Application to Release Unclaimed Funds

Rev. 4/17/2024

28 U.S.C. § 2042

Unclaimed funds are held by the court for an individual or entity who is entitled to the money but who has failed to claim ownership of it.

Any party who seeks the payment of unclaimed funds must file an Application for Payment of Unclaimed Funds and serve a copy of the application on the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi. See 28 U.S.C. § 2042

Click here regarding interpleader action under 28 U.S.C. § 1335.

Click here regarding funds, in the court registry, that are not unclaimed or related to an interpleader action. See Fed. R. Bank. P. 3011 and 11. U.S.C. § 347.

A request for payment of unclaimed funds should be made by application using local form MSSB-1340, Application for Payment of Unclaimed Funds ("Application"). The applicant must provide a proposed order using the court's local form MSSB-1340-Order, Proposed Order Granting the Application.

The local forms and instructions regarding payment of unclaimed funds are available for download from the Forms/Fees page on the court's website www.mssb.uscourts.gov.

Claimant Types:

Owner of Record: The person or entity shown in the court's records as the owner(s) of the funds.

Successor Claimant: Successor businesses, decedent's estate, judgment creditor, or the like, that now have direct claims to the funds but are not the owners of record. (A successor Claimant may be entitled to the unclaimed funds as result of assignment, purchase, merger, acquisition, succession or by other means.)

Claimant Representative: Typically, a funds locator who acts on behalf of an owner of record or successor claimant.

Requirements

KMS Cases	JAW Cases
Application for Payment of Unclaimed Funds - Local Form MSSB-1340 with Certificate of Service	Application for Payment of Unclaimed Funds - Local Form MSSB-1340 with Certificate of Service
Proposed Order Local Form MSSB-1340-Order	Proposed Order Local Form MSSB-1340-Order
Supporting Documentation*	Supporting Documentation*
*The filer must file the supporting documentation separate from the application using a specific docket event.

Supporting Documents

To determine a claimant's identity and right to the funds, the claimant must provide evidence supporting the application. Such evidence may include:

Proof of the identity of the claimant (e.g. Claimant is an individual - a legible copy of a photo ID such as drivers license with current name and address; and documentation supporting proof of their former address as provided on the transmittal record.

Note: When the claimant is a person and his/her name is different than the name on the trustee's transmittal documentation, the claimant must provide documentation supporting the name change (e.g., copy of former drivers license with his/her prior last name and address and a copy of a current drivers license with his/her current name and address;
A notarized signature of the claimant or claimant's authorized signing representative (e.g., notarized statement of the individual claimant or of the signing officer's authority for an entity/business);
Proof of the identity of the claimant representative's authority (e.g., notarized power of attorney; certified copies of probate documents or other documents establishing the right to act for the decedent or the decedent's estate in accordance with applicable state law, such as a small estate affidavit);
Documentation sufficient to establish the claimant's entitlement to the unclaimed funds (e.g., documentation sufficient to establish chain of ownership or the transfer of claim from the original owner of record).

Filing Process

File the Application and Proposed Order.

Attorney Docket Event:

[Bankruptcy > Motions/Applications > Release Unclaimed Funds from Court Registry (Application)]

Limited Filer Docket Event:

[Bankruptcy > Claim Actions > Release Unclaimed Funds from Court Registry (Application)]

File the Supporting Documentation. Note: Relate the supporting documents to the application.

Docket Event:

[Bankruptcy > Other > Supporting Documents Re Unclaimed Funds (Document Restricted)]