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It sounds too good to be true, but the fact is that there are billions of dollars in unclaimed property across the country just waiting for the rightful owners to come forward and claim it. Most people think selling structured settlements have a pretty good handle on their assets, but each year, in each and every state, millions of dollars that have been sitting idle revert back to the state. Many times it's simply because the owner has moved or changed marital status.

What is unclaimed property? The term, sometimes referred to as abandoned property, refers to accounts in financial institutions and companies that have had no activity or contact with the owner for one year or longer. There are many forms of unclaimed property including 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.

What happens to this unclaimed property? Each state has an unclaimed property statute that protects your funds from reverting back to the company if you've lost contact with them. The laws require companies to turn forgotten funds over to the state, which will then try to find you or your heirs. Most states hold lost funds until you are found, returning them to you at no cost or for a nominal handling fee. Prozac online it comes to safe deposit boxes, it's virtually impossible to hold onto and store the contents, so some of the banks or states hold periodic auctions of what's in the boxes, and then holds the money until the original owner is found.

How do states try to find the rightful owners? You may have seen lists of unclaimed property owners in your newspaper. State unclaimed property programs may also set up displays at state fairs, malls, and other public events, work with other public officials such as legislators and local librarians. They also set up searchable databases on the Internet.

How do I look for unclaimed assets that may belong to me? There are many ways to search for assets. Companies are required to send money from lost accounts to the state of the owner's last known address. That means you could potentially have unclaimed property in every state that you've resided. Luckily, there are several databases online that will link you to most state unclaimed property programs, and all are free.

You may also be contacted by a company and told you have unclaimed property. There are many business firms, sometimes called finders or locators, which find legitimate lost property for owners and offer to inform them of how to obtain it for a fee, usually a percentage of the total. Most of the companies are reputable, but unfortunately there are also many unclaimed property scams across the country. Before signing any contract with a company, check with the unclaimed property office in your state for more information.

Marcia Keppy has been working in the field of unclaimed property for the past 15 years. Find out how to protect your assets as well as search for your unclaimed property at www.assetawareness.comwww.assetawareness.com

# posted by hieej : 5:47 AM  0 comments