Checklist of Assets Your Loved One Might Have Owned

Below is a sample list of potential assets to check into to find out what your deceased loved one may have owned:

• Safety Deposit Box(es)

• Real Estate

  • Family Home

  • Vacation Home(s) and/or Land

  • Time Share

  • Real Estate for investment purposes

  • Rental Property(ies)

  • Gas or Oil Leases

  • Burial Plots

• Cash

• Deposit Accounts:

  • Checking

  • Savings

  • Money Market Accounts

  • Certificates of Deposit

  • Bank Accounts

  • Credit Union Accounts

  • Security Deposits

• Investments:

  • Brokerage Accounts

  • Stock Certificates or Book Shares

  • Bonds

  • Margin Accounts

  • Mutual Funds

  • Annuities

  • Viaticals

• Retirement Interests:

  • IRAs

  • 401(k)s

  • SEPs

  • Annuities

  • Keogh Accounts

  • Profit Sharing Accounts

  • Tax Deferred Accounts

  • Pensions

• Business Interests:

  • Interest in a closely held corporation

  • Joint Ventures

  • Partnership Interests

  • Stocks and Interest in unincorporated business

• Possible vested benefits from employment:

  • Pension death benefit

  • Payment of accrued vacation or sick leave

  • Deferred compensation

  • Bonuses

  • Commissions

• Possible Refunds, such as a tax refund

• Insurance Policies

  • Life Insurance

  • Accidental Death 

• Capital Accumulation:

  • Deferred Salary Plan

  • Cash Bonus Plans

  • Deferred Profit Sharing Plans

  • Short-Term Deferred Income

  • Stock Bonus Plans

  • Stock Purchase Plans

  • Share Unit Plans

  • Stock Appreciation Rights

  • Stock Options

  • Phantom Stock

  • Incentive Growth Funds

• Money Owed to the Decedent

• Loans given to private persons (Notes receivable)

• Beneficial interest in an estate/trust

• Intellectual Property:

  • Patents

  • Copyrights

  • Trademarks

  • Royalties

  • Other intellectual property

• Personal Property:

  • Automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, campers and trailers, boats, planes, farming vehicles, snowmobiles, other recreational vehicles or other vehicles

  • Valuable equipment such as sporting equipment, restaurant equipment, tools, photographic equipment, or equipment related to other vocations and/or hobbies

  • Valuable musical instruments, artwork, heirlooms, jewelry, china, crystal, furs, antiques

  • Valuable Collections such as guns, art, wine, coins, stamps, books, etc.

  • Valuable animals such as pets and livestock

  • Furniture and furnishings

• Possible Unclaimed Property held by the State, such as the Treasurer of the State of Illinois

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