Housing ReliefHave you ever heard of stories where people receive considerable checks in the mail? If so, you probably thought it was a hoax, but it can be true in some cases.
Unclaimed property is a real thing, and it relates to 10 percent of the population. Why would someone allow property to sit there unclaimed? Let’s take a look at how it works, which we’ll follow up with some tips on how to see if you have any funds that are waiting to be claimed.
How Unclaimed Property Works
Unclaimed property comes in various forms, such as:
- Tax refunds
- Dividend checks
- Utility deposits
- Money orders
- Gift certificates
- Credit balances
- Customer refunds
- Payroll checks
- Stocks
- Bonds
- Mutual funds
- Contents of safe deposit boxes
- Military medals
- Escrow accounts
- Old bank accounts
- Retirement benefits
- Life insurance policies
- And more
Such property can be in your name or come from a deceased family member. As for why it would be unclaimed, the reasons are numerous. For instance, you may have forgotten about a work check or didn’t cash it. You may have received a refund, but forgot to claim it. Or a relative may have passed, leaving you some property, but it was never properly distributed.
Regardless of the property, each state has an unclaimed property division that aims to return it to its rightful owner. Someone may have tried to contact you to achieve this goal, but you may have been impossible to reach due to moving, changing your phone number, etc.
If a specific amount of time (usually 1-3 years) passes where you cannot be contacted, that property gets labeled as unclaimed or abandoned. It then gets turned over to the state. How do states finally turn it over to you and other rightful owners? By setting up websites that allow you to search for unclaimed money and ultimately claim it.
With that out of the way, let’s look at how you can claim your lost money via two very easy to use websites.
Missing Money
As its name suggests, Missing Money is a website that allows you to pinpoint lost funds. Think of this as a national search for unclaimed money that lets you save time.
Why would a national search be advantageous? Because you could have unclaimed property in various states that you either lived or did business in. If that’s the case, Missing Money can locate them without having to do several searches separately on state sites.
To get started, just enter a name. You’ll then see results listing the amount due, who the property is from, and more, plus how to claim it.
National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators
As mentioned, unclaimed money goes to the state. To find it, you can also go to the individual state website and do your search there.
You can find your state’s site by going here and clicking on the map. Once at the state’s website, follow the directions to perform your search and claim any property you may have.
