Money left behind in Massachusetts

How it works here

Why money gets stranded in Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, what is left over after a sale is usually called excess equity or surplus. Delinquent property taxes are enforced through a municipal tax taking and Land Court foreclosure, and mortgage foreclosures here generally run through the courts. When a sale brings in more than what was owed, the difference typically ends up with the municipality, or the Land Court.

Massachusetts changed its rules recently on what the former owner is entitled to after a tax taking, and older files are worth a second look because of it.

None of it is hidden and none of it is a secret fund. It is simply sitting in a government account, or on the books of an insurer, bank or brokerage, under a name the family stopped checking on years ago, and whoever holds it is rarely looking for the owner. Practice varies county by county inside Massachusetts, which is why I confirm exactly where a particular matter stands before anything is signed.

What I look for in Massachusetts

• Estate and inheritance moneyAccounts, refunds, deposits and benefits that belonged to a relative who has passed, including opening the estate where one is needed.
• Tax sale and foreclosure leftoversThe excess equity or surplus after a property is sold for back taxes or at a foreclosure sale, which rarely reaches the former owner without a claim.
• Uncashed and outstanding checksRefunds, vendor payments, jury and witness checks, deposits and warrants issued by counties, cities, courts, utilities and businesses that no one ever cashed.
• Life insurance and annuitiesPolicies and annuities that were never claimed, including ones the family did not know existed.
• Bank, brokerage and investment accountsBank accounts and CDs, stocks, dividends and brokerage accounts left behind when an owner moved or passed.
• TrustsTrust distributions and beneficial interests that never reached the beneficiary.
• State held propertyDormant accounts, securities, dividends, insurance proceeds and deposits turned over to the state, including money stranded under a maiden, predecessor or subsidiary name.
• Court and settlement fundsDistributions held by court registries, bankruptcy clerks and settlement administrators.
• Business and institutional moneyAmounts reported under a company name that was merged, renamed or reorganized out of existence.

What it costs you

Nothing out of pocket, at any point. No deposit, no retainer, no filing fee. My fee is paid entirely out of what is recovered, it is capped by law in many states, and it goes in writing before you sign anything. If nothing is recovered, nothing is owed.

Where a matter needs a court step, an estate opened or reopened, a petition or a hearing, I pay those costs as they arise where the law allows, and they come out of the recovery at the end rather than out of your pocket. That is the cost of collecting property that is already yours. It is not the financing of a lawsuit for damages, and I take no stake in anyone's claim for damages. Where Massachusetts requires an attorney to file, counsel of your choosing files and I do the work behind it.

The money never passes through my hands. Whoever holds it pays you directly.