Escheats and Unclaimed Property
The university is required by the State of Michigan to remit certain unclaimed property annually by July 1. A complete manual can be found at https://www.michigan.gov/treasury under "unclaimed property."
Uncashed checks are the typical unclaimed property of the university. The period of abandonment for checks varies is one year. Any unclaimed checks due to be escheated that include Title IV funds must instead be returned to the appropriate aid program.
Recommended timelines for the review of unclaimed property are listed below:
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| March 31 | Generate a listing with parameters that reflect all checks that are inactive and could be reportable as unclaimed property |
| April 15 | Prepare and mail due diligence letters to those customers listed as inactive |
| May 15 | Provide a list of customers with whom contact has been lost to the person preparing the report due in July |
| June 1 | Begin preparing the report for submission to the State of Michigan |
| July 1 | Submit report and remittance to the Unclaimed Property Department (UPD) |
Michigan law requires holders to send written notice to owners at their last known address to inform them that they hold property subject to being turned over to the state. This requirement only applies if all of the following conditions exist:
- The address for the owner does not appear to be inaccurate
- The property has a value of $50 or more
- The statute of limitation does not bar the claim of the owner
- The notice must be sent not less than 60 days nor more than 365 days before filing the report.
Once the property has been remitted to the UPD, the individual can file an Unclaimed Property Inquiry (Form 3433) to recover the property. The forms to complete can be found at the website listed above.