How to find unclaimed property
To find unclaimed property you need to know where to look for it. It could either be with the Treasury or other designated department of a state or with a federal agency like the IRS, HUD, FIDC etc. Nearly all states and federal agencies have websites with search options to help people find unclaimed property. While the search procedure may vary depending on the state or agency, in general the process of accessing the databases to see if you can find unclaimed property that belongs to you is fairly simple as long you follow these steps:
Collect any information you may have on the possible unclaimed property. Keep the names of others in whose name the property may be in with you (if you are the heir of someone whose property you find, you can claim it). Keep all the relevant address and dates ready, if you have them.
Go to the relevant websites. Or visit the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) website. NAUPA is the association of state unclaimed property departments and you can search nearly all the states’ databases from here.
Start your search and examine the results carefully. Click on the names and / or addresses that are nearest to yours and examine the details of the unclaimed property.
If the names, addresses and property details are close enough to what you think could be yours, click on the claim button and follow the instructions given to you.
If your first search did not enable you to find unclaimed property, try another name or address and keep working through the database until you exhaust every likely lead.
Keep in mind while trying to find unclaimed property that records may often have incomplete address or misspelled names. So keep your search options open.
Unclaimed property is only reported after 3 years or so. If you want to find unclaimed property that is more recent, try contacting the company you think owes you the money directly.
There is no limit to how old unclaimed property can be. You can try to find unclaimed property from your parents, grandparents’ time or even before that.
