How To Find Lost Money
In this article I want to show you how to find lost money and give you the steps required to recover it.
It’s unfortunate that many people think unclaimed property and lost money is some sort of myth. This could not be further from the truth. In fact, there are many laws in place to protect consumers and families from losing money that is owed to them by businesses, insurance companies and government entities. These laws are in place to keep companies and government entities from pocketing the consumer’s money in the event they cannot find the rightful owner or heir of the unclaimed money.
It’s very likely that you have lost money waiting for you.
If you have family, you probably have some sort of unclaimed money waiting for you or one of your family members. It’s as simple as that. Bank accounts get lost, insurance policies go unclaimed, family members pass away leaving abandoned assets, refunds and reimbursement are forgotten about. These are just a few of the ways tangible and intangible property becomes unclaimed.
So, how do you find this lost money?
Simple, each state has its own unclaimed property laws and its own unclaimed property headquarters. Locating the one for your state is as simple as visiting UnclaimedPropertySearch.org. After you have located your state’s unclaimed property website you will simply perform a search for your name in the designated search box. The results should populate right away letting you know if you are owed anything. It’s also a good idea to run other family members names through the data base to check to see if anything is owed to them as well. Last but not least, run deceased family members names through the data base too as you may be able to collect on their unclaimed property.
I have unclaimed property, now what?
If you do find you have some lost money in the data base the government will have specific step by step instructions on how to inquire and collect that unclaimed money. Since every state handles claims a little differently it’s impossible for me to list exact instructions here. Typically, you will simply fill out a form and send it in with the unclaimed property docket number that was attached to your name in the search results. However, be sure to follow the exact step by step instructions your state gives you as they may require additional information or documentation to prove the property is in fact yours to claim.
