In fact, we have money waiting for 1 in 42 British Columbians. Where does this money come from? You might be surprised to learn that much is from litigation and estates. We have $65 million in monies that were paid into court and left unclaimed, including $30 million received since 2022. Whether in civil or family cases, or pursuant to a restitution order, funds become dormant after five years with no action and may be transferred to us. We do our best to find the parties and alert them, and anyone can do a free search, in seconds, at BC Unclaimed to see if we have funds in their name. These funds can be significant — last year we paid out a court fund claim of $2 million. Altogether, there is over $218 million unclaimed in our database.

Of that, our unclaimed estate holdings are approximately $78 million. Excluding funds from the Public Guardian and Trustee, we have $11 million for confirmed deceased owners. This averages $5,700 per claim, from assets seemingly overlooked when estates were settled. These funds are often discovered when a family member searches the name of a deceased relative. Credit union accounts, insurance payments, unpaid wages and benefits, real estate deposits, closed pension benefits, securities and more comprise many forgotten funds. Our oldest unclaimed estate dates to the 1850’s, and our largest unclaimed property is a $1.9 million estate.

In an era where constant vigilance against scams is prudent, many potential claimants do not respond when we advise there may be funds for them. They have not heard of us and are wary. As trusted advisors, this is where the legal profession can be influential. Let your staff and clients know about BC Unclaimed, check our website for funds (how many can say their lawyer found them money?) and if you coach or advise executors, ask if their asset inventory checklist includes a search on BC Unclaimed.

While our services are free, costs can be incurred claiming court funds. A court order is required if entitlement to the money paid into court is undetermined. This poses a challenge for many claimants when the sum is modest. To respond, we are working with People’s Law School to create self-help resources and make referrals to free legal service providers. We are grateful to the court registry staff who are often a claimant’s first stop for information, and to those assisting claimants, including the Justice Access Centres, Access Pro Bono, Amicus Curiae and the TRU Community Legal Clinic among others. With the significant volume of funds transferred from the courts in 2023, many claimants are now coming forward who need help getting a court order. The funds they recover may pay the next month’s rent or perhaps the groceries, and in these inflationary times, that makes a real difference.

In addition to reuniting funds with their rightful owners, we put unclaimed funds to work across B.C. through our partnership with the Vancouver Foundation. Unclaimed funds support diverse initiatives from arts programming to food security, environmental conservation, Indigenous led initiatives, and emergency housing for refugees. We are only able to make this social impact with the support of the myriad organizations who get dormant assets off their books by transferring them to us. This in turn relieves them of their obligations under the Unclaimed Property Act. To learn more about our services, see Why Submit Funds on our website, our Annual Report, or reach out directly.