More than $358,000 still available for return to former owners or heirs
Fort Wayne, Ind. – In less than four years, Allen Superior Court’s Mortgage Foreclosure Surplus Program has returned more than $3 million in surplus Sherriff’s Sale funds to former property owners who lost homes to foreclosure, or to their heirs.
In July 2021, Superior Court launched a project to return Sheriff’s Sale surpluses. A surplus represents the difference between the amount owed to the financial institution that foreclosed on a property and the amount the property sold for at Sheriff’s Sale.
Recently, the total returned by the Mortgage Foreclosure Surplus Program surpassed $3 million, a figure that currently stands at $3,038,928.
“This program began as an idea from a member of our staff who works on foreclosure cases every day, and it has succeeded beyond our wildest hopes,” said Judge Jennifer DeGroote, Administrative Judge in Allen Superior Court’s Civil Division. “Many people who went through foreclosures while housing values were at their peak assumed they had lost everything and were not even aware of these surplus funds. In some cases, this money can be enough to help people get a fresh start.”
So far, Superior Court has returned funds in 121 foreclosure cases. Amounts returned to former property owners or their heirs ranged from less than $200 to more than $169,000, for an average of nearly $28,000 per case.
In most circumstances, surplus funds from a Sheriff’s Sale are held by the Clerk of the Courts until claimed. A court order is needed to claim these funds. If the money remains unclaimed, it can be turned over to the Indiana Attorney General’s Unclaimed Property Division after five years.
As successful as efforts to return surpluses have been, more money remains to be claimed. Currently, Superior Court is looking for the rightful recipients of funds held in 70 foreclosure cases with surpluses totaling nearly $359,000. Individual surpluses range from $36 to more than $22,000.
Superior Court continues to actively reach out to those with a claim on surplus funds. In addition to sending letters to those named in the foreclosure cases, the following outreach efforts remain in place:
- A list of foreclosure cases with surplus funds has been posted online at www.allensuperiorcourt.us/foreclosure. The list includes case numbers, the amount of surplus funds being held and other information.
- Individuals’ names are not posted on the web page. Anyone with a past foreclosure case, or their heirs, can check the list for their case number. If they do not have that case number, it can be obtained by visiting mycase.in.gov and searching by name.
- A designated email address, [email protected] has been established to answer questions. Claims on a foreclosure surplus cannot be filed via the email address.
- If someone believes they have a claim on a specific Sheriff’s Sale surplus, they should submit a letter to the Allen County Clerk of the Courts, establishing their claim on the funds. That letter must contain the original foreclosure case number. Letters should be sent to the Allen County Clerk of the Courts, 715 S. Calhoun St., Room 200A, Fort Wayne, IN 46802.
Claims submitted on surplus foreclosure funds may result in a court hearing.