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Admittedly it sounds fishy: you may be a few clicks away from no-strings-attached cash. But it’s no scam.
The fact is that states are holding onto literally billions of dollars in unclaimed property that belongs to people all of the country – and some of that could be yours. Just look at the amount of unclaimed money held by the top 10 states holding the highest value in unpaid claims.
Source: National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) 2012 Unclaimed Property Survey
How much cash could you snag? It depends, of course, but of the $2.25 billion returned as a result of state unclaimed property program efforts in 2012, the average claim was $892 according to NAST. For many of us, that kind of cash could make a good dent in a credit card bill or help jump-start an emergency savings account.
There are a variety of sources for this money, but the top 10 are:
This is all money the rightful owner either forgot about, or in the case of an inheritance or insurance policy beneficiary, may not even know about. If you find a match, you may even be owed interest on those funds, depending on the type of property and the rules in your state.
Some of the biggest claims have been more than $1 million. For example, here is a list of the top 10 single highest claims ever paid by state:
We’re not talking about just a few people here and there who find they are entitled to unclaimed property. Hundreds of thousands of lucky consumers each year learn they have money coming to them.
Find out if you have unclaimed property coming to you by searching MissingMoney.com. It’s completely free, and there is no fee to search for your property. (Avoid anyone who tries to charge you a finder’s fee for this service.) If you find a match, you will be given instructions for filing a claim. Twenty-three states accept claims electronically, while seven states offer a completely paperless claim process.
And if you’ve searched before, or if you have only searched your state treasurer’s website, it doesn’t hurt to try again. New property is being added all the time, and because it covers multiple states, something may turn up in another state. (Currently, most states participate, but if you have ties to one that doesn’t, you will want to check that state’s site as well.) My husband found out he was owed more than $500 a few years ago, and recently learned he was owed a couple hundred dollars from another source.
You never know what might be waiting for you, and it won’t cost you a dime to find out.
Image: iStock
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