You may not have heard of it before, but there’s actually well over $49B waiting to be claimed, and some of it may just have your name written all over it.
This information was obtained through SmartAsset, a company that specializes in providing raw data on personal assets and government funds, which also applies to unclaimed money.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can simply go and claim as much as you’d wish, and you can only do this for funds that are actually related to you in some way.
On top of the aforementioned $49B, there is another $3B that is handed out to their owners by the state every year, with this data being provided by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.
The pandemic caused a major upset all over the country, and a number of organizations, agencies, and processes were put to an abrupt stop, including the distribution of unclaimed assets.
In fact, data shows that 1 in every 10 people has some unclaimed money they may not even be aware of at the time, meaning that your chances of coming into some money have shot up drastically.
Naturally, you can’t exactly obtain this money without first finding out more about how and why it is that you’ve got it in the first place, and that’ll require some additional knowledge on the concept of unclaimed money and what it actually is.
We’ll do our best to help you out and give you some professional insight into the unclaimed money you may have as well as some myths regarding this money that have been making the rounds recently.
Keep reading and find out what you can do to claim money that’s rightfully yours.
Unclaimed money; what is it?
Essentially, unclaimed money refers to the funds that are currently owed to you by the state or another entity, and it’s remained that way due to the payer not being able to reach you.
Instead, the money gets sent off to your state’s Treasury Department, where it’ll patiently wait for your arrival, for a limited amount of time.
Aside from just cold, hard cash, this unclaimed money can come in a variety of forms, and you may find that it’s often checkings accounts, overpayments, security deposits, and many more.
Other times, it can be in the form of physical objects, usually ones that can safely be stored in a deposit box, such as gold, which has been revered as the ultimate alternative asset.
If the payer had difficulties reaching you, the money enters a dormancy period as it’s been kept by the treasury department, which ultimately keeps it for itself should the money not be collected by the end of dormancy.
Based on the type of unclaimed money, you may also find that each state has its own laws regarding this dormancy period, meaning that while California may have a 1-year-long dormancy period when it comes to wages, their dormancy period on traveler’s checks can last up to 15 years, so make sure you’ve done your research.
One important thing to note is that even if the dormancy period does end before the money is claimed, you may still be able to claim it, so long as it’s not been repossessed by the state you’re currently living in.
What to do with it?
If you do put in the time to find your unclaimed money, the first thing that’ll come to mind is where to store it all, although many argue that the process is incredibly simple and optimized.
The only thing you really have to do is put yourself through the painstakingly long process of searching for the money you’re owed, and if you do run into some, you may still be required to confirm your address using proper identification with your name and address on it.
After this, the state will decide whether you’re able to qualify or not, and if you do pass, your unclaimed money payment will be wired to your account in due time.
One thing to note is that every state has its own pace when it comes to handling unclaimed money, meaning that even if the process lasts a couple of minutes in one, always be prepared to wait for an eternity to apply for the next one.
Avoiding unclaimed money scams
A common misconception is that you have to put down some payments to find the unclaimed money you’ve got, which is something that never happens.
Even though there are several 3rd parties that would love to help you search for your unclaimed money, for a small fee, of course, it’s not particularly necessary unless you absolutely can’t understand the process.
On top of this, you may want to keep an eye out for any messages or emails regarding any lost money you’ve got, as the only real ones will come from the US Treasury Department, whereas the rest will be fakes.
As self-explanatory as this sounds, it was a necessary thing to explain due to how popular these scams have been lately, and keeping your money safe is our #1 priority.
If you do find any of this money yourself, you shouldn’t feel intimidated by the process, as it’s fairly simple for anyone to understand, and instead, you should take it head-on and learn through experience rather than retelling.