• Escheatment is a process where unclaimed property reverts back to the state government.stock report image by pearlguy from Fotolia.com
  
  Escheatment is a process where unclaimed property is claimed by the state government in which the property is physically located. The most common reason for escheat to occur is when someone dies without leaving behind a will and that person has no living or identifiable relatives. Escheatment may also occur when people move and forget to reclaim utility deposits, tax overpayments, or money in their checking accounts. Montana has several state-specific laws regulating the escheat process.
  
  

Unclaimed Property

• In Montana, escheatment law requires business owners to turn in unclaimed property to the Montana government. The unclaimed property the Montana government claims through escheatment includes checking and savings accounts, stocks, vendor checks, certificates of deposit, uncashed checks, commissions, money orders, uncollected wages, dividends, insurance payments and deposits. Thus, business owners must be careful that they do not claim these items themselves when no owner comes to collect them. If these items go unclaimed for a year (or more for items like bank accounts), Montana is the proper owner of the unclaimed item.
  
  

Estate Property

• Another common way that escheatment occurs is when someone dies and the estate property goes unclaimed. This often occurs when someone dies without a will and without any heirs to inherit the property. Property can also go unclaimed when it is too small of an amount to attract the inheritors to claim it, such as the remaining balance in a checking account. Any property that goes unclaimed after someone's death is put into a trust and deposited with the Montana treasurer's office. After the property is in the state's possession for more than a year, the money or property escheats to the state and must be placed in the public school permanent fund.
  
  

Escheat Appeal

• Sometimes unclaimed property that is escheated to the state will later be claimed by the property's proper owner. A person who is claiming property that is in held by the state treasurer must bring a district court action in Lewis and Clark County, Montana. The action should be filed against the state treasurer. The proper owner must bring this action within five years from the date on which the money or property was given to the state treasurer. This five-year limitation does not apply to minors or to persons of unsound mind. A minor or person of unsound mind can ask the treasurer to return his property at any time.