09/2017 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE 11AHEADIF YOU’VE EVER PULLED A
$20 bill out of the pocket
of an old pair of jeans or a
mothballed winter overcoat,
you know the pure joy of
finding money you didn’t
know you had.
But many of us have much
larger sums languishing in
old bank accounts, forgotten
insurance policies, uncashed
paychecks and other relics
of our financial lives. When
an account is inactive for
a certain period of time—which varies, depending
on the state—the financial
institution or company is
required to turn the un-
claimed assets over to the
state. State treasury depart-
ments and other agencies
hold more than $40 billion
in unclaimed property, and
there’s a good chance that
some of it may belong to you
or someone in your family.
A number of companies
will conduct a search for
a fee, but don’t waste yourmoney. If you have access to
the internet, you can search
free.
Credit Karma, a consumer
website that offers free
credit scores and tax prep-
aration, recently launched
a tool that lets you search
for unclaimed property in
14 states. The company
plans to add more states; if
you click on one that’s not
included in the program,
you’ll be directed to that
state’s own unclaimed-
property website.
You don’t have to be a
member of Credit Karma
to use the tool. However,
if you become a member,
Credit Karma will notify
you of future unclaimed-
property reports that match
your profile. Membership is
free; Credit Karma makesmoney when you sign up
for recommended prod-
ucts, such as credit cards
and car loans.
You can also search for
unclaimed property at
MissingMoney.com, a web-
site endorsed by the National
Association of Unclaimed
Property Administrators.
The website provides access
to databases for 41 states. If
you come up with a match,
you’ll receive information
from the state on how to
file a claim. To find links
to states that aren’t covered
by MissingMoney.com, go
to http://www.unclaimed.org.
Don’t forget the feds. The
U.S. Treasury Department
has billions of dollars in
U.S. savings bonds that have
matured and aren’t earning
WILLIAM RIESER interest. In addition, more
TRACK DOWN YOUR
FORGOTTEN CASH
States and government agencies are holding
$40 billion. Is some of it yours? BY SANDRA BLOCKTOPIC A