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. The 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 free
government "unclaimed
money websites". 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 go to the appropriate state's Office of Unclaimed
Property website using the links on this page.
Where To Find 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.
How To Begin 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.
If You Do Not Find Unclaimed Money Using Free Searches
If you did not find money using the free sites, you may wish to
consider a pay to search service such as those advertised on this website.
For various reasons, state and federal databases do not contain all
unclaimed money. The pay to search services, if chosen wisely, can
be very useful.
Links To Federal Databases
If you find a broken link on this page, please report it to: admin@nupn.com