritance case, the form must come with the death certificate, a copy of the Declaration of Heirs, Letters Testamentary or of Executorship, the Treasury Department’s Release, and a sworn statement of all heirs, among other documents.

5. 5

   Step 5: Register the account with Treasury: there are no checks

   This is where many people stall at the last step. Once you are notified your claim was approved, to receive the electronic funds transfer you must register a bank account with the Department of Treasury. The Department of Treasury does not issue checks. If your documents were executed in another US state or territory, they must carry the county clerk’s certification of the notary; if executed abroad outside US jurisdiction, the Apostille.

6. 6

   Step 6: Count the deadline by where the money came from

   It is not the same clock for everything. Funds reported by Puerto Rico banks have a term of three years from the date those funds were delivered to the Commissioner, under Ley 55-1933. Funds reported by institutions other than banks can be claimed at any time, under Ley 36-1989. Once the term passes unclaimed, the funds are considered lapsed and the OCIF no longer has jurisdiction over them. If yours came from a bank, do not leave it for later.

7. 7

   Step 7: If it has not reached the OCIF yet, watch the notices

   It is worth knowing how the clock works before it runs. An amount is considered unclaimed as of 30 June of the year it completes five years of inactivity at the institution. The holder must file a report as of 30 June each year and transfer those amounts to the OCIF. And for unclaimed amounts of $100 or more, the holder must also publish notices in the press and on its website telling owners the assets will be remitted to the OCIF unless claimed before 30 November of that same year. If you see your name in one of those notices, you can still claim directly at the institution.

You search at www.missingmoney.com and claim before the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions: email up@ocif.pr.gov, phone 787-723-3131 extensions 2330 and 2354, toll free outside the Metropolitan Area 1-866-928-6243, or in person Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Edificio Centro Europa, Suite 600, 1492 Ave. Ponce de León, San Juan, PR 00907.

• Never looking yourself up on missingmoney.com, nor deceased relatives.
• Paying a firm a percentage to “handle” the claim, when the service is free of charge.
• Letting the three years lapse when the funds came from a Puerto Rico bank.
• Ignoring the notice the institution publishes in the press when the amount is $100 or more.
• Looking to the OCIF for money that was in a cooperative or an insurer.
• Claiming as an heir without the Declaration of Heirs and the Treasury Release.
• Bringing documents from another state without the county clerk certification, or from abroad without the Apostille.
• Expecting a check: Treasury does not issue them and a bank account must be registered.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras (OCIF)

  OCIF

  www.ocif.pr.gov