Lost Assets

In the bustle and chaos of modern life, it's not uncommon for us to lose a few dollar bills after fishing in our pockets for loose change on the bus or in a phone booth. Most of the time we don't even notice we've lost money. If the sum was a little more significant though, like maybe $20 or $50 bills, we'd feel its absence. Strange fact then that thousands of people across the United States have missing money from financial assets amounting to hundreds, even thousands of dollars without being aware of it.

A lack of manpower might be partly to blame. In Alaska for example, the State Governor's office recently released this statement: "The Unclaimed Property (UCP) staff conducts searches for property owners by selecting recently reported properties from the division's database and using online tools to locate the owners. The target is to search for 50 owners each month, however when there are fluctuations in staffing and/or workload the UCP places a priority on responding to claims requests from property owners which involves verifying claims and processing payments."

In Alabama, Kay Ivey, the State Treasurer says, "We've got money that belongs to people in every nook and cranny in Alabama. Go online or call us, and if you find your name and you can prove you are who you say you are, my staff and I would love to send you a check." It is clear that people should take the incentive to check for lost assets with the government themselves- sitting around waiting to be contacted by overworked officials will just mean additional time away from their money.

When lost assets such as uncashed checks, safe deposit box contents, bonds, cash and stock dividends, forgotten bank accounts, etc. go over 3-5 years without getting claimed by their owners, these are deemed escheat property and have to be turned-over to the state. The value of unclaimed money in the hands of the individual states is staggering. California's lost assets alone amount to over $5 billion and New York, whose Times Square is a landmark during Christmas and New Year's, has around $9 billion! And to think there are 49 other states..

Recovering lost assets isn't necessarily a difficult task, though it can be tricky. There is a large number of on-line unclaimed money finders offering to find your lost stash for you so they can dip their hands into it. Don't get fooled by these. There's a website that not only shows you how do an online unclaimed money search through multiple state databases effectively, it also has an ebook on how to do it for others professionally. Find your lost assets now and get extra gas money!