NC Senate Bill 1242
Attention Citizens of North Carolina - Your Senators and Governor just broke the law by passing a bill that ensures that You can't Get Money that is really yours. And they're doing it by thumbing their nose at the very law put in place to protect you - the public records general statute 132.
Let's start from the beginning. Every day, literally thousands of dollars are left unclaimed at your local court house. Specifically, the case types that follow each have $ millions each and every year --
Special Proceedings - these cases are in regard to remainders from foreclosures - overbids, condemnations, eminent domain issues, etc.
E accounts - these have deposits not just from recent deaths but can even contain deposits collected for minors, to be paid out when the minor reaches the age of maturity - usually eighteen years of age.
CVS and CVD accounts - this set of files can also have condemnation and/or eminent domain case deposits, and monies left over from tax sale overages.
The deposit is sent to the local county clerk. The Clerk records the incoming monies and is supposed to go through notification of the prospective owner. In fact, the clerk is to try to get in touch with any person or entity that they believe may be entitled to the funds.
Unfortunately, the court does a lousy job of finding people. As an emample, the courts often notify ex-property owners of remainders that arise from foreclosure auctions, at their last known address. Unfortunately that would be sent to the foreclosure address. Think those folks are still there?
Think about this -
First: All interest earned on this money is kept by the County.
Secondly. The County Government has full access to the State's resources. We're talking about criminal records data, citizen's driver license info, your voter info, the dmv's records, death records, birth records, wedding licenses, and even bank accounts.
After a few months to a few years, the County sends the money onto the State. At that point the State Treasurer can claim the interest on this money, and are you ready for this - they can even spend this money. Yep - no kidding. The State only has to keep a minimal amount of these deposits in reserve. Do you know why that is? The State realizes that the system they have in place literally keeps folks from discovering they are being kept in the dark about their own money. The plot thickens. If the State ever does return more than they hold in reserve (certainly the State wouldn't think of spending more than they have, right?),they can at that point use incoming monies in order to cover that they have to pay out in excess of the reserve - rob Peter (substitute your name here) to pay Paul (sorry but you can no longer insert your name here thanks to bill 1242}.
Okay, more about the State level tom foolery. Your State government takes this money and is charged with the responsibility of keeping it on behalf of the person it belongs to. The State can keep the interest. But, as written above, they can also spend the vast majority of it. They, of course rationalize the issue by saying that they only spend it on special projects such as parks, etc.
Let me ask you a question. Have you ever seen a list of these rightful owners on the name sign in a State Park? Here's another question: Do you think the State should at least ask the rightful owner whether or not they would like to have the money or allow the state to use it on a park?
Of course now you're thinking that none of that really makes a difference. Because the rightful owners are still able to plug in their names in NC's missing money website and find their money, right?
Nope. Doesn't work that way. Money that is entered with more than one prospective rightful owner won't be entered in the State's unclaimed web site. As an argument, the Treasurer would argue that the reason is they are not always able to ascertain who is entitled, so why put someone's name in their web page if the individual might not actually be entitled to the money. And this happens all the time.
Here's a thought, State of North Carolina - Add all {Potential Rightful Owner(s|possible folks entitled) on the Site.
I digress. Now it gets really interesting.
The State allows individuals called findersw or locators to track down unclaimed accounts and then contact the rightful owner and come to an agreement over a commission from this money, in return for the finder's hard work. Even here NC makes it darn near too hard to be a finder. The max finder fee is ten percent of the money, or else $2,500 whichever one is lower. That's payment for tracking down the funds, doublechecking who is entitled, tracking down the owner, and making a deal.
So you have to spend hours in the court house, pull lists of prospective accounts, do more research to make sure you know who its entitled to, and even possibly engage a private detective in order to locate claimants. For 10% or $2,500. Okay, you could make a living at this, if the finder is able to get hold of the documentation regarding those entitled - but bill 1242 changed that, and we'll come back to that.
Just for giggles, NC in its infinite wisdom has come to the conclusion that the state must also make a finder get a PI license, which can take up to 2 years - before they can become a locator. The State even demands that a finder or locator can't look for someone on any web people finder page to make a deal unless you have a a PI license - seriously. NC states that this has been put in place in order to safeguard the claimaints. From what exactly? Finding out that they have money? You're joking, right?
Okay, this means finders fill the void and help folks informing them about money they couldn't even know existed otherwise. And finders have been allowed to function in North Carolina, as a result of Public Records Information Laws. These statutes make sure that the State is honest, by forcing NC to share public records with the public.
Do you want to allow NC to be able to {hide money|hide these funds from you?
That is precisely what Senate bill 1242 has done.
Remember that in order for a finder to identify monies due the claimants, the finders have to have a list of prospects to work off of. Guess what North Carolina just did? They have said that that all important list - the aging report - may be treated as confidential. This 'aging report' list is the starting point you used to be able to receive at the County court house that listed what they was holding in monies due folks. This list is, considered a public record per statute - see Statute 132 to check that out.
Okay, so what. You can still get the State's list of escheats - the list of unclaimed funds sent on from county clerks on to the state treasurer - right? Nope. The State right now not only says finders can no longer be allowed to know what monies are in trust in the local court house on behalf of claimants, you also can't get the escheat list for at least a year.
There's even more. Wish there wasn't!. The State takes the escheat list and even changes the case numbers to property id numbers and strips the section that shows how much is being held from the list. And that's still not the end of this!
Local court houses aren't required to give you old aging reports or even their copies of any escheat list. It's up to the County how far back they'll go.
Now let me ask you something very important -
What would possess the State to go to such lengths to hide in order to bury what are in fact public records: which flies in the face of their own public records statute - from someone attempting to reunite the money to its rightful owner?
Do you think that finders are unscrupulous and want to take advantage of folks. Just how would they do that? These folks inform folks that they are due money being held by the clerk. Just what do you believe they do to these folks: roll the owner at the courthouse?
Or perhaps you believe the State is just trying to ensure that no crook makes claim to monies they don't deserve. YOU HAVE TO PETITION THE COURT Using a Lawyer TO GET MOST OF THIS MONEY. If you can pull that off, you're probably more entitled to the money than NC is. I'm being facetious but it is a valid point.
Consider this question instead
If someone contacted you and informed you they located funds for you and asked for a commission in order to assist in the recovery of the funds, how would you answer?
Oops, shouldn't have asked that question. Because Governor Purdue, Your Senate, and the Treasury dept - you can't have it.
Here's the bill - Look at Section 10. please make note of the way they state it - to this not counter to or against general chapter 132 of the NC statutes -: the public records information statute. That's the equivalent of saying, 'We're screwing the good folks of NC, but not really, wink, wink''. Section 10f:
"(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 132 of the General Statutes, the any supporting data anddata, including aging reports, or lists of apparent owners of unclaimed property held by a clerk of superior court or any other office of State or local government may be confidential but shall be disclosed to the Treasurer in accordance with the reporting of escheated and abandoned property. The supporting data and lists of apparent owners of escheated and abandoned property held by the Treasurer may be confidential until six 12 months after the list to the clerks of superior court required by subsection (b) of this section has been distributed. This subsection shall not apply to owners of reported property making inquiries about their property to the Escheat Fund."
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/
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