Everyone could use a little more money. Even a few extra bucks could help you better prioritize your personal finance goals, like paying off debt or saving more money in your emergency fund. If money has been tight lately, you may want to check to see if you have any unclaimed property. Luckily, it’s an easy process to collect what you’re owed. Here’s what you need to know.
The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, an organization run by the National Association of State Treasurers, notes that one in 10 Americans have unclaimed property. That’s over 33 million people — and you could be one of them.
Some Americans are owed small amounts of money, while others are owed much more. Unclaimed property is money that should be returned to you, so it’s worth checking to see if you have unclaimed funds.
What is unclaimed property?
So, what is unclaimed property, and what are some examples of it? Unclaimed property is abandoned property within financial institutions in which there has been no activity generated for a period of one year or more, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. After a designated amount of time, called the dormancy period, law dictates that the property must be turned over to the state. The exact amount of time can vary by state and property type. Each state has a claims process in place so consumers can get their funds. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of examples of unclaimed property:- Checking or savings accounts
- Refunds
- Trust distributions
- Utility security deposits
- Customer overpayments
- Contents of safety deposit boxes
- Uncashed payroll checks
- Unredeemed money orders
- Unclaimed security deposits