Where To Find Unclaimed Money and Unclaimed Property
Unclaimed money and other intangible
personal property held by corporations and others must, by law, be turned
over to the appropriate state governments. This is done to protect the
rights of owners of this unclaimed property. These state governments normally
keep such funds in interest bearing accounts until it is claimed by the
owner or heirs. Fortunately, in recent years, political pressure has induced
almost all of these government agencies to become "proactive"
in returning this money to the rightful owners. Thus were born the government "unclaimed
money sites". We show you how to find these sites.
Some examples of unclaimed money are: utility
deposits, lost tax refunds, stocks, bank accounts, unclaimed life insurance
pay outs, the contents of safety deposit boxes, and even gift certificates
that were unused.
To search for state unclaimed money,
you'll need to get in touch with the appropriate state's Office of Unclaimed
Property using the links on this page.
Federal Unclaimed Money
The United States Federal Government
also has web site searches available for unclaimed money such
as unclaimed tax refunds, VA benefits, US Savings Bonds, FDIC
insurance claims and more. To search for these you need to go to
our FEDERAL page.
Searching For Lost Money
Begin your search in the state where you live or the state where your recently moved from. Search under your name and any previous names, such as a maiden name, if applicable. You should start with a broad search using just the last name (not possible in some states). If you get a large number of "hits", refine your search by adding your first initial and possibly your full first name. You can also try your middle initial. The reason for this is to make sure you find any listings that might be under last name only, last name and initial only, and or any listing with misspelled first or middle names (which could be the reason you never received the lost money). Also check for common misspellings of the last name.
The next step is to search unclaimed property records in other states you have lived in and states where your ancestors have lived. Don't limit yourself however, a company holding unclaimed money will, when required by law, turn the unclaimed property over to the state in which it is incorporated, in most cases.
Move on to federal records after searching state records. Many IRS refund checks are undelivered each year due to illegible or incorrect addresses. Do you have US Savings Bonds that are no longer drawing interest? Use the federal links to check them out. Did you ever work for a company whose pension fund was taken over by the federal government or have a bank account in a bank that went bust? These are also reasons to go looking in the federal unclaimed property links.
Finally, remember that you can search for family members and friends. If you find their name, send them to the site to file their own claim. And very importantly, remember that you can claim lost money or lost property that belonged to someone of whom you may be an heir.
If you get lucky, the state office will ask you to provide evidence that you are the rightful owner of the unclaimed property. What you'll need as evidence will be different in each state, but documents such as a death certificate, your own birth certificate, tax records and a will might be needed. Good luck with your search for unclaimed money.
