Remember The Goonies?  Unfortunately, most of us will never have a chance to chase after a bounty like that of One-Eyed Willie.  However, you can do a little treasure-hunting right now from your own computer.  There are a variety of directories on the web that house unclaimed property data, and with a few clicks you might stumble on your own little fortune. 

If this is your first experience with unclaimed property, here is some background information from the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA):

Unclaimed property (sometimes referred to as abandoned) refers to accounts in financial institutions and companies that have had no activity generated or contact with the owner for one year or a longer period. Common forms of unclaimed property include savings or checking accounts, stocks, uncashed dividends or payroll checks, refunds, traveler’s checks, trust distributions, unredeemed money orders or gift certificates (in some states), insurance payments or refunds and life insurance policies, annuities, certificates of deposit, customer overpayments, utility security deposits, mineral royalty payments, and contents of safe deposit boxes.

So by investing a bit of time, you might be able to find a little kitty of unclaimed funds in your name.  Most young people have yet to accumulate a large enough financial wake to have unclaimed property.  You very well may find unclaimed property belonging to family members - especially grandparents and great-grandparents who may not be web-savvy or still living.  For example, I found a life insurance premium refund belonging to my great-grandmother in Pennsylvania.  Much of the unclaimed property amount to under $100, but some larger sums certainly exist and it is fun and worthwhile to look! 

To begin your search, I recommend the NAUPA portal: http://www.missingmoney.com/. 

Each state also manages its own unclaimed property search; simply google your state name along with “unclaimed property” to find your state search site.  Finally, if you really want to dig, the US Treasury provides some additional information and resources to extend your search: http://fms.treas.gov/faq/unclaimed.html. 

Good luck and happy treasure hunting!

Did you enjoy this article? If so, please subscribe to the RSS feed, or enter your email address below to subscribe to the daily email digest.
This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, 2007 at 9:22 am and is filed under Tips and Tricks. You may e-mail this post to a friend. You may print this page. Responses are currently closed.