MSNBC Says States Are Holding 42 Billion In Unclaimed Assets

[james.hendrickson]

Found a story from CNBC today which details the issue of lost assets.

Evidently, when a business or state agency owes you money, but can't find you to pay you, they turn it over to a state agency, which typically keeps a detailed list of who is owed.

Lost funds usually occur in situations like moving out of state without leaving a forwarding address, or poor estate planning resulting in lost accounts.

So the funds are usually things like:

Utility deposits
Tax payments
Savings bonds
Mortgage overpayments
Uncashed payroll checks
Gift cards
etc.

Since the lost property is handled at the state level, USA.gov has set up a site that helps you navigate to each state's respective claims department.

Here: https://www.usa.gov/unclaimed-money

Its a long shot that there are thousands of your dollars lying around, but it might be fun to run some searches if you've got a bit of extra time.

Source: CNBC

[GrimJack]

I found $75 from the 1990s; the site told me what state it was in and linked to the state's missing money site and I d/l-ed the form signed it in front of a notary (I had to get my ex to sign off on it too, then she had to endorse the check). The important part is that applying for the money was completely separate from the web-site that found it for me. I had to provide the state with proof that I lived at the address so it is not like you can scam them.

I also saw money under my name in states where I never lived!! I went to my credit union and had them run my credit for me to see if there was anything going on -- nope, and they said that mine was the second highest FICO score they ever ran.

[melissalt]

I haven't checked for unclaimed money for years, so this was a great reminder. I apparently have money owed to me from Paypal and Upromise, both under $100, but I'll take it, however much it is!

[bjl584]

I found around $800 about 10 years ago. The money was from an old job that I had. Apparently I was entitled to a week's worth of PTO time. It wasn't paid to me when I quit and somehow ended up in the hands of the State. I can't remember what led to me finding it, but over 5 years had passed since I left that old job till I received the money.