Corporate Asset Recovery

The capital your books forgot.

State and federal custodians hold tens of billions of dollars belonging to American corporations: dormant dividends, vendor credits, escrow balances, payroll checks, securities, and post-merger residuals. Duality Recovery identifies, documents, and recovers what is rightfully yours. Confidential audits. Contingency-based engagements. No funds at risk.

$77B+
In state custody (NAUPA est.)
50
State databases searched
0%
Upfront. Pure contingency.
100%
Confidential engagements
The Hidden Asset Class

An entire ledger of corporate capital sits with the state.

Every U.S. state (and several federal agencies) operates an unclaimed property division. When a corporation's check goes uncashed, a vendor credit ages out, or a subsidiary's bank balance lies dormant past statutory thresholds, the asset is escheated to the state. The state holds it indefinitely, awaiting a valid claim.

Corporations rarely audit for what is owed to them. Address changes, mergers, divestitures, and predecessor entities break the notification chain. The capital sits.

~$77B Estimated value of unclaimed property currently held in U.S. state custody. Source: NAUPA.

Most of it never returns. Until someone goes looking.

  • i.
    Dormant cash & bank balances
    Subsidiary accounts, escrow remainders, refund checks.
  • ii.
    Vendor credits & A/P over-payments
    Unrefunded credits returned to state after dormancy windows.
  • iii.
    Dividends & securities distributions
    Held shares, mutual fund proceeds, stock splits, demutualization assets.
  • iv.
    M&A residual property
    Predecessor and acquired-entity assets escheated under former legal names.
  • v.
    Insurance & benefit proceeds
    Uncollected claims, premium refunds, group plan residuals.
  • vi.
    Payroll, royalties, IP licensing residuals
    Uncashed payments to former entities and contracting parties.
Engagements

Built for the finance function of mid-market companies and the firms that advise them.

Duality Recovery works with corporate finance leaders, fiduciaries, and transactional advisors who recognize that recovered capital is real capital. We do not work consumer claims, heir cases, or individual finder work.

i.

Corporate Finance & Treasury

Controllers, CFOs, and treasurers seeking a clean sweep of state custodial databases for the company, its subsidiaries, and former legal names. Findings are reconciled to your G/L.

ii.

M&A Acquirers & PE Portfolios

Post-close audits surface assets escheated under predecessor entities. Especially relevant for serial acquirers, holding companies, and platform consolidations with long entity histories.

iii.

Restructuring & Wind-Down Counsel

Trustees, receivers, and dissolution counsel responsible for surfacing every recoverable asset on behalf of the estate or surviving entity.

Engagement Method

A four-stage recovery protocol.

Every engagement follows the same disciplined sequence. You receive a written audit report before any claim is filed, and you approve every claim before submission.

01

Entity Forensics & Audit

We compile your full entity history (current legal names, DBAs, predecessor entities, dissolved subsidiaries, acquired companies), then search all fifty state unclaimed property databases plus federal custodial sources (Treasury, FDIC, PBGC, IRS where applicable). The output is a written audit report identifying every probable match with estimated value.
02

Documentation & Ownership Proof

For each match, we assemble the documentary chain of ownership (articles of incorporation, merger documents, EIN history, address records, board resolutions) to the standard each custodian requires. You review and approve each file before we proceed.
03

Claim Filing & Custodian Liaison

We file under each jurisdiction's claimant-representative framework, manage every information request, and pursue escalation where claims stall. Engagements are governed by written agreements that disclose all fees and comply with each state's fee-cap and disclosure rules.
04

Recovery & Reconciliation

Recovered funds are remitted directly to you by the custodian or routed through a fiduciary trust where required. Our contingency fee is invoiced only against successful recoveries. You receive a final reconciliation package suitable for audit and tax purposes.
Method & Posture

Boutique by design. Forensic by training. Confidential by default.

Volume firms run automated name-match searches and chase low-value claims at scale. We do the opposite.

Entity-history forensics

Most recoveries are missed because the asset escheated under a name your current accounting team has never heard of. We build the full corporate genealogy first.

No upfront capital required

Pure contingency engagements. We invoice only against successful recoveries, capped at the maximum permitted by each state's claimant-representative statutes.

Compliance-forward

Registered as a claimant's representative where required. Written disclosures on every engagement. We will tell you when filing yourself is cheaper than hiring us.

Discreet by mandate

Engagements are confidential. No public client lists. No press releases. Many of our matters involve transactional dynamics or material asset values our clients prefer not to advertise.

Practical Questions

Frequently asked, plainly answered.

How are you compensated?

Pure contingency. We are paid a percentage of recovered funds, set per engagement and capped at the maximum permitted by each state's claimant-representative statutes. There are no upfront fees, no monthly retainers, and no charges for unsuccessful searches.

Engagement letters disclose the fee structure in full before any work begins.

What is the typical recovery timeline?

The initial audit is typically delivered within two to four weeks of engagement. Individual claims, once filed, generally resolve within 60 to 180 days, varying significantly by jurisdiction, claim complexity, and asset type. Securities and dividend claims tend to take longer than cash claims.

Why hire you instead of filing claims ourselves?

For a single low-dollar claim in a single state, filing in-house is often the right call, and we will say so when applicable. The economics shift in our favor when the search spans many jurisdictions, the entity history is complex (mergers, name changes, dissolved subsidiaries), the documentation burden is heavy, or the company lacks internal capacity to manage filings, follow-up, and custodian correspondence over a six- to twelve-month claim cycle.

Is this work regulated?

Yes. The majority of U.S. states regulate parties who recover unclaimed property on behalf of others. Statutes commonly require written contracts, fee disclosures, and fee caps; several require registration as a claimant's representative. We operate within each state's framework and decline engagements that would require us to violate it.

Why don't states just return the property to us directly?

They try. Statutory due-diligence requires holders to notify owners before escheatment. In practice, corporate addresses change, M&A breaks the chain of custody, notice thresholds are often set above small-dollar amounts, and once an asset reaches state custody it is the claimant's burden to identify, document, and recover it. The state does not actively search for owners.

Can you guarantee recovery on any specific claim?

No. No reputable firm in this category can. Custodian discretion, documentation gaps, conflicting claims, and statutory time limits all affect outcomes. What we do provide is a written audit identifying probable matches with estimated values, allowing you to make an informed decision before authorizing any filings.

What kinds of clients do you not work with?

Duality Recovery is a B2B practice. We do not handle consumer claims, individual heir cases, or other private-party finder work. Engagements are with corporations, partnerships, trusts, and the legal or fiduciary professionals who represent them.

Begin

Request a confidential audit.

Tell us briefly about your organization and what you'd like us to look at. We respond within one business day. Initial conversations and the audit-scoping process are conducted under a mutual NDA at your option.

Phone
By request
Office
Phoenix, Arizona
Engagements
Nationwide

Submissions are reviewed by Christina Kelly, Managing Member. Information is kept confidential and is not shared, sold, or used for marketing purposes outside of our direct correspondence with you.