Robert L. Tobey, CPA, Partner
If you are owed money by a business, a government, or a not-for-profit entity and you do not collect it, it’s considered unclaimed property.
Unclaimed property includes many things, such as:
- Uncashed payroll, vendor and dividend checks, and money orders
- Unclaimed deposits (e.g.: security deposits, and check and savings accounts)
- Refunds
- Trust distributions
- Annuities
- Safe Deposit box content
- Insurance payments
- Account receivables credits
These entities are required to annually identify, report, and remit unclaimed property held to the state in which the entity resides.
Each state has its own statutes specifying what is considered unclaimed property and how and when this is reported. These laws are constantly changing.
There are various ways for you to determine if a state is holding unclaimed property you can claim. One is to search your state’s unclaimed property website, and another is to use this tool provided by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, where you can search your unclaimed property for free.
Make sure to check each state in which you have lived.
Each year I check to see if the states in which I have lived are holding any of my unclaimed property. The search does not take long, and I have been pleasantly surprised. Contact us today for more information.