How to Find Out if You Have Unclaimed Money or Property

Introduction

Have you ever put on an old jacket or a pair of pants that you haven’t worn in a long time and discovered a $10 or $20 bill in the pocket? Do you remember how happy you were to find that “lost” money? Well, there could be a stash of hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of unclaimed property rightfully yours, waiting for you to claim it.

On a national level, there are billions of dollars in unclaimed property. The Internal Revenue Service estimated in 2020 that $1.5 billion in tax refunds went unclaimed for the year 2016 alone. You might think it unlikely that you are one of the lucky ones with unclaimed property or money waiting for them, but it is estimated that one in ten Americans has unclaimed property.

What is Abandoned or Unclaimed Property?

The most common types of unclaimed property or money include:

• Uncashed payroll checks, traveler’s checks, or money orders
• Forgotten savings and checking accounts
• Unused gift certificates
• Unclaimed insurance policies
• Income tax refunds
• Security deposits or utility deposits
• Unclaimed wages or commissions
• Inheritance
• Stocks and bonds
• Credit balances
• Forgotten layaway accounts
• Safety deposit boxes
• Retirement benefits
• Military benefits
• Mortgage insurance refunds

How Does Money Go Unclaimed?

Generally, property becomes “lost” or “abandoned” when someone changes their address or name – due to marriage or divorce – or when someone passes away and their family or heirs are unaware of a certain investment or bank account or other sources holding the money.

Where Do These Funds or Properties Exist?

When funds or property go unclaimed for three to five years, the company or organization holding the money must report it to the state where the last known owner’s address is – known as escheatment. The state holds it until the rightful owner comes forward to claim it. Some states have been holding funds or properties since the 19th century.

How Can You Know If You Have Unclaimed Money?

Most states have a website that tells you how to find out if you have unclaimed money in that state. A good place to start may be to search the government site, or the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators by state (NAUPA), or in the multi-state database.

NAUPA provides excellent advice on how to deal with letters from “finders” offering to help you claim unclaimed funds for a fee. Once you visit the above site, you can click on “About Finders” to learn more about these practices.

About half of the states have online databases where you can check if the state is holding unclaimed funds or properties in your name. Some websites allow you to search for unclaimed funds or properties for free. However, you will also see services that do the searching for you for a fee – usually a percentage of what they find – and you are not required to use them.

In states that participate in this service, links to unclaimed funds or property sites for each state are provided – including those that don’t participate in this database. So, at the very least, you can get contact information. When searching, try using all possible variations of your name, including previous last names or married names, middle names, initials, nicknames, and common misspellings. Search in the states where you or your family members lived over the years. In some cases, you may even be able to claim funds owed to heirs.

If
I lived in a state that did not have an online searchable database for unclaimed money or property, so I am writing a message to the address provided on that state’s website for unclaimed money or property to request a search on my behalf. Please include my full name, address, Social Security number, and contact information.

Sources

The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts in our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and maintain the accuracy, reliability, and quality of our content.

Internal Revenue Service. “$1.5 Billion in Unclaimed Tax Refunds Awaiting 2016; Taxpayers Faced with Deadline of July 15.”

National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. “What is Unclaimed Property?”

Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/get-unclaimed-money-or-property-you-re-entitled-to-1289305