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From the independent association for former employees of HP and HPE -- and those in the process of leaving. Join HPAA at no charge.
Lost property -- including lost stock, uncashed stock-buyout or dividend checks -- and other unclaimed property
If you were ever an HP shareholder, you may now have shares of HPQ, HPE, Keysight, and/or Agilent – in different accounts. If ever an HPE shareholder, you may now have shares of DXC – and may not have received cash payouts for MFGP and PRSP. Find it all – and estimate your current cost basis: HP/HPE-Related Stocks
Part of our process to find stock and estimate cost basis. Start here: HP/HPE-Related Stocks
Advice and reference info from members. (Updated Aug 20, 2025) Not officially endorsed or supported. Click to join the HPAA Question? Email us: info@hpalumni.org
Unclaimed property
Member: "I found that a relative had failed to use up all of a gift certificate given her back in 2015, and the balance was sitting there. Getting that documentation needed for that was pretty painless."
Almost everyone has some small stray uncashed check somewhere. This is common, even for people who haven't changed their address in decades. For example, one member found an HP-related check that had been mailed to a misspelled street address with an incorrect zip code.
"Unclaimed or 'abandoned' property refers to property or accounts within
financial institutions or companies -- in which there has been no
activity generated (or contact with the owner) regarding the property
for one year or a longer period. After a designated period of
time (called the dormancy period) with no activity or contact, the
property becomes 'unclaimed' and -- by law -- must be turned over to the
state."
--National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators:
What is Unclaimed Property?
Other references: EQ Equiniti (Transfer Agent) (scroll to page 7) Computershare (Transfer Agent) Fidelity Investopedia
Escheatment
Financial institutions are required to turn over inactive accounts and unclaimed property to the state or province in as little as two years -- a process called "escheatment." Escheated property can be very difficult to retrieve. If the account contained stock, the stock is sold by the state at current market price -- subsequent cash payouts, new stock, and dividends are lost. Furthermore, every financial institution has a "dormant account" policy -- which can complicate things for you or your heirs.
- Keep postal address up to date on all financial accounts -- including stock transfer agents, stock plan administrators, and brokers. Your employer does not update addresses on outsourced financial accounts.
- Neither collecting dividends, receiving notices in the mail, accessing accounts online, nor being in possession of paper certificates will always prevent a financial account from being treated as "dormant" or "unclaimed property."
- Make direct contact by phone or postal mail with each transfer agent, administrator, and broker at least once a year. You need to manually initiate a contact or transaction. You may not receive a pending-escheatment mailing.
- Keep your postal address current on every financial account. And run an "unclaimed property" search every year. Most people will merely find uncashed dividend checks. Some may find lost shares or uncashed stock-buyout checks.
The last known state of residence of the property owner determines which state or territory has jurisdiction. If the owner’s address is unknown or the holder lives outside the US, the state of incorporation of the issuer is used to determine jurisdiction.
Received a letter from "EQ Unify" about your stock? You must take action. Letter is unclear and doesn't cover all choices. Letter from "EQ Unify"
You may be approached by companies claiming to have found money for you -- for example, a private investigator has been contacting ex-EDS folks. There is no need to pay anyone.
You can easily check the public US/Canada unclaimed property site. Most people will merely find uncashed stock dividend checks. Some may find lost shares or uncashed stock-buyout checks.
Go to the official US/Canada MissingMoney website and check every state or province where you have ever lived, worked, or had a postal address: https://www.missingmoney.com "States and Provinces, through their partnership with the leading, trusted authority in unclaimed property -- the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) -- provide this free, safe, and secure site to the public."
Be sure to try variations on the spelling of your first and last names.
When stock (or other property) is escheated, it is sold by the state. You will be able to recover only the market value as of the time of sale -- not any subsequent dividends, spinoff shares, or payouts.
If you receive a notice of unclaimed property, respond promptly in order to prevent the escheatment of your asset to the state.
The key document for a US employee retirement or health plan is the legal Summary Plan Description (SPD). It includes plan details and an address at the employer for appeals. The current SPD takes precedence over any other written, online, or verbal information you may have been given -- but is still subject to change. The employer's plan administrator is required by law to provide the SPD upon request. How to obtain and decode: https://www.hpalumni.org/SPD-decode
Lost stock and uncashed stock-buyout or dividend checks.
1. Check any brokerage you use and with the current stock transfer agent and plan administrator for each stock. See Where's my stock?
2. Check with US/Canada unclaimed property site for every state or province where you have lived or worked, as described above. Also check the state of incorporation and state of corporate headquarters for every employer (DE and CA for HP, DE and TX for EDS, etc.) State of incorporation for each stock is given in Market Price Histories, Official FAQs, Transfer Agents, States of Incorporation.
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