How to cancel lost check in LCR?

I know how to do this in MLS, but I cannot figure out how to do it in LCR. The member has lost a reimbursement paper check. I want to cancel the lost check and issue an ACH instead.

Thank you for the help!

Armando Ochoa

In LCR, select Finance > Expense from the menu and then select the Expenses Summary. Find the expense and click on the check number link. Just below the 'View Summary Report' button and just above the table at the bottom listing the categories and amounts there should be a Void Expense button. That's the button you need.

If that button doesn't appear then the status must be 'Cleared' and the check has already been deposited.

The only button available below the "View Summary Report" button is "Adjust Expense"; I don't see a "Void Expense" button. In the status of the check it says "Escheated", which I believe it means it has been cancelled already? If that is the case, why does it keep popping up in our monthly finance statements? The check was issued back in June 2019.
Thanks

An escheated check is one that has been outstanding for too long and the money has now been turned over to the government. At least in the US, every state has laws that say that any check that hasn't been cashed by a certain time after issuance is considered unclaimed and must be turned over to the state to be held until someone claims it. Since the money has been given to the state the check can't be cancelled anymore and you can't issue a new check or EFT for the expense. At this point you'll need to give the payee the contact information for the Global Service Center. The GSC will be able to provide them with information on how to claim their money.

Escheatment happens 180 days after the check was issued. Since it was issued in June the 180 days just recently passed. The check shouldn't show up on the next monthly statement.

This is why it's important to follow up with recipients on any check that's more than 30 days old and to make sure it's resolved by around 90 days. If it gets to 180 days it becomes a big hassle to get them their money. There is some additional information in the Help Center about escheatment.

armando8ag wrote:The only button available below the "View Summary Report" button is "Adjust Expense"; I don't see a "Void Expense" button. In the status of the check it says "Escheated", which I believe it means it has been cancelled already? If that is the case, why does it keep popping up in our monthly finance statements? The check was issued back in June 2019.
Thanks

After a check has been outstanding for 180 days or greater it is escheated. An escheated check funds are turned over to the state as unclaimed property. Each state has procedures to recover those funds. For more information see the Help Center article Outstanding Checks and Escheatment. That article will explain the procedures clerks should use to prevent checks from escheating.

For your escheated check the important information from the article is: "Those [escheated] checks cannot be voided and should not be reissued. If a check was escheated, the payee must contact Church headquarters to get the funds.

armando8ag wrote:why does it keep popping up in our monthly finance statements? The check was issued back in June 2019.

The check has been appearing in the Action Items section of your monthly unit financial statements for several months because you needed to take action before the check was 180 days old. This will be a point of discussion during your end-of-year audit. The auditor will ask if the bishop and the clerk have reviewed and signed each financial statement, especially the action items section, in a timely manner. The auditor will also ask if the bishop and the clerk know *how* to read and interpret the unit financial statement. If these actions are performed by every bishop and every clerk every month, no checks will ever reach the escheated status.

How do I get the check off the financials if is already escheated?

Once a check is escheated there is nothing you can do to remove it from your unit records. The funds are out of your control at this point.

kmosabee wrote:How do I get the check off the financials if is already escheated?

The only thing the unit can do now is contact church headquarters. The escheated funds have been handed over to the state as unclaimed property per state law (as I understand). The church can request them back and issue a new check to the member, but headquarters does that, not the local unit.

If you contact the financial department at church headquarters, they will give you guidance to get this resolved. When I helped a member of our ward a few years ago, he still had the check in his possession and the church asked me to tear off the signature block and mail the rest of the check to them - then they sent a replacement directly to the member. This was before direct-deposit reimbursements so the process may be different now.