According to one recent study, it’s been estimated that about one out of every seven people have some type of unclaimed property being held by a state. The average value of each account is just over $2,000. If you needed just a few statistics to illustrate just how common forgotten property and similar funds in particular are, let it be those.
Yet at the same time, the chasm between “knowing that you have misplaced funds” and “successfully claiming those funds that belong to you” can be a deep one, indeed. There are an unfortunate number of common hurdles that people sometimes face when going through this process and the key to avoiding them involves knowing as much about them as possible.
Lost Funds: Potential Hurdles, Practical Solutions
One of the most common obstacles people face regarding claiming forgotten funds involves simply finding them to begin with.
While it is absolutely true that states often have obligations to attempt to find the true owner of the funds before claiming them for themselves, this isn’t as comprehensive of a process as you might think. The organization that holds the funds may simply have to advertise their existence for a certain amount of time in a specific location, like on a website or in a newspaper. If you don’t read that newspaper, you won’t see the advertisement – but this requirement has technically been met.
Because of that, if you suspect that there is unclaimed wealth out there that is yours, begin with your state’s unclaimed property office. Conduct a comprehensive search for not only yourself, but for your loved ones. If you’ve lived in other states in the past, be sure to check there, too. Just because you currently live in Ohio wouldn’t mean that a search would return any lost assets you are owed from the time when you lived in California, for example.
Another common hurdle involves finding particular types of funds. For the sake of example, say that a bank account sat idle for a period of three years before being registered as “lost.” That would show up in a different database than any unpaid wages you were owed, which would only be revealed by conducting a search at the Department of Labor. Sit down and make a list of all the potential sources of these funds that might be out there so that you know which you have checked and which you haven’t as you conduct your search.
Finally, sometimes people have trouble with the process of actually getting access to those funds once they have been located. Oftentimes it’s not as simple as showing up at a specified location with your driver’s license and hoping for the best. If you have lost wealth out there that is the result of a bank failure in the past, your journey must begin with the FDIC database. In this case, you would then have to complete and submit a specific form that will be reviewed by an FDIC representative. You will then be notified how to get the funds, or whether it has been determined that you can claim them at all. If you disagree with this ruling, you’d have to go through an appeal process.
Claiming That Which Is Rightfully Yours
In the end, it was estimated that the total amount of misplaced property being held across multiple programs was valued at roughly $2.8 billion as of the end of 2020. Even if you’re fairly certain that you have no such funds out there somewhere, it’s always a good idea to check – you could easily be surprised.
These funds happen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes an account sits inactive for a period of time (usually three years) and the bank turns it over to the state. Other times, things like uncashed traveler’s checks just get lost in an inherently complicated system. Regardless, by understanding the issues people sometimes face when going to claim these funds, you can enjoy all the benefits of this process with as few of the potential downsides as possible.
If you’d like to find out more information about the common hurdles that people often face when claiming these types of funds, or if you have any additional questions that you’d like to go over with someone in a bit more detail, please don’t hesitate to contact the Wealth Recovery Alliance team today.