Collect Your Unclaimed Money

By Stephen Bucaro

According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, state and federal agencies are holding more than $1 trillion in unclaimed money, stocks and bonds, jewelry, and other valuables. About one in four citizens has unclaimed property languishing in a state or federal vault.

Unclaimed property includes anything that can’t be turned over to its rightful owner because that person can’t be located. A person can become unlocatable after they moved, or a women may have changed her name.

Unclaimed property may be:

 Savings accounts
 Safe-deposit boxes
 Stock certificates
 Deeds to property
 Paychecks
 Public utility deposits
 Apartment security deposits
 Retirement account
 Life insurance proceeds

Sometimes a person leaves unclaimed property because they just forgot about it. Old people forget about bank accounts and safe deposit boxes. When they die, their heirs don’t know the property ever existed.

Most states require that after holding unclaimed property for five years, it must be turned over to the state. The states are then required to safeguard that property "unto perpetuality". However, most states actually auction the property off and hold the proceeds for possible claimants.

Every state has an unclaimed property office that maintains a list of the unclaimed property that it is holding. It's now easier than ever to locate unclaimed property because these lists have been put into searchable databases on the Web.

If you think a passed relative may have forgotten about some property, go to your favorite search engine and search for "unclaimed property" + state. Check databases in every state where you or your relatives may have lived or worked. Be sure to search for maiden names, all variations possible, and misspellings of your relatives name.

You should search these databases yearly because unclaimed property is continually being turned over. Be wary of the many unclaimed property scams. The scammers require a credit card number before permitting you to search, then they give you the same information you would receive from a government site for free.

National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators is a free national search site maintained by the state officials who are charged with the responsibility of reuniting owners with their unclaimed property.

The Treasury Department reports that more than $8 billion worth savings bonds have matured but have not been cashed. Also, thousands of savings bonds and interest payments are returned to the department as undeliverable every year. Visit Treasury Hunt to see if any of these bonds or payments are owed to you.