How much money are you missing?

With $33 billion dollars nationwide in unclaimed property, chances are some of it might belong to you.
Unclaimed property consists of forgotten utility deposits, insurance refunds, final paychecks, stocks, savings accounts and more.
The money is held in the state of the owner’s last known address. However, you may have money in a state in which you never lived. If owner’s address is unknown, the money is held in the state in which the holder (the company that has the money that gets turned over to the state) is incorporated.
Here’s how to start your search:
Go to www.missingmoney.com and enter your name. You can search most states this way. To search state-by-state, click on the map of the US on the home page. Even if your state participates on the missing money site, you get the maximum number of listings by searching the state records directly. This is because the very new and the very old listings are not on the national site. You can also search by going to unclaimed.org.
For additional places to search, there is a bar at the top of the missingmoney home page. Click on “Links” then “Related Links.” You’ll find connections to:
• Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Click the link for information about possible FHA refunds.
• IRS for unclaimed tax refunds
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-- Find unclaimed funds for insured deposits or dividend checks that issued and were undeliverable or never cashed.
• US Savings Bonds—There are 40 million savings bonds that have stopped earning interest. The estimated value is $16.5 billion dollars. That’s like having money stuffed in your mattress. It’s time to cash them in and reinvest the money.
• Veteran’s Administration—The site has loads of information about benefits and services. After all, they aren’t benefits if you don’t take advantage of them.
• Financial Management Service—Each individual federal agency maintains its own records. If you think a government agency may have money for you, check out this site.
• Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation—Refunds on traditional retirement accounts
• International unclaimed property sites including Canada, Australia and Switzerland.
If you check this time and there is no listing for you, remember to check back at least once a year. National Find Your Missing Money Day is April 16, the day after your taxes are due.
There is no charge to search using the missingmoney.com site or unclaimed.org. There are a lot of sound-alike sites so be careful. You should never ever pay for an online search. Some sites will let you search for free, but then try to charge you to file a claim. Don’t do it!
If you are contacted by someone who wants a finder's fee to reunite you with your money, go to your state unclaimed property site and search. Some states sell their info to finders. The finder may get the information before it appears on the state site. If there is nothing there, call the unclaimed property office and ask.
Be aware that states have laws regulating what finders are allowed to charge you. The finders rely on you not knowing this. In most cases, the laws regulate what percentage they can charge as well as specify how long the listing has to be on the state site before they can contact you. This is to allow you a chance to find your money on your own.
There is no charge to claim your money except for Texas that charges a 1.5 percent handling fee for claims above $100.
States hold the money indefinitely until the rightful owner or heir claims it, except for Indiana that only holds it for 25 years. After that, Indiana takes possession of it and you lose the right to it.
States keep the interest that the money earns. Don’t let your money earn interest for the state another day. Claim what’s yours today!