When a family member passes away, the practical side of grief often involves discovering accounts, policies, and assets nobody knew about. Sometimes those assets have already been turned over to the state of California as unclaimed property. The question we hear most often is: does it still belong to the family?
Yes. It still belongs to the family. The state holds it indefinitely, and there is no deadline to come forward and claim it.
Here is how the process actually works. If you have not yet searched for property, our guide to claimit.ca.gov walks through the database itself first; this article picks up from there for deceased-owner claims.
Why a deceased person’s property ends up with the state
California law requires banks, employers, brokerages, insurers, and other businesses to report and transfer dormant assets to the State Controller’s Office (SCO) after a period of no owner contact, generally three years. If the owner has died and no one notified the holder, accounts go dormant on the normal timeline. The holder then sends the funds to the state for safekeeping.
This is not a tax or a forfeiture. The state is acting as custodian. The property remains the legal property of the owner or, after death, the owner’s estate and heirs.
Who can file a claim
The SCO will return property to:
- A trustee acting under a valid trust
- A personal representative, executor, or administrator appointed by a court
- An heir, when there is no formal probate and the estate qualifies for simpler procedures
- A surviving spouse, in certain circumstances
Which path applies depends on the size of the estate, whether the deceased had a will, and whether probate was opened. The documentation required varies accordingly.
What documentation you will need
Every deceased owner claim requires the basics: a certified copy of the death certificate, proof of your identity, and proof of your relationship or legal authority. Beyond that, the SCO asks for one of the following:
- A certified copy of the will or trust, showing the chain of distribution to you.
- A court-ordered Final Decree of Distribution from a completed probate.
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration dated within the past six months, if probate is still open.
- A Declaration Under Probate Code Section 13101 for small estates (currently estates with personal property under the statutory threshold), used when no probate is required.
- A Table of Heirship, the SCO’s own form, when there is no will and probate has not been opened. This requires listing the deceased’s spouse, children, parents, siblings, and other relatives so the state can confirm the legal chain of inheritance.
Birth certificates, marriage certificates, and additional death certificates for relatives in the inheritance chain are often required to prove you are who you say you are. For example, a granddaughter claiming through a deceased grandfather typically needs to show the parent’s death certificate as well.
How long it takes
By law, the SCO has 180 days to process a complete claim. Simple deceased owner claims with strong documentation can sometimes move faster, but heir claims involving Tables of Heirship, securities, or large dollar amounts often take the full window. Claims with missing or unclear documentation come back with a request for more information, which restarts the clock.
Notarization is required for any claim of $1,000 or more, and for any claim involving securities or safe deposit box contents, regardless of value.
A few practical tips
Search broadly. Look for property under the deceased’s full legal name, maiden name, common variations, and any business names. Search for the deceased’s parents and siblings too, since property sometimes passes through unprobated estates and ends up reported under the original owner’s name decades later.
Order extra certified death certificates. You will need them. Most counties charge a small fee per copy.
Do not throw away old paperwork. Old stock certificates, bank statements, insurance policies, and tax returns can be the documentation that ties a claim together. If the SCO record says “Wells Fargo Bank, Branch #4221,” a thirty-year-old statement showing that exact branch can settle questions of identity quickly.
Be patient with the timeline. The SCO is not slow because they want to be. They process tens of thousands of claims, and heir claims involve real legal review.
The property is yours. The process just takes some care.
If you received a letter about a deceased relative’s property and you are not sure whether it is legitimate, our companion guide on what to do when you get a letter about unclaimed property walks through the verification checklist.