How to Find and Claim Lost Money

Check the state treasurers' offices in states where you have lived to find unclaimed money.

The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) reports that some 117 million Americans are the rightful owners of unclaimed property, at the time of this article's publication. 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, but each state manages the reporting of unclaimed property in that state and has informational sites to help you understand the laws and recover money that may belong to you.

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

Instructions

1. Go to MissingMoney.com, a site endorsed by NAUPA, for links to each of the individual states' sites. You can 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 links. Most states' sites are run through their Treasury departments, which is helpful if you are having trouble finding your state.

2. Call the office of your state treasurer, if you prefer to talk to a person instead of searching online. To find out about unclaimed money, you will have to submit a written request.

3. Once at your state's Treasurer's Office Unclaimed Property site, you will usually be prompted to enter first and last names for search purposes. States may list any claims for the names you search with some relevant information including from whom the payment was issued and sometimes the amount.

4. Different states may process unclaimed property claims differently. Several allow you to submit your claim electronically from their site, but others require the claim to be printed and submitted via mail or fax. Expect to provide additional substantiating information like proof of identity and proof of address.

Tips & Warnings

• ABC's Melody Hobson on "Good Morning America" recommends you don't sign up with a fee-based service to look for unclaimed money.

References

• NAUPA: What Is Unclaimed Property
• MissingMoney.com: State and provincial governments working together to safeguard and return your lost funds
• ABC; "Good Morning America"; How to Get Your Unclaimed Money Back