Unclaimed Money
The majority of Americans are not aware that there
are billions of dollars in unclaimed money tied up in
state and federal institutions throughout the country.
In fact, it is believed that 90 percent of adult Americans
are owed money that they fail to claim year after year.
This money comes from bank accounts and safety deposit
boxes that have been left behind; stocks, mutual funds,
bonds, and dividends that have not been collected; checks and wages that have not been cashed; and insurance policies,
utility deposits, and trust funds that remain unclaimed.
When this money is not distributed to the rightful party,
it is transferred to government organizations.
You might be unaware of your unclaimed money because
of a change in address or name, or you might simply
have forgotten you have it coming to you. You can avoid
accumulating more unclaimed money by keeping strict
records of all of your financial accounts and stock
certificates. You also need to inform all pertinent
financial institutions when you move.
How to Receive Unclaimed Money
There are a number of websites that give you access
to the various organizations that hold onto unclaimed
money. Usually, you will simply have to enter in some
basic information about yourself to see if you have
any unclaimed money owed to you by a specific organization.
However, the search can be exhaustive, because most
sites are not comprehensive.
You need to be aware that there are several groups
offering help with unclaimed funds that are not legitimate.
They will take your information and your payment and
leave you without all of the data you need to get your
unclaimed money. In most cases, you will not have any
way to contact these companies.
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