Reader Tip: Get Cash For Your Unclaimed Property!

Devon emailed the following tip:

Each state has requirements that all banks, insurance companies, and other businesses report “unclaimed property” to the state after a certain amount of time (in California it is 3 years).

You can search for your name in the database your state set-up and see if there is any money the state is holding for you.

For instance, I had submitted a refund for lotion I bought many years ago, the company sent it to the wrong address and the check was essentially lost. My name was on the California Unclaimed Property database and I was able to file for the $3.00.

I know of other people who searched and ended up finding hundreds of dollars — so it’s worth a couple minutes to check and see if your name is there.

I would suggest doing an online search for “________ Unclaimed Property Database” and put your state in the underlined blank. Generally, you just fill out an online form and hit ‘submit’ or print out and mail in the form to your state controller’s office. It’s fairly simple and the turn around time was quick for my claim!

Here is the link to California’s database for unclaimed property if you want to see what it looks like. I’m guessing the forms for other states would be similar.

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