Finding Unexpected Money through Unclaimed Property

Unclaimed property is a broad term that can apply to many different things. Examples include bank accounts, insurance proceeds, security deposits, etc. The reason why assets like these can be placed into the pool of unclaimed property is that the organization that has custody of them is unable to locate the rightful owner. With a society that is as mobile as ours is and with the many engagements we tend to have, it is easy to forget about something you may have set up years ago, and when you’ve moved on from one place to another, you may have left something behind that actually has some value. In the case of a bank account or life insurance claim, it is fairly easy to quantify what the unclaimed property is worth, but some unclaimed property may be more difficult to place a value on, or it may not be as easily convertible to cash. Nevertheless, if you have left behind something of value, you owe it to yourself to request what is yours, especially if you find yourself in need of financial relief.

You might ask yourself if there is any unclaimed property with your name on it, but the good news is there are resources available to help you find out if there is and how you can get to it. There is a national database that you can use to see if there is unclaimed property that could be available to you, but every state has their own database as well for their residents. The national database simply feeds into the state’s databases, so you likely will end up on your state’s website eventually to find what you are looking for. To find your state’s website, you can just do an online search for unclaimed property in your state of residence. Once you are on your state’s website, you simply have to enter your name and where you are located, and if there is unclaimed property for your name, summary information about it will show up, including who is holding the property and the approximate value of it. Keep in mind that there may be other people with your same name for whom that property may be designated, but if the property holder sounds familiar to you, you can dig deeper to see if it is in fact your property. If you want to start the process of investigating immediately, you may need to create a login for your state’s unclaimed property site and submit a claim for the property. Submitting a claim will typically require you to provide proof of identity. In these times where cyber security is of the utmost importance, you should take all necessary precautions before providing proof of your identity. If you are concerned about revealing your identity or would just be more inclined to tackle it another way, with the limited information provided in the summary, you could choose to do further investigation on your own by contacting the property holder directly. At some point, you will still need to verify your identity to claim the property, but you may be able to do so in a more controlled environment. If your property claim is approved, it can often take weeks or months before you would receive payment for your property.

If you are fortunate enough to find and receive payment for your unclaimed property, what you may want to do with the proceeds will be a function of your current circumstances. Whether the amount is a little or a lot, it is more than what you would have had otherwise, so assuming the amount is more than “small change”, you should try to do something productive with those funds. If you are saddled with debt that is putting a drag on your cash flow, using your unclaimed property funds to pay down your debt or paying some off entirely can be a boost to your finances, especially if you have high interest debt, such as credit card debt. When it comes to paying on debts, there are many approaches you may consider taking, but it is a good idea to do an inventory of your debt picture to see where you can make the most impact. For example, if you could wipe out a debt entirely, even if the interest rate isn’t as high as on another debt, that may be a worthwhile approach because the motivation you could gain by eliminating a debt in its entirety may outweigh the impact of the interest you would save by paying on a higher interest debt that would still remain intact for some time. Another worthy approach to using unclaimed property proceeds would be to build up your cash reserves, like we alluded to earlier, because you will rarely go wrong by strengthening your safety net. If you don’t have a need for debt reduction, and your cash reserves are in solid shape, perhaps you would want to consider using the proceeds of your unclaimed property to invest. With it being money you probably weren’t expecting, you may even be inclined to take more of a risk with that money, which could allow you to reap a greater reward with such an investment, given a high-quality investment selection and enough time for it to play out.