Six checkpoints from discovery to closeout
- 1. Discover potential surplusFind a specific public court, sheriff-sale, foreclosure, or tax-sale source with a defensible case or property reference and posted amount when available.
- 2. Verify where money is heldContact or check the official custodian, identify source dates, and trace any payment, transfer, redemption, offset, or distribution. A historical amount is not a current balance.
- 3. Verify the claimant and authorityReconcile the recorded parties, owner-at-sale, successor, heirs, trust, entity, probate records, and any competing claims. A matching name is not proof of entitlement.
- 4. Review state and county rulesConfirm claim windows, procedure, forms, priority, third-party limitations, attorney requirements, permitted fees, and any waiting periods from appropriate official sources.
- 5. Prepare a lawful request or claimAfter the required approvals, route documentation through the correct government or court process. A submitted public inquiry is not a filed legal claim.
- 6. Track disposition and close outConfirm decisions, distributions, denials or transfers through source-backed records. Do not mark a case recovered before documentary evidence supports that result.
Source found ≠ funds still held ≠ claimant entitled ≠ claim approved. Unknown facts stay pending.
Northmark separates tax-sale surplus, sheriff/court excess proceeds, and mortgage-foreclosure surplus. Some jurisdictions restrict third-party recovery assistance or require counsel.