The Impact of Unclaimed Court Funds

In BC, millions of dollars in provincially regulated accounts become dormant annually. The largest source of unclaimed funds held by non-profit British Columbia Unclaimed Property Society comes from the courts. Money paid into court frequently becomes unclaimed when one party is self-represented. And most often, it is the self-represented party to whom the unclaimed funds are owed, creating yet another variation on access to justice issues.

Unclaimed court funds come from all levels of courts and include unclaimed restitution payable to victims of crime from Provincial Court, balances in foreclosures, or other debt actions in the Supreme Court, and awards of costs from the Court of Appeal. These self-represented parties do not update their addresses, so the court staff cannot alert them to the funds. As counsel, any effort to remind a self-represented party to check with the court could make a meaningful difference to their life and the lives of their family members.

Just before Christmas last year, BC Unclaimed reunited a senior citizen facing eviction with more than $150,000 – a balance from a foreclosure action over a decade earlier. BC Unclaimed can only make this kind of impact when funds are transferred to us. We appreciate the work of the courts and other agencies who regularly transfer unclaimed funds and make these life-transforming impacts possible.

In a recent survey with the public, respondents agreed (62%) that a single organization should be responsible for handling unclaimed property and that the organization should be a nonprofit (73%). Under the voluntary transfer framework established by the Unclaimed Property Act, not all unclaimed funds come to us. Some holders manage their unclaimed funds themselves. However, it is a real advantage for the owners of those funds when they are transferred to BC Unclaimed. We can take further action to find the owners after the holders’ efforts have failed. We use databases not available to private companies to find potential owners and notify them that we are holding funds in their name. We also advertise so that the public knows they can search for a centralized listing of unclaimed funds. These steps substantially increase the likelihood of the funds being reunited with their owners. And, rather than languishing in a dormant account, unclaimed funds transferred to us support not-for-profits, charities, and community organizations.

Since 2003, BC Unclaimed has operated as a nonprofit organization and has donated more than $80 million to support social, environmental, and other good causes across BC while ensuring that unclaimed funds are always claimable. The BC Unclaimed team is here to make transferring funds simple and relieve businesses of the legal requirements of self-managing unclaimed funds. If your corporate clients want to reduce compliance obligations and amplify their community impact, BC Unclaimed might be the solution.

To learn more about our partnership with the Vancouver Foundation, check our website bcunclaimed.ca; our services, see Why Submit Funds, our Annual Report, or reach out directly.

This article is sponsored content

Sherry MacLennan, Executive Director of BC Unclaimed, would like all dormant assets to have the BC Unclaimed advantage. LinkedIn: Sherry BC Unclaimed

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