What Does Unclaimed Property Really Mean?

October 1st, 2012 |

What do you think of when you hear the term ‘unclaimed property’? Do you think of land that has never been owned or maybe property left with a lost and found? Some people do think of things like old abandoned houses that nobody wants to live in anymore. They may consider these old monstrosities with the boards falling down, the paint peeling and maybe with local urban legends that the house may even be haunted. Some may even think of that show ‘Storage Wars’ where people bid on old abandoned storage building units and their long lost contents.

The fact is, most of those instances would be correct, but there are many other instances of unclaimed property that we haven’t even begun to cover. Let’s look at a few of those now and let’s also delve into how that property becomes unclaimed in the first place.

 

How Unclaimed Property Comes To Be

Unclaimed property could be a collection of gold coins that was passed down from one generation to the next. It might even be a large sum of money that was left in a will that was intended to go to a particular charity. Or it could be an antique furniture set that is currently locked away in an abandoned storage unit somewhere. All of these instances not only show but prove that unclaimed property could be pretty much anything at all that someone else previously owned. As long as it is tangible and it belongs to someone, it too could be considered unclaimed property.

That is the key phrase: ‘As long as it is tangible and it belongs to someone’. Unclaimed property always has a rightful owner the problem is that this property usually always outlives them. One of the reasons the property is considered unclaimed is usually because the rightful owner has not come forward. Or maybe these individuals don’t even realize they own some of these types of property and therefore don’t even know they should come forward to try and claim it.

In fact, the state officials who are in charge of keeping track of all of this unclaimed property would really like to return the property to it’s rightful owners. The huge problem is that they don’t always know who the property belongs to or where to start looking to figure it out. In these cases they are then stuck with the task of not only keeping track of all of these peoples property but are also stuck footing the bill to maintain and store it. The funds being used to try and take care of this issue is coming directly from each of our states budget which adds to the rising downfall of our economy.

This is where the main problem to this entire unclaimed property problem lies. Our country needs us and even more people to search for unclaimed property using systems like the Find Unclaimed Money database.

If more people search to find out and then come forward and claim the property that is rightfully theirs, the states will be able to allocate those resources to more important matters.  Not to mention the fact that all of that unclaimed property will be returned to the owners boosting their assets and possibly bank accounts. That is quite a lot of property those owners didn’t even think they had or knew belonged to them or their families. It could be a house, a boat, a rare vintage stamp collection or anything else you might imagine. A simple search could mean a very happy day for many unclaimed property owners. Could you be one of them? There’s only one way to find out.

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Unclaimed Property Might Be A Simple Search Away

July 13th, 2012 |

Did you know that, right now, millions of Americans have unclaimed property out there waiting to be claimed? This unclaimed property can include land, houses, valuables, stocks and bonds and much more. Where did all this unclaimed property come from and why don’t these Americans claim the unclaimed property if they know it’s out there? That’s the thing, with out an unclaimed property search many Americans don’t know this unclaimed property exists and with more being discovered every day, it’s starting to become a real problem.

The Growing Unclaimed Property Problem

Unclaimed property can come from a variety of places. It can come from abandoned safe deposit boxes and storage units, foreclosed homes and lots more. Instead of this property just going to the dump, it is held until the rightful owners claim it.

Then there are entire plots of land or even homes that are being held as unclaimed property. In these cases, a person’s loved one may have passed on and they’re the rightful heir to the property, only they don’t know it. Can you imagine how frustrating this must be for the state and federal governments? The officials at the state and federal level who are in charge of the unclaimed property problem are at their wits’ ends as they try to figure a way out t solve this unclaimed property problem once and for all.

If only all Americans knew that unclaimed property might be just a search away.

Searching For Unclaimed Property

Since the state and federal governments have no idea how to solve the growing unclaimed property problem, it is up to each American to conduct a free unclaimed property search. Luckily, all Americans have to do is search using their first and last name and they can find out if they have any unclaimed property or money available. If there is unclaimed property found, the person can then go about claiming it for themselves.

Claiming Unclaimed Property

If, after an unclaimed property search, you find that there is in fact unclaimed property available, you can easily claim it after you verify your identity. You will need to prove who you are, either by providing a copy of your social security number and/or driver’s license or passport, so that not just anyone can claim your unclaimed property for themselves. Once this process is completed, you can then claim the unclaimed property and the state and federal government will be that much closer to getting rid of the unclaimed property problem once and for all.

It only takes a few seconds and with most Americans having no idea that there is even unclaimed property out there, you might find a very nice surprise. What if, a few minutes from now, you found out that you were the owner of land, a home or a boat? What if you found out that you had your own island out there? Stranger things have happened? You might even find that you have unclaimed property out there in the form of a safe deposit box full of rare diamonds.

You won’t know until you conduct a free unclaimed property search for yourself. Do your part as an American and let’s rid this country of the unclaimed property problem once and for all. It takes only a few seconds, you don’t need to give anything other than your name and anyone can conduct the unclaimed property search as long as they have a computer or mobile device and an Internet connection.

What kind of unclaimed property do you have out there? There’s only one way to find out.

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