Claim your forgotten assets at unclaimed.org

Posted Sep 25th 2007 12:49PM by Barry Summerlin
Filed under: Personal Finance

Are you meticulous about closing out old bank accounts? Diligent about reclaiming utility deposits? Always cash your refund checks promptly? Sorry, this post probably isn't for you -- for once, the hopelessly complacent among us are more likely to come out on top (finally!).

On Tuesday's Good Morning America, contributor Mellody Hobson of Ariel Capital Management discussed options to track down your share of the nation's $32.8 billion in unclaimed assets, chiefly citing www.unclaimed.org.

Unclaimed.org, run by the non-profit National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, explains how to search for left-behind assets, and offers links to individual state databases of outstanding cash and property.

What counts as unclaimed property? Unclaimed.org suggests accounts and checks are abandoned property as early as one year with no activity or contact with the owner, and cites as examples:

savings or checking accounts
stock certificates
uncashed dividends
payroll checks
refunds
traveler's checks
trust distributions
unredeemed money orders
gift certificates
insurance payments or refunds of life insurance policies
annuities
certificates of deposit
customer overpayments
utility security deposits
mineral royalty payments
contents of safe deposit boxes

Access to the states' online databases is free to all -- keep that in mind if you're contacted by a "broker" offering to reunite you with lost assets for a fee.