Throughout the United States, people are discovering lost stashes of money they didn’t know existed.
It’s actually from the government- money in the form of unclaimed money and property. The latest estimates have been $40 Billion dollars nationwide.
For years, talkshows have featured episodes entirely on unclaimed money. NBC’s Katie Couric recently reported in the Today Show, there were billions of dollars in lost assets with the US government including $62 million in uncashed refund checks held by the IRS. Oprah noted 7 out of 10 Americans may be due a claim.
When people move or get a new job, get married or pass-away, they tend to lose track of financial assets like bank accounts, tax returns, checks, stocks, bonds, etc. These assets are turned over to the state as required by escheat rules which state that (according to Wikipedia) “when an entity (such as a bank) holds money or property (such as an account in that bank) and the property goes unclaimed. In an effort to locate rightful owners of money owed, the Unclaimed Property Division in the states’ Treasury Departments have outreach programs, but only a small fraction of unclaimed money they are suppose to return is successfully reunited with its rightful owners. This is due to a lack of manpower and no centralized government unclaimed property database.
State Treasurers urge all residents to check if their names are on the list of unclaimed property owners. These are published annually in government websites, newspapers and public places like state fairs. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Demi Moore, even New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg were on lists of people who were owed unclaimed property or money. With millions added every year to the unclaimed money fund, American citizens are encouraged to conduct an unclaimed property search in every state they have ever lived or worked.
The process of searching for unclaimed property and unclaimed money databases can be as simple as entering one’s name in a search box. If the results show that you are on the list, an on-line claim form is usually available online to verify you are indeed the rightful owner.
WARNING: Many unclaimed money sites entice you with supposed “free” searches, and if a match is made will request payment to access the database. Unclaimed money expert Russ Johnson, of UnclaimedMoney.net does not charge on a per search basis and offers lifetime access. Russ says “say goodbye to those blood sucking unclaimed money websites! Utilize lifetime access sites and never pay for access again.
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