Dissolved, merged and renamed companies

Updated November 8, 2026

Holders report property under the name and address they had on file, which is often years old. If your company has changed since then, the claim has to connect the name on the record to the business that exists today.

Renamed companies

If the company changed its legal name, the claim shows the record's name, today's name, and a filing that links the two, such as an amendment filed with the California Secretary of State. A DBA (fictitious business name) is linked the same way, with the filing that shows the DBA belonged to the company.

Merged or acquired companies

When one company merges into another, property reported in the old company's name is usually claimed by the surviving company. The package traces the chain: the merger or acquisition documents, and the authority of the person signing for the survivor. Where there were several steps, each one is documented.

Dissolved companies

A dissolved company's property does not simply disappear. Who can claim it depends on how the company was wound up: for example, whether assets passed to shareholders or members, or to another entity. These claims need the dissolution records and proof of who is entitled to the company's remaining assets. They take more paper than an ordinary claim, which is exactly the work we take on.

Old addresses

The Controller asks for proof that the company was at the address the holder reported. Old leases, invoices, bank statements, tax returns or Statement of Information filings can show it. Tell us every address the company has used; we match them to the records.

Why this matters

Many of the records in the Controller's file sit under names and addresses that no longer match a current business, which is one reason so much business property stays unclaimed. 8,636 of the 20,456 business-type owners in our analysis have two or more records, often reported by different holders in different years.