A fair question. Please be skeptical of anyone who contacts you about money. Everything I’ve told you can be verified on the State’s own website, my fee is capped by California law and paid only on recovery, and the State pays you directly. I never handle your money, and I never ask for payment or personal information up front.

When a business becomes inactive or dissolves, funds owed to it (final account balances, refunds, deposits, vendor payments, and similar) are turned over to the State Controller as unclaimed property and held until someone claims them. It is extremely common.

The State doesn’t chase down owners. It publishes the records at claimit.ca.gov and waits for a claim. Property held under a dissolved business name is especially easy to miss because the current owner (you) isn’t the party the State has on file.

Public records research. The State’s own unclaimed property database is public, and so is the California business registry. When a property held under an old business name lines up with a person still traceable through the business registry, I write to that person. Everything I use is a record either you or I could pull directly.

Typically 3 to 6 months from filing. The State may take up to 180 days from a complete package. Securities (uncashed stock, dividends, and similar) can take longer because of transfer-agent steps outside the SCO’s hands.

Once we talk, typically: confirming your identity and your connection to the business, signing the State’s standard investigator agreement so I can file on your behalf, and having a claim form notarized. Your bank will do the notarization for free.

I identify what the State needs, gather it, and refile within 48 hours at no additional charge. You never owe me anything unless funds are actually recovered.

Bank accounts, uncashed checks, deposits, refunds, vendor payments, and securities held under business names. If your letter references a specific property type, it’s one of these.

Heirs can often claim, and I can help determine whether that applies to your situation. Call me and we’ll walk through it.

Yes, and at no cost. The funds are yours regardless. Search claimit.ca.gov and file directly with the State. The process for a dissolved business takes documentation many people find difficult, which is why so much goes unclaimed. If you’d rather have it handled, that’s exactly the work I do.

Nothing out of pocket. My fee is capped by California law at 10% of what is recovered, and the State pays it separately to me out of the recovered funds. If nothing is recovered, you owe nothing. The State pays you directly for your share.

Possibly. Other investigators work from the same public database. The State processes whichever valid claim it receives first. There’s no deadline pressure I need to invent for you; that is just how the process works.