Frank A. Cusumano, Jr. is a licensed attorney in the State of Michigan. Attorney Cusumano has appeared on television in numerous newspaper articles and has throughout his career successfully fought for the "little people."

Attorney Frank Cusumano, Jr. is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Campus, with degrees in Political Science and Philosophy, and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Detroit Mercy Law School. Cusumano is also an active member of the Catholic Lawyers Association, and has been and active member and lector at SS Peter & Paul Jesuit Church, Detroit for the past 20 years.

Cusumano's State Bar of Michigan license number is P42781. You can verify this information by checking the State Bar of Michigan web site. This is the organization in charge of licensing attorneys in the State of Michigan. The link to verify license to practice law is: http://www.michbar.org/memberdirectory/detail.cfm?ID=42738219%2D4104%2D79%2DDETAIL.

HOW WE CAN HELP AND FAQS.

How can it be that the average Michigan citizen struggles to pay bills and the government is holding amounts of money owed to them? It is simple, the bureaucrats don't benefit from finding you, and most average people, even if they do find that they are owed funds, are too busy to jump through all the forms, affidavits, and other hoops the bureaucrats require.

How did we find you? Our firm obtains personal information including your name, address, social security number, etc. through public records and records directly associated with your funds.

How did you obtain my personal information? We have access to various proprietary databases that are not available to the public. This allows us to obtain and review reports that contain personal information. We follow a strict privacy policy to ensure that your personal information is secure.

How did my property or money become unclaimed? Payments are often "lost" due to outdated, inaccurate, or incomplete mailing addresses. Name changes because of marriage, remarriage, or divorce are also common causes of lost payments. Often, holders of Unclaimed Property are not motivated to locate owners. The "due diligence" requirements for notifying owners are often lax. Holders benefit from keeping your property, they earn interest off your money.

How do I begin recovering my property? To begin the recovery process, you must sign and return the Contingency Fee Agreement and limited power of attorney form that we have sent you or come to our office to execute these documents. This provides us with the permission and authority to assist you in the recovery of your funds.

Why must I provide documentation containing personal information? The agencies that are holding your property require that you submit various forms of documentation, containing personal information, in addition to the claim form. This is STANDARD PRACTICE and the documentation is necessary. It ensures that you are in fact the true owner or heir and that you are entitled to recover the funds. Types of identification and documentation commonly requested to verify ownership ("prove entitlement") often include Often required are copies of: Drivers' licenses Marriage certificates Social Security Cards Passports Death certificates Birth certificates Utility bills Social Security Number This is the number one identifier that is used to prove entitlement. There continues to be quite a bit of controversy regarding the use of Social Security numbers as identification. Unfortunately, most holders require this proof of ID because, IT IS UNIQUE TO THE OWNER, and it is needed to distinguish between people who have identical names. In the case of businesses, the FEIN number is used.

Why we are sensitive to our client's privacy concerns.
We are sensitive to your privacy concerns.  Even though I am an attorney, I am able to have access to most if not all the information needed, I am senstive to the concerns of my clients.  Some governmental agencies are now requiring only the last four digits of the social security number. As a law office, we are extremely cautious about our client's personal data, and will make sure that all sensitive identification specific information is made non-public. Therefore, we request the full social security number ONLY when it is requested in writing by the governmantal entity. While it might seem intrusive for holders to require this personal information, it is for your own protection that they do so. Requiring proper documentation, that contains personally identifiable information, is necessary to prevent mistakes (releasing property to the wrong person) as well as fraud. Finally, unlike other asset recovery services, your personal information is safe at a licensed attorney's office. You are dealing with a Michigan Attorney, and the small percentage fee charged ONLY after we recover your money, is small compared to hiring an atorney on an hourly basis. 

Why must I sign a Contingency Agreement and limited power of attorney form and what does it authorize the Law Office to do? The Contingency Fee Agreement is the contract by which you hire us to represent you.  It is clear and straight forward, you only owe us a small percentage if we recover the property or funds for you.  The limited power of attorney is a necessary part of the recovery process. It is a standardized form that we are required by law to provide. It protects you (the claimant) and us (the claimant's representative). It describes fully the terms of our agreement and the specific fee. It is "LIMITED" in scope, in that it applies to this "ONE TRANSACTION ONLY". By signing it, you DO NOT confer or imply any other legal rights to us, other than giving us the right to assist you with the filing of the claim for the specific unclaimed property account(s) listed in the agreement.

Is there any risk associated with letting you assist me? There is absolutely NO RISK involved. WE ONLY GET PAID WHEN YOU GET PAID. If for some reason you are unable to recover your property, YOU OWE US NOTHING. We only earn and collect our fee when we are successful on behalf of our clients. There are never any out-of-pocket expenses on your part. Our fee is based solely upon a percentage of the recovered property and our fee will be deducted from the proceeds of your recovered property. The percentage we receive and the amount you will recover are clearly stated in the recovery agreement.

What types of property become unclaimed? Savings accounts Insurance benefits/policies Bonds Un-cashed checks Rental security deposits Checking accounts CD's, trust funds, stocks Dividends Estate proceeds Un-redeemed gift certificates Safety deposit box contents Mutual funds Mortgage insurance refunds Telephone/Utility deposits Wages, escrow accounts, etc.

Is there a time limit for recovering my property? Whether or not there is a time limit depends upon where your funds originated. Even if there is no time limit it is better to act promptly because you are losing interest when you are not in control of your money. Why let the agencies that are holding it derive the benefit from it? The sooner you reclaim what is rightfully yours, the better.

How long will it take until I receive my property? It generally takes between 60-90 days once a completed claim has been received. It can take longer, depending upon the complexity of the claim.

The name on the unclaimed property account is my parent who is deceased, am I entitled to recover the property? If you are the legal heir of the unclaimed property then you are entitled to recover it.

Why should I pay ARSM to assist me? There are many things in life that we can do ourselves for free. For example, we can file our own tax returns, teach your children at home, change the oil in our own car, administer your own health care and remedies, or even defend ourselves in court if we really want to. Sometimes however, it pays for us to have others to perform a service for us. Reasons for this are: they possess knowledge that we do not have; they have more experience than we do; or it is simply more convenient (they save us time and effort). In this instance, just because you can file a claim on your own behalf does not mean you should. While you have many concerns and obligations in your daily life, OUR BUSINESS is asset recovery. Instead of spending your valuable time and money on calls and letter writing in an effort to track down your property, instead of trying to find the correct contact people, instead of trying to become familiar with the filing requirements, and instead of learning how to prepare and submit the proper documents, we offers a simpler more efficient solution. Our paralegals and Frank Cusumano, Jr. use their knowledge and experience to help you recover your funds sooner. Additionally, should there be a problem, Attorney Cusumano is there to aggressively resolve any legal issues should they arise. Finally yet importantly, would you have even known you were owed money unless we notified you? It took time, effort, and money for us to locate you and inform you about your unclaimed funds. We would genuinely appreciate your business for our efforts. Some additional reasons that we feel you should utilize our service:

1. We have personal contacts within many of the agencies that will be processing your claim;
2. We are experts at knowing what forms need to be submitted in order to file a successful claim;
3. We can advise you on how and where to obtain various types of documents that might be required to "prove entitlement;"
4. We can advise you and assist you in completing various forms, so that they will be completed accurately, and your claim will be processed as expeditiously as possible;
5. We have the capability to check on the progress of your claim once it has been filed;
6. We will help you file your claim SAFELY and SECURELY. We are a law office and as such we understand the sensitivity of the personal information you must provide in order to file a claim; and
7. We adhere to the strict ethical rules, processes and procedures. We treat our clients honestly and fairly and expect the same in return

Finally, there is absolutely NO RISK involved, no surprises. WE ONLY GET PAID WHEN YOU GET PAID.

copyright Frank A. Cusumano, Jr. 2009 All rights reserved.

Why is Asset Recovery part of your practice?
It has been estimated that 9 out of 10 Americans are owed money or property which they simply lost track. The total amount is stagerring, over $10 billion dollars by one estimate. Yes, that is 10 "billion" with a "B." I find this shocking and outrageous.

Continually licensed since November 1989, in the Michigan State and Federal Courts, I operate a limited law practice and run a small family business. While collecting monies due on separate business matter, I noted an unclaimed fund in my name on a State of Michigan Treasurer web site. Further research showed hundreds of such funds at various governmental agencies in other persons and corporate names.

Let's just face it, as litigation, Court ordered receivership, or class action litigation drags on, sometimes years, people and companies move and change. When a check, letter or settlement draft is returned as undeliverable, an attorney, Trustee, Receiver, or other professional just doesn't earn one extra dime in locating the intended recipient of the returned funds. Perhaps early on there is returned mail, and the machinery, intended or unintended, starts to bury the funds.

Furthermore, state and government entities aggressively pursue businesses and banks to "escheat" the money to the them quickly and provide harsh penalties if they fail to turn the money or property over. The banks and financial institutions simply mail them a check with a form, and that is it. In some cases, it is simply easier to make the person holding "unclaimed funds" turn the matter over to the governmental entity and close the file. The Courts or Government Agency also wants to close the file. Many "unclaimed fund" recipients charge off the account, assuming that there was no recovery. The Court signs the order and the money, your money, in entombed. The funds are dead and locked away in a government account, never to see the light of day, let alone returned to their rightful owners.

The legal service I developed to resurrect these lost funds is called "Asset Recovery System of Michigan" or ARSM for short. I have a started a limited practice of collecting "in volume" these relatively small amounts of monies from governmental agencies, State Treasurers, and Court Clerks on a contingency fee basis. Sometimes the amounts are several dollars and sometimes they are several thousand dollars. I have developed computerized search methods to identify and collect these monies for their rightful owners.

As this practice grows I will be adding specially trained staff to identify and claim these funds for their rightful owners. Additionally, documentation sometimes can be onerous to assemble and present in quasi-judicial and in many instances, judicial proceedings to release the funds. Usually the funds are deposited with the governmental agency or escheats to the State due to a typographical error in the name, a change of address, or transposition of words in the entities' name.

Many times the unclaimed funds are in the name of a predecessor corporate entity. Sometimes the rightful owner is deceased. My office determines the rightful claimant and files the claim for the release of the funds (if seeking the release from a Court Clerk) in mass on a single filing/hearing date.
All collection of these "discovered" funds are on a contingency fee basis. There is no fee unless I collect monies rightfully due. If there are multiple claims by a corporate entity, they are combined before disbursement. A percentage of 20% to 33% is taken depending on the total value of the paid claim. It is anticipated that financial institutions, consumer finance companies, and individual creditors can all benefit from this legal service. Costs are minimal copy and postage and set in the fee agreement. No surprises.

While many sums are small, there are literally hundreds of thousands of such unclaimed fund errors and omissions nationwide, with tens of millions of dollars (perhaps hundreds of millions) being held in perpetuity by these governmental agencies across the country by local, state and federal entities and various Clerks of the Court. Many unclaimed funds are decades old.

It is the humble opinion of this businessman-lawyer that the people and corporations need the monies in the current economy, not the government. I can be reached at getunclaimedfunds@gmail.com or my registered State Bar of Michigan email address frankcusumano@msn.com, to schedule an appointment and discuss this matter further.