Unclaimed Property, PA's Treasury Is Looking For You

Have you ever meant to follow up on an old utility deposit but just lost track of time and assumed you couldn't get it back? What about an old savings account you forgot about? A final paycheck from a former employer? Well, it's not too late!  If your money goes unclaimed for a period of time, it is considered abandoned and those holding your money are typically required to send it to your state's unclaimed property fund, per your state's escheat laws ("escheat" means the transfer of property to the state). There your money sits, maybe even earning interest depending on the state, until you, the rightful owner, show up to claim it.

What makes property unclaimed?  Pennsylvania's escheat laws state that most property is considered abandoned if unclaimed for five years.  Payroll checks, however, are set at two years.  Once the money ages past that date, the holder who is not the owner is supposed to send it to the state's treasury for safe keeping and then, it gets listed in their database in the hopes that you'll find it.

Missingmoney.com is a free website that searches the public databases of the following states and provinces:  Alabama, Alaska, Alberta Canada, Arizona, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.

Some states have their own websites for unclaimed property in lieu of or in addition to Missing Money's website.  Pennsylvania's Unclaimed Property is made available through the Pennsylvania Treasury's website.  The Pennsylvania site states they have over $1.5 billion in unclaimed property.  The great thing about the Missing Money website is that it can search multiple states at the same time so, if you're like me, and have lived in a few places, you'll definitely want to check out the site.

According to Missing Money's website, "Common types of unclaimed property include:

• Bank accounts and safe deposit box contents
• Stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and dividends
• Uncashed checks and wages
• Insurance policies, CDs, trust funds
• Utility deposits, escrow accounts."

How legit is this Missing Money site and do you really get money?  Oh, they are definitely legitimate.  They are endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.  If you have unclaimed property, you do indeed get the opportunity and instructions on how to claim it.  

My husband and I lived in Florida for a few years and, at the time, Florida had just opened up their unclaimed property database to allow third party companies to pursue those who were owed money.  We got a letter at our house asking us to fill out a form and send it in with a bunch of personal information to claim money.  We were highly skeptical.  Then, a couple of weeks later, we were up visiting my in-laws in NJ and they got a letter there from a different third party company trying to locate my husband for the same unclaimed property amount.   That's when we started doing research.  It turns out that while these third party search firms can pass along your information and get you your unclaimed property, they also take a pretty big finder's fee cut of your money.  We bypassed them and went straight to the state's unclaimed property page and confirmed that my husband did have unclaimed property in the form of an unclaimed final paycheck from an old job. We filled out all of the required forms and sent in his proof of identity.  Soon after, we received a check for $795 from the state of FL!  

When I found the Missing Money website, we did a wider search across multiple states and discovered that he, yet again, had missed another final paycheck.  (Sensing a theme here?)  This time it was from his high school job at Friendly's in NJ.  We filled out the paperwork, sent it in and this is how we learned that some states, like NJ, pay interest on the unclaimed property they hold. 

Even if you're diligent about your money, the sites are definitely worth checking out, especially if you're like me and married someone who seems to think last paychecks are optional!