How to Track Down Your Unclaimed Money
If you want to find out if you have unclaimed money waiting for you in a state you once lived in, use veromi.com, which can give you information from within 28 states about unclaimed money. But if veromi.com cannot provide information about a state you once lived in or currently live in, here is some advice for how to track it down, courtesy of Mark Kantrowitz, financial expert and author:
- Call or write to each state you and deceased relatives have lived in. The unclaimed property office will ask you your name (including your maiden or former names), social security number, current address and all previous addresses where you lived while in the state. They will want the same information about any other individual for whom you are the legal beneficiary.
- The unclaimed property office will take all the above information you provide and check its database. If there is a match, they will send you a form to fill out. On this form, you will have to provide proof that you are who you say you are (a photocopy of your license); that you actually lived at the address you gave them (a bill that shows your name and the previous address or a copy of your tax return with that address); and that the money is yours (a pay stub, bank book, utility bill or similar way to show a connection between you and the money). If the money is in someone else's name, you will have to supply proof that you are the beneficiary (a copy of the deceased's will).
- It will take about two months for you to receive your check.
If your search comes up empty, wait a year and then search again. And even if your search does not result in found money, you should continue to check with the unclaimed property offices every few years because it can take a while before money is turned over to these offices.
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