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States and federal agencies are holding billions of dollars in unclaimed property
and missing money. Assets are considered legally abandoned when contact
with owners is lost - typically due to an unreported address change
or the expiration of a postal forwarding order, name change after marriage or divorce, and incomplete or
illegible records. These funds are
transferred to a government trust account in a legal process known
as escheat. Here they await your claim. Bank accounts may be considered
abandoned if a deposit or withdrawal is not made over
a period of time, generally one to five years. This
may be true even in cases where CDs (Certificates of
Deposit) automatically "roll-over." Have
you lost track of a bank account, certificate of
deposit (CD), or safe deposit box? Did you
have unclaimed money at a bank that moved, changed
its name, or closed?
Don't assume
that because your bank, savings and loan or credit
union no longer exists that unclaimed funds are lost
forever. Your dormant account may have been
transferred to a new bank after a merger or
acquisition.
Even
in the event the bank failed and closed its doors,
you may still be entitled to collect insurance
proceeds - up to $100,000 per account - from
government regulators including FDIC (Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation) and NCUA (National Credit
Union Administration). Under the terms of the
Financial Institutions Reform Recovery &
Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), the government has
taken custody of several hundred million dollars
worth of insured accounts over the years, and
currently holds over half a million unclaimed
accounts.
Unclaimed
money may be recovered after years of inactivity,
even if a passbook is lost or destroyed, but
you must act promptly to safeguard your rights, as
some claims are subject to time limits. To trace an
unclaimed bank account, credit union share, lost
certificate of deposit or missing safe deposit box
order our Special Report: Unclaimed
Account Search
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