Clark Howard's Tips

Claim your unclaimed money before the State does!

September 2, 2008

Do you have money that hasn't been touched in a while in a bank account, brokerage house, insurance policy or company stock? After a period of time, the State eventually rules that account dormant, and that money gets sent to an unclaimed property office. The state office it gets sent to depends on where the company involved is based.

Recently, USA Today reports that certain states suffering from budgetary problems have decided it's ok to steal these leftover funds from you. Washington, Delaware, Alabama, Oregon, South Carolina, Louisiana and Kentucky changed their laws so that it would be legal to seize unclaimed money and not give it back.

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But there's good news: there's a way to find out whether you have dormant money, so you can claim it before the state does. A website called Missingmoney.com allows you to pop in your name and see if you (or your relatives) are due a refund. Do a multi-state search to include the state you live in and the headquarter states of all your previous employers. Always search in Delaware and Connecticut too, as most stock and insurance companies are based there. Another website to check is unclaimed.org and if you've ever had an FHA loan, be sure to see if there are leftover assets waiting for you at hud.gov. You could be a hero to a loved one, or be the beneficiary of money you didn't even know you had!

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