Speaker 1: It may surprise you to know that there's billions of dollars in lost or forgotten money. Just sitting around, held by us state governments. We're talking about things like forgotten bank accounts or refund checks that didn't make it to the owner. And there are websites to help you see if any of that money is yours to claim
Speaker 1: The formal name for this is unclaimed property. And I was able to quickly find money for my [00:00:30] family. And within days checks were sent out, but every state is a little different unclaimed property includes a bunch of different types of assets that get held when a funny financial institution or a company doesn't have contact with the owner for a year or longer. Now, after a certain amount of time of not hearing from the owner, the property or the money becomes unclaimed. And by law, it must be turned over to the state. Now it could be uncashed payroll, dividend, or refund checks, [00:01:00] life insurance policies, stocks, or even actual physical property like coins and jewelry from a forgotten safety deposit box. There is an estimated $49 billion in unclaimed property each year. And only about $3 billion of that is returned. According to the national association of unclaimed property.
Speaker 1: Administrators it's believed that one 10 Americans are affected. Now folks are getting their money back. The state of Florida said last year, it paid out unclaimed [00:01:30] property worth 349 million. And it's free to find out if you have missing money. The easiest way is by going to unclaimed.org. Now that's the official national association of unclaimed property administrator's website. You're gonna click the big button that says conduct your free search. You'll be able to select your state, which will take you directly to that. State's unclaimed property website. Now every state search is a little different, but [00:02:00] if you search your name and your city, it's possible, nothing may come up. So try being more broad and just searching your name without a location. You may see results that include you and maybe a bunch of other people with your name. So you'll have to poke around. Now.
Speaker 1: The official Association's website does suggest trying two other websites. There's missing money.com and there's also find my funds.com. These let you search across multiple states at once. It doesn't always include every state, but [00:02:30] it's worth checking out. But once you find your name in order to claim your property, well, the steps are gonna vary depending on which state is holding it. But for the most part, you just need to prove your identity and your right to the item. You don't need to still live in the state to claim it. States also allow you to claim property of a deceased relative. Oh, and the time it takes to get the property can vary. The California state controller says simple claims involving cash can be resolved [00:03:00] in one or two months. New York state says it usually pays within two weeks. Claims for deceased. People can take longer and that's it. Hopefully you will find what you never knew. You were missing. Good luck.
