Tax Strategies & Credits

Take a few minutes to see if you have any unclaimed money

Take a few minutes to see if you have any unclaimed money

Are you aware that there are specific organizations dedicated to holding people’s unclaimed financial accounts?

It may seem impossible to forget about accounts that we’ve opened, but when you think about it, it makes sense. We all have busy, complicated lives, and it is hard to keep track of every last detail, especially when we’re in the midst of a particularly hectic period: a move to another city, graduating from college and moving to another state for a job, taking care of final arrangements for a loved one who has died. These are just a few of the scenarios in which people forget about financial accounts that they hold.

What is Unclaimed Property?

Unclaimed property can include almost any type of account that has been opened in a person’s name and which hasn’t had activity or received a contact from an owner in a period of time (usually one year). They can include: 

  • Checking or savings accounts at banks
  • Uncashed payroll checks or dividend checks
  • Stocks
  • IRA or retirement accounts
  • Refunds, customer overpayments, unredeemed money orders or gift certificates
  • Traveler’s checks
  • Distributions from trusts
  • Insurance payments or refunds
  • Annuities or life insurance policies
  • Certificates of deposit
  • Security deposits with utility companies
  • Mineral royalty payments
  • Safe deposit boxes

It is not the responsibility of the companies holding these original accounts to track down their owner: instead, they turn them over to a department within state government specifically dedicated to unclaimed property. These departments are also who trustees of estates turn to when they are unable to locate a beneficiary, and they hold the accounts of people who have died without naming beneficiaries.

Finding out whether you have a right to claim any of these assets is not difficult to do. Though you always have the option of hiring a commercial company to do it for you, conducting a search for yourself, at no cost, is as simple as going online and searching for a state’s unclaimed property website, then plugging in your identifying information. Though you could take the time to search every state in the country, it generally only makes sense to do a search in a state where you have lived, and are therefore more likely to have had a bank account, earned a paycheck, or paid a security deposit. If you’d like to minimize the amount of time that you spend searching for each state’s site, the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators has created a one-stop site that includes links to every state and several government agencies, as well as some that exist in other countries.

Searching for unclaimed property is free, and offers the opportunity for a real reward, so it’s definitely worth spending the time to do it. If you find a significant property you may want to discuss it with a tax professional.

Spencer Wilson writes for TaxBuzz, a tax news and advice website. Reach him at [email protected].

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Spencer Wilson

Spencer Wilson

Spencer Wilson, EA is a tax preparer based in Long Beach, CA. Spencer Wilson Financial Management Services has been serving the Greater Los Angeles Area and Orange County since 2004. <br /> We began in the heart of Naples in Long Beach and we continue to work hard offering tax preparation and planning, business accounting and bookkeeping and payroll services . <br /> We have helped many different people and businesses succeed financially and take control over their finances.

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