Billions of Dollars of Lost Money
Billions in Unclaimed Property and Unclaimed Money are held by State and Federal Agencies.
You'll Never Know Unless You Search!
Every day, someone loses some form of financial property because of a change of address, death, or just plain forgetfulness.What is Unclaimed Property?
Bank accounts, insurance payments, dividends, stocks, utility deposits or other intangible property sometimes become unclaimed assets because of a change of address. Often a company or government wasn't notified of the address change and was unable to locate the owner of the unclaimed property. As required by law, the unclaimed money is turned over to the state and added to the state databases. But it is still your money and the states want to find you.Do you have unclaimed money?
People receive letters every day from professionals offering to recover unclaimed property for a fee. Usually this is the first time the legal owner has heard about the property. Fees can be 30% or more. With our help you can turn this lost money into found money.Lost Life Insurance
An often overlooked form of lost money is lost life insurance policies. It is reported that twenty percent of life insurance policies become lost life insurance and are turned over to state unclaimed money departments. Often these life insurance polices become lost life insurance policies because the survivors never knew the policy existed.Real Estate is never included in the definition of Unclaimed Property as used by federal and state laws concerning "escheatment" or the disposition of abandoned property.
Have You Received A Letter Stating That You Have Unclaimed Money?
Many people receive letters stating they have unclaimed money belonging to them. The sender usually states in the letter that he or she will claim the lost money for a fee.Is this a scam? Possibly it is not. Chances are you have been contacted by a "heir finder". The heir finder is probably a finder company that specializes in searching out unclaimed assets to reunite with the owner. There is nothing wrong with that, as far as we know. The only problem is that the finder company will want their cut - up to about 30% or more of your unclaimed money.
State Unclaimed Money Links
Use the links we provide to find these free state unclaimed money databases. These government agencies are drawing interest on your money while they wait for you to find it!Federal Unclaimed Money Links
What about the federal government? Check the federal links such as FDIC, HUD, IRS, PBGC, Federal Treasury Hunt and others. In 2004 alone about $75 Million in IRS refund checks were returned to the IRS as undeliverable. The PBGC has unclaimed pension money and the FDIC is holding unclaimed insured deposits from bank failures. And the Bureau of Public Debt (The Treasury) has a search entitled "Federal Treasury Hunt "!How Much Unclaimed Property Is Out There?
Various estimates place the total amount of unclaimed money owned by Americans anywhere from "billions" to a trillion dollars. The State of Florida alone reports more than a billion dollars in unclaimed money that it holds for owners. Florida, like most states, offers free searches of unclaimed funds to owners. So does New York which holds about $6 BILLION in unclaimed money!Why Is All This Money Unclaimed?
Why is there so much property sitting in the states' unclaimed funds accounts? People simply don't know about it! Our mission is to save you hours of surfing the web to find your missing money.
Should you consider a "pay to search service"?
All of the government and some of the private databases we link you to are absolutely free. However, since not all missing money is yet listed in government databases, you may want to consider the "pay to search" services you will see advertised on this site. These services may have access to some missing money before it is published in state databases. This can be unclaimed money that you won't otherwise find.
How To Prevent your property from becoming Unclaimed Property:
- Keep a record of all bank and savings accounts. Indicate your interest in and awareness of all accounts by contacting the holder at least every five years.
- Record all stock certificates and be sure to cash all dividends received.
- Record all utility deposits, including telephone deposits.
- Respond in writing to any requests for confirmation of account balances with banks, stockbrokers and utility companies.
- Prepare a checklist of all accounts to be notified when you change your address. Share this list with a family member or trusted advisor.
- Notify your bank, broker, credit card issuers, employer, 401K administrator, life and health insurance contacts, mortgage lenders, doctors, attorney, accountant, retirement fund, investment accounts, mutual funds, safe deposit box account, and others of any name change or change of address.
- Notify your business contacts of your change of address when you move.
- Cash all checks promptly upon receipt.