How to Locate Unclaimed Money Belonging to You

Use the Internet to help find unclaimed cash that belongs to you.

Are you owed unclaimed money? Maybe you forgot about a savings bond or never rolled over a CD. Or perhaps you have an unclaimed utility deposit or a missing rebate check. There are plenty of places free money may be hiding, just waiting for you to claim it. Unclaimed property and money are turned over to the state if the owner forgets or fails to claim the money. That makes it relatively simple to find unclaimed funds.

Instructions

1. Banks send unclaimed safety deposit boxes, unattended banks accounts and unclaimed savings bonds to the state after a certain period of inactivity. That means you should start your search for unclaimed money by contacting your state treasurer's office. You can do this over the phone or online. Once you get to your state's website look for a link to "unclaimed property," "unclaimed funds" or "unclaimed money." Search through every state you've ever lived in.

2. If you ever received a savings bond or Treasury note or bond and forgot to cash it, that's considered unclaimed funds. The U.S. Treasury Department keeps a record of savings bonds issued after 1974. Even if you can't find the paper bond you may still be able to cash bonds no longer earning interest by using the department's "Treasury Hunt" tool.

3. Unclaimed life insurance policies are one of the biggest sources of unclaimed funds. If the beneficiary doesn't claim the money it is turned over to the state. If you believe you may be the beneficiary of a missing life insurance policy or estate contact the insurance company and the treasury department in both your state and the state where the policy holder lived. Many times the money doesn't find the beneficiary because of a name or address change. So when you do your search through the unclaimed property search use your current and all previous names and addresses.

4. Many utility companies require customers to put down a deposit before their utility is turned on. Many people forget to collect that deposit, or ensure that it's credited to their accounts, before they move. The utility company could be holding free money that belongs to you. Contact your former utility companies and ask if you have a balance on your account. If so, ask them to send you a check for the unclaimed funds.

5. Contact the Internal Revenue Service to find out if it is holding unclaimed refunds belonging to you. Every year tax refunds are returned to the IRS because they're undeliverable due to change of address.

6. The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, or NAUPA, endorses only one comprehensive database that works to pair unclaimed funds and unclaimed property back with its rightful owners. The site is constantly being updated which means you should check back often to see if you have unclaimed funds that belong to you.

Resources

• Unclaimed Property Departments by State
• Treasury Hunt
• Unclaimed Property Search Endorsed by NAUPA
• IRS Refund Search