A friend of mine recently e-mailed me to let me know that there was some lost money in my name waiting to be claimed. It was sitting idol in an insurance premium that had been refunded and never claimed. I guess that she had been bored one day and just started searching for everyone’s name that she knew.
You can look for lost money in your own name as well at the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administration’s (NAUPA) website. MissingMoney.com is NAUPA’s comprehensive national database that was established in 1999 to help the states inform citizens about unclaimed property.
Some of the most common types of unclaimed property that can be lost and then found are bank accounts and safe deposit box contents, stock certificates, mutual funds, bonds, dividends, uncashed checks and wages, insurance policies, CD’s, trust funds, utility deposits, escrow accounts, and others. Many people, especially professionals who move around from job to job every few years open bank accounts and conduct transactions throughout the country. Do you have money in an old savings account that you might have forgotten about?
You can also check your state’s office of the state’s treasurer to find missing money that is owed to you. The NAUPA has a link to most states’ offices directly on their website. Check every state that you have lived in. It could well be worth your time. It was very quick and painless checking to see if I had any money left unclaimed in the six states that I have lived in throughout my life.
The money in question that my friend found in my name was actually my grandfather’s. We share the same name, and the leftover money was for an insurance premium that was paid and eventually refunded the month that he died, over twelve years ago. Thanks to my friends e-mail, my aunt (the actual next of kin) was able to retrieve her long lost $150, which was enough for a great night on the town.
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