There are many different types of assets that are classified as unclaimed funds.  These include, but are not limited to:

Unpresented cheques

Unpresented cheques occur when the owner has relocated, has misplaced the cheque or the cheque has simply been lost in the mail.  They may also occur due to being incorrectly addressed by the sender.

Unpresented cheques become stale approximately 12-18 months from the date of issue and can no longer be banked.

Dormant Bank Accounts

This can include accounts held with banks, credit unions and building societies. An account is declared dormant if it has not been accessed for a period of 7 years or more.