Julia Anderson
Have you ever played Powerball, especially when those potential winnings got really high? If so, know that the odds of winning it are about 1 in 292 million. What gives you better odds of boosting your bank account? Searching for unclaimed property in your name, as there’s a 10 percent chance that doing so could yield some positive results.
Before you blow this off and think that searching for unclaimed property is some Internet scam, know this: If you found unclaimed life insurance benefits, that would equal an average payout of $2,000. And if you got lucky, you could get a max payout of $300,000. That’s just one type of unclaimed property too, which means that now’s the time to start seeing what may be waiting for you out there.
2023
Tax Forgiveness
We know how challenging it can be to pay off your tax debt.
The IRS just announced the 2023 Fresh Start Program, to qualify more people for tax relief!
Why Unclaimed Property Exists
It’s hard to believe that someone would “forget” that they have thousands of dollars owed to them, but it happens. If a person, business, or government owes you money and they can’t find you, that cash will go unclaimed. If you never look for it and take the steps to claim the money, it will remain unclaimed.
How common is this? So common that federal and state agencies held over $58 billion in unclaimed property in 2013 alone. That’s $186 per U.S. resident, and today’s numbers could be even higher.
Where To Look For Unclaimed Property
As mentioned, unclaimed property comes in various forms. You could be owed tax refunds from your state government or the IRS. A former employer could owe you unpaid wages.
You may have unclaimed pensions sitting out there or FHA or life insurance refunds. If a bank or credit union failed, they might have cash with your name on it. And you could also have unclaimed property in the form of money orders, security deposits, safe deposit box contents, savings bonds, bankruptcy funds, SEC claims, and more.
Where can you start searching for such unclaimed property not only in your name, but for family members as well? Let’s break that down now.
If you’ve lived in one place all your life, searching for unclaimed property within a single state should suffice. You can do that by going here and clicking on the map. If you’ve moved around a lot in the past and have been a resident of several states, a multi-state search could help you kill several birds with one stone.
Since tax refunds are a substantial source of unclaimed money, search via the IRS and your state. If you feel like a past employer may have unpaid wages waiting to be claimed, use the Department of Labor’s database to find them. Unclaimed pensions, meanwhile, can be found here.
Lastly, look for other forms of unclaimed property via these sites, and don’t give up until you search for every family member you can:
