How to find and claim lost money!

According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), over 26 million Americans are the rightful owners of unclaimed property. This money could include deposits you never received back. forgotten about paychecks, dividends or bank settlements, old bank balances--basically any money that you may not even know is yours. There is no Federal government-wide information service to track this ... however each State manages the reporting of unclaimed property in their state and has informational sites to help you understand the laws and recover the money that may belong to you.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A list of states that you have lived in (and/or the list of states family members have lived in if you feel like looking them up).
• A computer with internet connection.
• A printer for printing out the claim forms that you find.
• A stamp and envelope for submitting the claim forms

1. MissingMoney.com is a great site endorsed by the NAUPA and has links to each of the individual states' sites. This is a great way to search multiple states and have everything start in one place. The other option is to do an internet search for your state(s)' unclaimed money link. Most individual states' sites are run through their Department of Revenue which is helpful if you are having trouble finding your state.
2. Once at your state's Department of Revenue/Unclaimed Property site, you will usually be prompted to enter first and last names for search purposes. Most states will list any claims for the names you search with some relevant information including from whom the payment was issued and oftentimes the amount.
3. Each individual state processes unclaimed property claims differently. Several allow you to submit your claim electronically from their site, others require the claim to be printed and submitted via mail or fax. Often they also request additional substantiating information like proof of identity, proof of address, etc. In all cases, it's worth the effort to get the money you have coming to you!