Unclaimed Property is a financial asset that is unknown or lost, or has been left inactive, unclaimed, or abandoned by its owner. Unclaimed Property assets are held by business or government entities (holders) for a set period, usually five years. If the holder is unable to locate, re-establish contact with the owner and return the asset, it is reported and remitted to individual state’s Department of Financial Services, Division of Unclaimed Property.
There is no statute of limitations on unclaimed property in most states. Account owners, or their heirs, can claim their funds indefinitely, free of charge.
The Unclaimed Property Division is responsible for safeguarding the assets turned over to the Office of the Treasurer in accordance with state law, until the rightful owners are located. The primary objective of the unclaimed property program is to reunite rightful owners or heirs with their unclaimed property, which is remitted to the Office of the Treasurer by business entities after the business loses contact with a customer for a period of three to five years.
These state departments make the accounts available in a searchable, interactive database, available free of charge, 24 hours a day, and allows claimants to initiate a claims process (with instructions) for accounts they believe they are entitled to claim.
Unclaimed assets include but are not limited to savings or checking accounts, uncashed checks, matured certificates of deposit, stocks, bonds or mutual funds, travelers' checks or money orders, and proceeds from life insurance policies.
To see if you have unclaimed property, search the states' databases for the states where you lived or conducted business by Googling Unclaimed Property for each of those states.
