Your Country Could Owe You Hundreds Of Dollars On How To Figure It Out

When a friend said he had found $200 of unclaimed property in his state, I had to make sure the state had the money or property I could claim. I wasn’t lucky, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be lucky. The state has $49 billion in unclaimed property, of which only $3 billion has been claimed.

According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Managers, unclaimed property is a significant loss in states where 1 in 10 Americans own unclaimed property. My state (California) alone has $11.2 billion in income, waiting for someone to claim it.

The good news is that it’s easy to tell whether the state owns your unclaimed property. You can quickly search for free and then start the process of claiming money.

Read on to learn how to find and claim unclaimed property. Learn more about how to get started with Doritos and how to stop receiving junk mail.

How do I find unclaimed property in my state?

You can use NAUPA’s search tool to see if the state has the property for you. A geographic map of the United States provides links to websites by state for unclaimed property. It also includes links to real estate search tools in Washington DC, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and select Canadian provinces. Check all states, territories, or regions in which you lived to see if you may have a claim.

Searching for unclaimed property is free.

In most cases, you will be taken to a page where you can directly search for unclaimed property. In other cases, you may need to click on the home page to the Search Unclaimed Property page.

Adding a first name, location, or address will help narrow your search, but generally you will need to provide a last name to search for a property.

Two other free services, MissingMoney.com and FindMyMoney, offer built-in searches on their websites, but not all states. MissingMoney.com lets you search in 41 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Alberta and Canada, and FindMyMoney provides search tools for 28 states and Washington DC. FindMyMoney links to government search engines in 23 other states.

Some states, such as Ohio, are partnering with MissingMoney.com to help people search for property and file claims. Once the claim is submitted to MissingMoney.com, the state will take over communication, verification, and final payment of the claim.

How do I claim state ownership after finding it?

There is no federal system to claim your property. Procedures vary from state to state. And you don’t have to be a current resident to claim your property, so check out other places you’ve lived.

Most states use a system similar to an online shopping service to add the property you want to claim, then verify your identity by providing information such as your current address and social security number and verify that you are the rightful owner of the property. “do. property.

After you submit your claim, we may contact you via email with additional information the state needs to process your claim. Some states allow you to submit your application documents online, while others require you to submit by mail. Your state can make small reservations with a reservation fee. In Kentucky, it’s $1 for every property over $10.

Most states don’t have a deadline for claiming property, but some states can put it up for auction after a specified period. If so, you generally still have the right to claim its value from the state.

How long will it take to get my fortune?

As with the claim process, the timing of receipt of property varies from state to state. The California Comptroller says minor cash claims can be resolved within 30 to 60 days. More complex lawsuits involving multiple heirs or companies can take up to 180 days.

According to the New York Comptroller, online claims to individuals are typically paid out within two weeks. Dead claims take 4-6 weeks to process and mail claims take 3-4 months to process.

And yet, why does the state keep my property?

After a specified “dormant period” (usually 1-3 years), when the owner cannot be found, the company will send money and property to a non-state-owned title office. The state then holds these items until the owner claims them.

Assets can be cash in a savings or checking account, stocks, annuities, life insurance policies, or the contents of a safe deposit box, among many possible items. In 2021, California had 57 million unclaimed properties, valued at $10.1 billion.