What To Do When A Person Finds A Lost Stock Certificate

If a person discovers a stock certificate after the owner died, then that person might want to know whether the stock is still good. The first thing that a person might want to do is determine whether the stock certificate has any value. A person could start by researching the company. A person should look to see if the company still exists or whether ownership of the company has changed hands. Once a person determines the ownership of the company, a person can then locate the transfer agent of the company.

Once a person determines the value of the stock, that person needs to take the necessary steps to transfer ownership of the stock. If the person jointly owned the stock with the descendant, then the person needs to take the necessary steps to transfer ownership to the joint owner where he or she can keep or sell the stock. However, if the stock belongs to the the descendant it is considered to be a probate asset. If it is a probate asset, then the estate might need to pay an inheritance tax on the asset. A person might want to consider engaging an attorney if the the asset has a significant amount of value. Additionally, a person might want to find the descendant’s old tax returns, particularly their old 1099, to see if dividends were paid on the old stock. A person might want to see if the property is considered abandoned.

See Christopher W. Yugo, ESTATE PLANNING: Finding A Long Lost Stock Certificate, nwi.com, Dec. 9, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.