Heirs and estates can usually claim money a state is holding for someone who died. Here is how, and each state's rule.
When someone dies, money owed to them can end up with a state unclaimed property program: old bank accounts, uncashed checks, refunds, insurance payouts. Heirs or the estate can usually claim it, for free, through the same official program.
Rules differ by state. The table below gives each state's rule; open the state page for its forms and contacts.
| State | Claiming for someone who died |
|---|---|
| Alabama | If a probate court named you executor or administrator, you can claim for the estate. If there was no will or estate, the spouse (or, if none, the children, then the parents) may claim without a probate order for small amounts, using a probate court letter saying no estate was opened and an affidavit signed by all heirs (Ala. Code § 35-12-84); call 888-844-8400 for help. |
| Alaska | Only the owner, an heir, or a court-appointed representative can file a claim. The state's site does not spell out heir paperwork; your emailed claim form will list what is needed, or call 844-252-2741. |
| Arizona | To claim for someone who died, send a copy of the death certificate and the original notarized Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property. Answer every question on it and attach the papers it asks for, plus a copy of the will (and trust, if one is named) if there is a will. If a personal representative has been appointed, or the estate is worth more than $75,000 after liens, the personal representative must file, with Letters of Office certified in the last 60 days. |
| Arkansas | Legal heirs (beneficiaries, spouses, children, etc.) can claim with proof of heirship, such as a probated will or the Auditor's affidavit of heirship. The affidavit works only for claims under $10,000; for larger claims with no will, you need a court order (18 CAR § 21-404). |
| California | You can claim for a person who died if you are an heir, trustee, or personal representative/executor/administrator. The Controller's deceased-owner filing instructions list the documents you need. For a living owner, a power of attorney cannot sign instead of the owner, except possibly when a medical condition prevents the owner from signing; then a licensed physician's verification is required and the Controller's legal office decides. |
| Colorado | Pick "Heir" or "Representative" as your relationship to the owner when you file; the state will ask for proof of heirship and a notarized signature. Money from a probated estate (the state's Estates of Deceased Owners list) is different: you must petition the probate court in the county where the estate was probated. Note: 21 years after an estate is probated and its money is sent to the Treasury, that estate money becomes state property. |
| Connecticut | Only owners or their legal heirs may file. Search for your relative's name and start a claim; the claim form will list the papers needed. The Treasurer's site does not publish a separate list of heir documents. |
| Delaware | Send a certified death certificate and certified proof of your relationship (such as a birth or marriage certificate). Estate representatives also need certified Letters Testamentary or, for some estates, a small estate affidavit, plus the will. Payment goes by check to the estate only, and a power of attorney ends at death. |
| District of Columbia | A court-appointed estate representative can file. Send the death certificate, Letters of Administration or small estate papers, a copy of your photo ID, and proof connecting the owner to the money. To get Letters of Administration for a small estate, contact the DC Superior Court Probate Division at (202) 879-9448. |
| Florida | Start a claim and mark the owner as deceased. You need a certified death certificate plus probate papers: for an open estate, court records (certified within the last year) showing the personal representative; for a closed estate, a certified court order naming the beneficiaries. If everything the state holds for the person totals $20,000 or less, you can use a copy of the will (if any) and an Estate Affidavit (Form DFS-UP-1243) signed by all beneficiaries. |
| Georgia | You can search and claim as an heir or executor, but estate claims need a printed claim form. Under SB 403 (2026), if the deceased person's total unclaimed property held by the state is $7,500 or less and no Georgia probate case was ever filed, the heirs can file an affidavit signed by all heirs instead of a probate court order. The affidavit must say the heirs agree on how to split the money and that funeral costs, last-illness costs and other debts of the estate are paid. Attach the will if there was one. The law defines heirs as an adult surviving spouse, child, parent or sibling. |
| Hawaii | Send the claim form, your photo ID, proof the deceased owned the property, a death certificate, and trust or probate papers showing your authority. If there is no trust or probate and the estate in Hawaii is worth $100,000 or less, you can use a notarized Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent instead, plus an original certified death certificate and proof of your relationship (birth, death or marriage certificates). |
| Idaho | If the owner has died, the nearest living relative or heir, or the court-appointed executor or personal representative, can claim. Relatives claim in the order of the Uniform Probate Code's line of kinship: surviving spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, brothers and sisters, then nieces and nephews. Send a copy of the death certificate for every deceased owner on the account (photocopies are fine), proof that you are the nearest living relative or heir or the personal representative, and the will if there was one. |
| Illinois | Heirs usually send a death certificate, a small estate affidavit listing all heirs and their shares, proof of relationship, and proof the deceased owned the property; if probate is open, send court-certified Letters of Office dated within three years. If the total claimed is $250 or less, a simpler Capacity to Claim Affidavit can be used. |
| Indiana | You can claim for a relative who died if you are the legal heir. The state asks whether the will was probated, meaning a court appointed an executor or personal representative. If other people are listed as co-owners, tell them you are filing. Contact the office if your situation is unusual. |
| Iowa | Pick "Legal Heir" (or "Open Estate" if you are the executor of an open probate). Fill out the state's Affidavit of Administration, which tells you what to attach: usually the death certificate and an obituary, plus the will and court papers (letters of appointment, final report, or small-estate papers) if any exist. The state pays according to how the estate was distributed, so money may be split among heirs. |
| Kansas | You must show your legal right or relationship to the person who died, for example an obituary listing survivors, or Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration naming you. With no valid will or trust, Kansas follows its intestate succession laws and pays each heir directly. The site offers a family tree template for estates that were not probated. |
| Kentucky | Only the executor or administrator, or next of kin, can claim for someone who died. Send the owner's death certificate and proof of the owner's SSN. If an estate is open, send your court appointment (received within 60 days of issue). If it is closed, send the appointment and the final order of distribution. If there was no estate, staff will tell you what else is needed. |
| Louisiana | Legal heirs of a deceased person can claim. Louisiana requires court-recognized estate documents to prove heirship. |
| Maine | The surviving spouse or personal representative files an Estate Affidavit with the claim. Checks are normally made out to the estate of the deceased owner, not to you. If the estate was never probated, the check can be made out to you for claims up to $40,000 if you send Maine's Affidavit of a Small Estate and legal proof of your relationship to the person who died. |
| Maryland | A court-appointed estate representative can claim. If there is none, or the estate is closed, the surviving spouse or a person appointed by the court can claim. Send the death certificate plus letters of administration, small estate papers or a court order. |
| Massachusetts | Choose 'Heir' if the estate was not probated, or 'Estate Representative' if it was. Section C of the claim form lists the documents you need. A certified copy must show the court stamp. |
| Michigan | If the owner has died, a biological heir, a devisee under the will, a beneficiary, or the personal representative (if the estate is in probate) can claim. The claim form emailed to you lists the documents you need. |
| Minnesota | Heirs can claim, but the official site does not list heir documents online. Your claim form will say what to send. By law, you only need to send the parts of a will, trust or court order that prove your claim (Minn. Stat. § 345.49). |
| Mississippi | Send the owner's death certificate, plus the filed will and probate orders. If there is no will, send an obituary or funeral program listing the heirs. If you have neither, each heir completes a notarized Affidavit of Death and Heirship. If the estate is open, the money goes to the estate through the executor. If it is closed, each heir files a separate claim and the money is split by the will or heirship. |
| Missouri | Only the original owner or a legal heir can claim. If the estate was not probated, heirs fill out the Treasurer's Table of Heirship, which lists the owner's relatives and must be signed under penalty of perjury in front of a notary. |
| Montana | Heirs file online in TAP by searching the deceased person's name; a court order is usually not needed. If the estate is still open, payment goes to the estate (send the death certificate, estate tax ID and personal representative papers); otherwise heirs complete an Affidavit of Successor and a Decedent Family History, which the department sends in the claim packet. An estate must be opened if the deceased person's property subject to administration totals $100,000 or more. |
| Nebraska | The personal representative of the estate, or the nearest living relative, can claim. Send a copy of the death certificate and documents showing you represent the estate; the online claim lets you file as an heir with a closed estate, an open estate, or no estate. |
| Nevada | When you file, choose the option that fits (deceased owner's heir, open probate, closed probate, or executor/trustee). The claim form then lists the documents you need to send. |
| New Hampshire | Heirs or the estate's personal representative can claim. A photocopy of the certified death certificate is fine, and the Treasury will ask whether the estate was probated; in some cases you may need to open probate and get an estate tax ID number from the IRS. |
| New Jersey | You need proof from the county Surrogate's Court that you have the legal right to claim, dated within one year, plus a copy of the death certificate and the deceased person's SSN. If there was no will, no surviving spouse, and the estate is $10,000 or less, one next of kin can file an Affidavit of Next of Kin with the Surrogate instead of full administration. The other next of kin of the same degree must consent in writing. |
| New Mexico | Send a copy of the death certificate, proof that you are entitled to the money under heirship law, and proof the owner lived or got mail at the listed address. These steps are for estates that were never probated or where probate is already closed. |
| New York | If a court appointed an estate representative, only that person can claim. They send the death certificate and a Surrogate's Court certificate of appointment dated within 6 months. If there is no representative, the closest living relative can use the state's Small Estates Affidavit and Table of Heirs, but only when the funds are under $1,000. A funeral payer can claim up to $5,000 in reimbursement. |
| North Carolina | Contact the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where your relative lived. The clerk can help you get documents showing you have legal authority to claim. Then file the claim on NCCash.gov. |
| North Dakota | Send court papers showing you are the personal representative or executor (will, court appointment or letters testamentary) and a certified death certificate. If no representative was appointed or there is no will, the state points you to the ND Legal Self Help Center (701-328-1852) for informal probate. The site also links an Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent. |
| Ohio | If a probate court appointed an executor or administrator, only that person can claim; otherwise next of kin (children, then parents, then siblings) can claim, and all of the decedent's children or siblings may need to sign a Table of Heirship or waivers. You'll need a certified, unredacted death certificate, proof of relationship, and probate papers dated within 2 years; amounts over $5,000 must go through probate court. Ohio has no small estate affidavit, but accepts one from a state that allows it. |
| Oklahoma | For property worth more than $10,000, you need certified Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary, or a probate Decree of Distribution naming you. For $10,000 or less, a copy of the death certificate plus a signed affidavit saying you're entitled, how you're related, that there's been no probate and none is planned, and that you'll repay the state if someone with a better right comes forward. |
| Oregon | You must be one of the closest relatives or be named in court papers as entitled to the estate. Expect to send a death certificate or other proof of death (such as an obituary), court-certified probate documents including a small estate affidavit, and proof of your relationship. |
| Pennsylvania | Family members can use a Relationship Affidavit if the property is $20,000 or less, the owner died a Pennsylvania resident, and there's no estate (or at least 5 years have passed since a personal representative was appointed). Eligible relatives, in order: surviving spouse, children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren, parents, siblings and their children, grandparents. Otherwise, the estate's court-appointed representative must claim with a short certificate from the Register of Wills. |
| Rhode Island | When you file online, choose 'Heir' or 'Representative' as your relationship to the owner; your claim form will list the documents needed. The official site doesn't spell out the heir documents. |
| South Carolina | The estate's personal representative can claim by sending a copy of the death certificate, a currently dated probate order, and proof the person who died owned the property. If no estate was opened, or it has been closed, call the program at 803-737-4771 to discuss your options. |
| South Dakota | Send court papers showing you are the personal representative or executor (a will, court appointment or probate). If there was no will, you may use a small estate affidavit if it meets SDCL 29A-3-1201; a death certificate comes from the S.D. Department of Health. |
| Tennessee | You choose to pay the estate or to split the money among heirs; claims of $10,000 or more must be paid to the estate. Estate claims need a certified death certificate, certified letters testamentary or of administration, and the estate's FEIN; heir claims need a certified death certificate, the probated will (or an obituary if there was no will), and each heir's certified birth certificate, with each heir filing a separate claim. |
| Texas | Heirs can claim under a will accepted into probate, through an executor with current letters testamentary, through a court-appointed administrator, or with a judge's determination-of-heirship order. If a valid will was never probated, the people named in it may still claim if the amount is under $10,000 and they are the same people who would inherit without a will. For a claim of $10,000 or less with no probate, ClaimItTexas provides an Affidavit of Heirship form. |
| Utah | Fill out the Affidavit for Collection of Unclaimed Property, answering every question (it asks about a will, a personal representative, and whether the estate is over $100,000), and send your ID, proof of the deceased owner's address, and documents showing your right to claim, such as an obituary or court papers. If there is no valid will or trust, Utah's intestate succession rules decide who gets the money. |
| Vermont | Send a copy of the certified death certificate and the obituary, plus proof of the owner's SSN and reported address; claims over $1,000 need an original certified death certificate. Claims over $5,000 require an open probate estate (send the certificate of appointment and the estate's tax ID); for closed estates under $5,000 send the certified decree of distribution, as wills are not accepted. |
| Virginia | Send proof you are entitled to the money, in this order of preference: a certificate of qualification as executor or administrator, a Virginia Small Estate Act affidavit naming you as designated successor, or the order of distribution from a closed estate. If you have none of these, the owner died at least one year ago and the claim is $25,000 or less, Treasury may accept your sworn affidavit instead. |
| Washington | Heirs of a deceased owner can claim; the Department of Revenue's interactive claim tool builds a checklist of the documents you need based on who you are and the type of claim. |
| West Virginia | Pick the right heir claim type on the form: no estate, open estate (executor) or closed estate. If no estate was opened, sign a notarized Estate Claim Declaration with a copy of the death certificate, the will if there is one, and a Table of Heirship; other heirs can sign a limited power of attorney so you can collect their shares. |
| Wisconsin | Heirship claims must be filed online, with the deceased owner's SSN, date of birth and date of death. Claims under $50,000 need a Transfer by Affidavit (unless an open estate or active trust is claiming), and $50,000 or more requires a court order; open estates send domiciliary letters and the estate's tax ID. |
| Wyoming | Heirs can file a claim online the same way; the emailed claim form lists the documents needed. The Treasurer says claims for deceased owners usually take longer than standard owner claims. |