Did you know that you may be owed money and may not evenknow it?
Unclaimed property, also known as abandoned property, ismoney held by companies or financial institutions that have not generated anyactivity or been claimed by their owner for over a year. Some of the mostcommon examples of unclaimed property are uncashed payroll checks, checking orsavings account proceeds, insurance payments or refunds, utility deposits, CDs,trust distributions, and contents of safe deposit boxes.
All states have unclaimed property laws and programs thatactively search for owners of lost or forgotten assets. State laws usuallyprevent property from reverting to a financial institution if you lose contactwith that institution. Under law, companies have to turn that money over to astate official, who will then attempt to find you or your heirs. States havecompiled databases of individuals owed money, as well as joined nationaldatabases such as MissingMoney.comand Unclaimed.org.
Searching either website or a state’s database of abandonedproperty is free, but some businesses find missing property and contact itsowner, promising to tell the individual how to claim the property for a fee.Some of these businesses are legitimate, but if you are contacted by a businessoffering to tell you how to claim your property, it’s best to contact yourstate’s unclaimed property office first.