Q: My uncle passed away in 2013. He had no will and was insolvent at the time of his death. He has one sister still

A: These companies will ask for as many relatives as possible to get a fee to help them get the money. Most likely if he wasn't married and did not have any children and his parents are no longer alive, it would go to his sister under Florida Law. His sister may be able to apply for the found money herself or with the assistance of her attorney without paying the fee these companies want. Google found money or missing money and get links for the various states that post information, Florida being one of them.

A: She should speak with a probate attorney to represent her in the probate proceedings. The court will need to determine the beneficiaries are so she will need to disclose any living close relatives.

A: A probate case needn't be filed if the uncle left no property (other than the possible "found money").

A: This is a scheme these companies use to get a percentage of money and refund that have been turned over to the state. Things like deposits and other things that may qualify based on how much time has passed, the type of asset and so forth, at some point they turn it over to the state. Instead of paying these people you can look on the state sites yourself and see if anything shows up in the various states where your uncle lived. There could be bank accounts, life insurance or other assets of some type. If money is discovered you may be able to apply for it or if it is a lot you may want to consider trying to do a probate. In most instances you are talking about a few hundred dollars, but at times it can be substantially more that has been turned over to the state.