There's almost $33 billion in unclaimed
money from old payroll checks, utility
refunds, trust distributions, stocks,
banking or checking accounts, lost
riches and assets, certificates of
deposit and the contents of safe
deposit boxes, according to estimates
by the National Association of
Unclaimed Property Administrators.
How much of it belongs to you? There
are literally tens of billions in
unrequested money across the country in
every state. As each state unclaimed
wealth offices take in more than they dole
out, have you ever wondered, how much of it
belongs to you?
According to reliable sources, within the
United States alone, billions of dollars of
unrequested unclaimed money and property is
collecting dust in state Abandoned Property
offices. If all accounts combined to
include the funds held world wide by
similar organizations in other countries,
the sum of unrequested unclaimed money and
property could exceed $500 billion
dollars.
Anything you're supposed to keep for 30
years is bound to slip your mind. Isn't it
nice that someone else is keeping track of
it for you, even though they don't have the
most accurate of tracking systems?
The National Association of Unclaimed
Property Administrators is an organization
that represents the Unclaimed Money Bureau
of each State and tries their best to
protect and help Americans find their
missing money from lost assets. They are
not Heir Locator or Money Finder's as they
are sometimes called.
Money Finder's are paid professional
finders. Someone who is in the
business of trying to find and assist the
owners of unclaimed funds. In most States,
if you do choose to use a finder, a full
disclosure contract must be signed between
the finder and the owner and must specify
where the money is, what the money
represents, the amount of the funds, the
finder's fee (no more than X%, as provided
by that State's statute), and how much the
owner receives after the fee.
Every day, for various reasons, People move
away and do not update their address, they
lose track of some of their investments,
they die without a will, and who knows why
else...but, they leave money in banks, in
utility accounts, security deposits, and
many number of other ways. Some of these
monetary items end up in the state's
possessions after they are declared
abandoned by the organization or loan
company that held them.
These forgotten bank accounts, un-cashed
stock dividends, insurance payments, safe
deposit box contents, utility deposits,
travelers checks, money orders and other
financial instruments are turned over to
the state's Treasurer's Escheats,
Comptroller's, or Revenue office who then
try to track down the owners and return the
money.
By the amount of unrequested and unclaimed
money and property on record, it appears
these state offices are under staffed and
fail badly in locating the owner's of the
unclaimed money and property. All 50 states
have a Treasury Office and forgotten assets
or some similarly named division. This is
the office responsible for maintaining the
unclaimed money and property and handling
claims for it.
Some states have limitations on how long
they keep left behind wealth before turning
it over to state coffers; however they must
keep it until the owner is found. Some
states even pay interest on the money if
the property was originally an interest
bearing instrument. You must check with
your individual state and find out what
their procedures are.
If you speculate you may have unclaimed
money and property held by your state, you
should seek out the correct state agency to
find out whether your name, or in the case
it is the estate of a deceased individual,
their name is on the list. Each state
maintains a publicly available list of left
behind assets holdings. If you or the
person you represent is on the list your
next step is to file a claim and return the
form with the necessary certification or
proof of ownership.
Requirements for proving ownership vary
from state to state, based on the amount of
the claim and other factors. Acceptable
identification many include copies of
driver's licenses, receipts, social
security cards and numbers, bank account
numbers, savings passbooks, checking
account and bank statements, or other
notarized documents.
It has been theorized that ten percent of
the U.S. population is owned money from
left behind wealth and unclaimed money and
property treasury office coffers. The state
departments do not have the resources to
investigate every case; therefore much of
it goes unclaimed. There are professional
finders, or heir searchers who locate the
owners of unclaimed money and property and
charge a fee or commission in exchange.
Private Detective's of unclaimed money and
property generally limit their activity to
large estate findings. Be careful if you
enlist a Heir Locator's to locate your
potential unclaimed money and property.
Unclaimed money can be easily obtained once
you know how and where to look. Take a
gander at the amounts these states are
holding:
-
The state of Colorado is home to
more than $50 million in unclaimed
money.
-
Alabama's unclaimed money rolls
have swelled to nearly $400
million
this year.
-
The KY State Treasurer is now
holding more than $150 million in
unclaimed property
-
Residents of Hawaii stand to share
$130 million in unclaimed
money.
Ohio is one of the few states to be
home to more than a billion dollars
in unclaimed assets.
-
Nevada is currently holding over
$200 million that belongs to the
citizens who just need to step
forward and claim it.
-
North Carolina's unclaimed money
now stands at a record $700
million.
The state of Pennsylvania is
currently holding over $1 billion
of the citizens money.
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