Heir Finder Company charging 35% Fee?

[Antigone*]

I'm having similar issues with Keane.

They keep contacting me about nearly 100k in stock they've found in my deceased mother's name ( died in 2002).

My state ( CT) has no record of it, but there is a $59 elec co refund ( deposit ?). I could claim, and split my brother.

My mother never lived outside of New Haven county, I know that for a fact.

What is the angle of this Keane place ?

CT law says 10% max to a finder company, Keane wants 30-35%, but has begged me lately with offers to take less.

Why would they bother if there truly is nothing to claim.

How can I find this asset myself ? It is not on the state's list.

You seem to have broken two rules in one fell swoop. Please do not necrost and please don't hijack another member's thread.

 

[Dandy Don]

The stock could be a newer, recently discovered item that has not yet been added to the Connecticut unclaimed property databases because some states sell the list of the newer items to finder companies and private investigators and then delay publishing the newspaper advertisement to notify the public many months later (truly unfair, isn't it?). Contact the Connecticut Unclaimed Property Office directly by phone to see if the stock item has been reported yet under the name of the decedent.

If they have no information about that, you can do some research yourself that might uncover relevant information. Check at the county courthouse probate court to see if a probate was ever done on her estate, assuming she had a last will and testament. Look at the probate file to see who handled the estate (name and address of the executor). See if there is any mention of the stock in the financial information in the file. Do you have any idea of who her stockbroker (person or company) would have been? You may want to discuss this with a stockbroker or transfer agent to see if he/she has any ideas that would help you.

If there is no probate file, or if there IS a probate file but no further helpful information, you can open up probate yourself or hire an attorney to do it. After probate is open, executor will have authority to order copies of the state and/or federal tax returns for the last 2-3 years that the decedent was alive and it will have many valuable clues about the source of assets (if she was receiving dividend payments on the stock the name of the company where she was a stockholder will be on the Form 1099 statements). After you get that information the executor will be able to contact the company directly to find out approximately when the company turned it over to the state unclaimed property department.

Congratulations on being savvy enough to try to figure out an alternative way of getting results. If you do a Google search on the Keane company and its company officials and check with the Better Business Bureau, you may see many mentions of the poor reputation this company has and you should do everything in your power NOT to do business with them if you can avoid it.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[Dandy Don]

Please also look at the WILLS TRUSTS AND ESTATE PLANNING message board for a posting titled UNCLAIMED ASSETS and you will find the final comment posted by curb1 about Keane Tracers very interesting--exactly how he came across that information and whether he could prove it and whether it is 100% true is another matter, but interesting, nevertheless!!

 

[dano2010]

Keane

Hi lizebug,
i believe you posted this ? a while ago???
If any property is still in probate, they typically can charge above the 10%. I think interesting though. I live in southern CA myself and would be interested in speaking with you about their approach and agreement they are asking you to sign.

Hi, Myself, my siblings and Aunt (mother's sister) got a letter from The Keane Organization an Heir Finder company and they stated that they located some assets in the name of my Grandfather. In their "Agreement" it states:
"KEANE agrees to pay the costs and expenses, including probate expenses, filing fees, processing fees, bonding fees, and legal fees for attorneys that Keane retains, excluding taxes, to update the asset registration on your behalf.

"KEANE, in consideration of these services, earns a fee of (35%) percent of the gross asset value payable by you when the asset becomes distributable. Keane will be entitled to no compensation and this Agreement shall become null and void if Keane fails to identify the asset. Without signing and returning this Agreement you are not obligated to Keane in any way."

There are other items in their Agreement, but I only felt I need to state these.

My family has ONLY lived in California and I have already checked with the State of CA Controller's Office for any UNCLAIMED Property in my Grandfather's name and I did not find anything that amounted to the value that The Keane Organization stated. On the CA website I did find a page called "HEIR FINDER INFORMATION" and it states:
"An heir finder may charge a fee NO GREATER than ten percent of the property value successfully returned. The fee limit should cover any and ALL services connected with returning property to an owner.

I spoke to my contact at The Keane Organization and she stated that they CAN charge the 35%.

MY QUESTION IS CAN THE KEANE ORGANIZATION CHARGE THE 35% or CAN THEY ONLY CHARGE ME AND MY SIBLINGS THE 10% as stated on the State of CA Controller's Office website for Unclaimed Property?

ANY HELP would be appreciated. Thanks, Liz