Find Unclaimed Money: Why Money Goes Missing In The First Place

Have you heard about the growing unclaimed money problem in this country? Right now around the country, state and federal governments have to contend with billions of dollars in unclaimed money and more keeps flowing in all the time. It seems like a great problem to have, constant streams of money, but with the government unable to use that money and with more resources needed to accept and manage that money, you can see how the unclaimed money problem is a thorn in the government’s side.

Where Does The Unclaimed Money Come From?

You would think that if Americans knew they had unclaimed money out there, it would be just as easy as claiming it. That’s the thing, however. Most Americans have no idea that there is any unclaimed money or property out there in their names. These individuals became a part of the unclaimed money problem and didn’t even realize it.

The most common reason for unclaimed money is because a person or family moves and fails to notify the proper government or corporate entities that may have unclaimed money in their names.

For instance, a man staying in an apartment has to pay $500 as a security deposit and half of that deposit is refundable upon move out. In the three years the man lives in that apartment, he completely forgets about the deposit and just goes on living life. When it comes time to move out, he moves and has no idea that the landlord is about to mail him $250. This is why you should always give your previous landlords, mortgage companies or any other housing entities your new address so that any money coming to you doesn’t get deemed unclaimed money where it won’t do you a bit of good.

Let’s look at another example where a woman moves out of state and fails to close out a bank account that has $40 in it. She’s not worried about the money since it’s so miniscule, but she never really gets around to closing the account either. Years go by and, before the woman knows it, the bank account has grown to several hundred dollars with compounding interest. The bank may have even deposited an error in her favor or a hundred other things may have happened to inflate the original balance. By the time the woman searches for unclaimed money, she finds that she’s hundreds of dollars richer.

These are but two examples of how unclaimed money comes about. You can see how moving away and failing to notify the government or your previous employer might result in checks being mailed and getting lost. Or at the very least, they fail to reach their intended recipient.

If the unclaimed money doesn’t reach the person, it will get sent back to the state or federal government. The latter is usually reserved for IRS tax refunds and such. Still, with all this unclaimed money out there the states and federal government would like nothing more than to see the problem eradicated for good.

So if you have ever moved or if you’ve ever paid a security deposit, if you’ve ever failed to cash your last paycheck, or if you’ve ever failed to receive a tax refund for any given year, you might have unclaimed money out there.

There are so many reasons why unclaimed money comes about, way too many to list here. If you think you might have unclaimed money out there, conduct a free search. You may find that you have hundreds or thousands of dollars out there that you didn’t even know about.