Q. I recently found some old bank records (i.e., account statements, certificate of deposit receipts, passbooks). The bank does not exist any more and the new bank cannot locate any record of the account. What should I do?
A. Federal record retention laws require that banks retain most account records for five years. If you are looking for an old account and the bank has no record of that account, you will want to search your state’s unclaimed property division. Be sure to search all state’s you have lived in. All states have programs requiring banks to transfer funds held in inactive accounts to the state for safekeeping. This is often referred to as escheatment.
