Unclaimed Funds

[clifffaith]

Since we are still dealing with loose ends from my brother's death, thought I would mention unclaimed funds to the group. If you haven't ever searched for unclaimed funds you need to get in the habit of doing so for yourself every couple of years. And it's loads of fun to check out friend's and family's names too and then tell them they have a windfall sitting unclaimed. Just Google unclaimed funds state of ------ official site and then go into the site and type names in. It's amazing what comes up. I check every couple of years since I first learned about doing this back in 2005 or so, and it seems like there is always some $20 phone bill refund or something sitting out there. Last night since I was on the Texas website for my brother, it occurred to me that a couple we know (he is now deceased) lived in Houston for five years before moving back to California 12 years ago -- there was $80 with their name on it.

Last year when we were dealing with my brother's estate (found several unclaimed items totaling about $700 then, I see another $400 has popped up since) it occurred to me to try the name of a corporation we closed down 20 years ago. Lo and behold there was $200 sitting there that State Farm had turned over to the state of California. Do you think the bastards would release that to me? NO. I don't know who else would have sent them copies of our corporation set up and dissolution papers, copies of our drivers' licenses, and whatever else I sent along, but they rejected my claim. I said screw it and Cliff said he'd try again. 14 months later it still hasn't been done and now it turns out neither of us knows where the stack of rejected papers is at this point (and it's a big stack since the entire corporation folder is missing and must be with it too). But other than that instance, it has always been easy to collect funds.

 

[presley]

I got a check for .50 cents last week from the state website. It costs way more to send me the check, but it was money that Discover owed me so I took it. I still have an open and active Discover account and have no idea why they sent the .50 cents to the state instead of to me, but that's how they did the refund.

I did see that a couple brothers of mine had around $100. each and my dead parents, too.

 

[pedro47]

I once received a bank dividend check for a whopping $1.20.

 

[falmouth3]

Massachusetts always has a booth at events like home shows, travel shows, etc. We frequent those types of events and we both check every time. Nada.

 

[dioxide45]

My name never appears when I do searches for unclaimed funds.

 

[DaveNV]

Several years ago I helped a retired senior friend claim over $1200 that she didn't know was out there. That's more than she receives monthly on her social security, so she was pretty excited. It was an extra mortgage payment she'd paid years before, on a house she no longer owns. Unclaimed funds is kind of a fun thing to check out.

Dave

 

[Passepartout]

When I was closing my mom's estate, I found a couple hundred bucks iirc, it was some pension money from a job she worked a short time at many years ago. The state took over the pension plan after the business went belly-up.

 

[VacationForever]

Do you all know how long unclaimed funds sit in the state until they get claimed? I have money that I need to claim that were turned over to the state from about 18 years ago. It is a couple of thousand dollars... well, life got busy, I moved and never updated the custodian of the funds. I contacted them recently and they found 8 records and that the funds were turned over to one of the states.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Do you all know how long unclaimed funds sit in the state until they get claimed? I have money that I need to claim that were turned over to the state from about 18 years ago. It is a couple of thousand dollars... well, life got busy, I moved and never updated the custodian of the funds. I contacted them recently and they found 8 records and that the funds were turned over to one of the states.

Hi VacationForever,

Check out Unclaimed Money from the Government

Find unclaimed funds held by the government that might be owed to you.


Good Luck,

Richard

 

[VacationForever]

Hi VacationForever,

Check out Unclaimed Money from the Government

Find unclaimed funds held by the government that might be owed to you.


Good Luck,

Richard

Thanks. I did check this site out earlier, and the state is Delaware and it only shows data for past 3 years. Hence my question if anyone knows that I can put a claim on funds from about 18 years ago. The company that turned the money over to Delaware has the records.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Thanks. I did check this site out earlier, and the state is Delaware and it only shows data for past 3 years. Hence my question if anyone knows that I can put a claim on funds from about 18 years ago. The company that turned the money over to Delaware has the records.

Contact.
Delaware
Department of Finance, Division of Revenue
State Escheator
P.O. Box 8931
Wilmington, DE 19801-3509
Phone: (302) 577-8220.

Richard

 

[VacationForever]

Contact.
Delaware
Department of Finance, Division of Revenue
State Escheator
P.O. Box 8931
Wilmington, DE 19801-3509
Phone: (302) 577-8220.

Richard

Thanks.

 

[clifffaith]

My impression in California is that the money sits making interest for the state "forever". The insurance refund sitting out there for us has been there since 1992 or so. Last time I was checking I found money for a friend ($900!) that I think was also that old. What is so irritating is that it's not like either of us moved more than 10 minutes from our former address. The companies turning over the funds to the state make absolutely no effort to find the owner when mail is returned. In my case the business phone number associated with our now closed corporate name was still operable for our window covering business until I turned off the call forwarding about six months ago.

 

[VacationForever]

My impression in California is that the money sits making interest for the state "forever". The insurance refund sitting out there for us has been there since 1992 or so. Last time I was checking I found money for a friend ($900!) that I think was also that old. What is so irritating is that it's not like either of us moved more than 10 minutes from our former address. The companies turning over the funds to the state make absolutely no effort to find the owner when mail is returned. In my case the business phone number associated with our now closed corporate name was still operable for our window covering business until I turned off the call forwarding about six months ago.

Yep, in my case it was even worse. I relocated countries with the same company and the custodian (of stocks certificate and dividend reinvestments) made no attempt to contact my employer to get my new address. Yes, it was my fault that I did not update my residential address. I contacted the custodian last month and they found me in their system and said they turned over the money over to Delaware. The whole time I was still with my employer but in a different country.

 

[wackymother]

A few years ago I found something really old--a pension for my mother from about the late 1950s. It had been misfiled under her middle name, so finding it was pretty astonishing. It wasn't on the unclaimed funds website.

Mom passed away about 50 years after she left that job, but it was still sitting there waiting for her.