Fee finders or heir finders are people who have, through public information laws, obtained a list of owner names (individuals and businesses) who have unclaimed property being held by the State of Alaska. There are no special requirements or licenses needed in the State of Alaska. (Some states require bonding or an investigator license.)

If you have been contacted by a fee finder, you should attempt to locate your property on your own before signing a contract.

There is no fee to claim your property or to use the website missingmoney.com. A fee finder is not needed to claim your property. Claiming your property is easy and very straight forward. The Department of Revenue works directly with YOU, the unclaimed property owner, to process claims. An owner of unclaimed property may be asked to provide documentation or information such as current, and former addresses, phone number, birth date, etc. These are needed to verify we are returning property to the rightful owner.

FEE FINDER AGREEMENTS

The State of Alaska’s Unclaimed Property Act has a provision that addresses fee finders’ contract conditions and allowable fees.

A contract must:

• Be in writing
• Not to exceed six months
• Specify fees to be charged
• State the nature and value of property, along with the value of the owner's share after the fee has been deducted

The fee or compensation must not exceed the following:

• Property equal to or greater than $500 can not be charged a fee in excess of 10%
• Property less than $500 can not be charged a fee in excess of 20%

A contract that exceeds the above limits, or does not meet the statutory guidelines, is unenforceable.

Any collection and payment disputes are limited to the contractual parties.

FEE FINDER CLAIMS

The Department of Revenue works directly with the owner to process their claim. The Department will not disclose nor discuss a claim with a fee finder. Misrepresenting, or impersonating an owner may be punishable by law.

Sec. 11.56.210. Unsworn falsification.

• (a) A person commits the crime of unsworn falsification if, with the intent to mislead a public servant in the performance of a duty, the person submits a false written or recorded statement which the person does not believe to be true
  1. in an application for a benefit; or
  2. on a form bearing notice, authorized by law, that false statements made in it are punishable.
• (b) Unsworn falsification is a class A misdemeanor.

LIST FOR FEE FINDERS

Periodically, the State of Alaska compiles a list of unclaimed property with a value of $100 or more. The list is available at no charge and may be requested by sending an email to ucproperty@alaska.gov. The following information must be included in your request:

• Name
• Business Name
• Address
• Phone Number
• Acknowledgement of Alaska’s Unclaimed Property Act provisions surrounding a fee finder’s contract conditions and allowable fees.

PLEASE NOTE: properties with the SAME PSN are the SAME property with multiple owners. The dollar amount is listed for each owner although there is only one amount for all owners on a property. These multiple owner accounts may be setup, as “Joint Tenants”, “Guardian For”, “And”, “Or”, “In Trust For”, etc.