Money, Money. It happened again this week. I woke up from a wild dream that I was the CEO of a major car company and Daffy Duck just walked in and handed me 17 billion dollars. Not only that, but I don’t even have to explain what I plan to do with it. The week before I dreamed I was a bank CEO and Bugs Bunny hopped into my office and dropped off a giant sack of cash and yelled, “have fun and let me know if you need more,” as he left. An unexpected windfall, or as it is sometimes referred to, found money is always a pleasant surprise. Remember the last time you reached in a pants pocket and pulled out a five spot? It brought a smile to your face.
Think back over the years. Were there insurance policies that faded from memory? Stocks or bonds that got misplaced. Water or utility deposits never collected when our residence changed? Bank accounts and safe deposit box contents left behind? Maybe even some un-cashed checks and wages? Have you considered that our erudite electronic savant may lead us to found money? Is it possible that our digitally demonstrative servant might offer us a way to prospect for treasures unknown? Is it possible some cold hard cash is only a few keystrokes away?
Money, Money. Hundreds of companies claim they will find, for a small fee, lots of money lying around just waiting for us to claim it. However, our government requires lost assets to be turned over to the states. All but nine of the states and even a few Canadian provinces have joined together to facilitate reuniting lost assets with their owners. To augment the states' ability to locate lost property owners, MissingMoney.com, a national database, was established in November 1999 and is the only database endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA). MissingMoney.com enables owners to perform comprehensive searches for lost assets.
X marks the spot. Let’s start this treasure hunt with a trip to missingmoney.com. There we will learn that this site is a jumping off place for a search in any state we live or lived in. The database maintained by NAUPA is updated monthly and the searches we perform are, hold on to your hats, FREE. (Free cash for FREE, Martha) Start your search by entering your name. Remember, less is more. If you put in John Q. Public then the search will be for exactly that. But maybe your lost assets were made out to J. Q. Public. That will not show up unless you type it exactly that way. So start with just Public. Now every lost asset for any first name, initial or middle name Public will turn up in the results.
If your name appears with a lost asset it will display the name of the state holding the asset and the company or agency that reported the asset to the state. Click on your name, and it will take you to the state website where the real work begins. Every state has a form to fill out and you must be able to prove you are the person the asset belongs to. Dealing with the states in general can take months nevertheless the outcome may well be worth it. One person I talked to about their experience indicated it took almost nine months to work through the red tape, provide the documentation required and then just waiting for the wheels of government to turn. But, they got a check for twelve hundred dollars from some assets lost in the late 1950’s. Another friend reported that he received $400 representing a forgotten utility deposit.
Searching for hidden assets is fun too. (Unless there isn’t anything for me.) Still after spending some time searching for yourself, you will be tempted to plug in the name of your brother or sister, mom, dad, acquaintances and so on. My son is on his grandmothers favorite grandson list now because he happened to find her name on the list. He emailed her and she got a little cash out of it. Tell your family and friends about this site. Somebody’s experts, estimate 1 in every 8 people in the U.S. have missing money.
Money, Money. Maybe dreams can come true.
More helpful hints and ideas can be found in Grumbles From The Keyboard. And, if you like to eat while reading check out Epicuria: Adventures that really Cook!
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Grumbles From The Keyboard: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love My Computer: Courtland Nederveld: 9781467985895: Books
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Epicuria: An Adventure That Really Cooks!: Court Nederveld: 9781456561734: Books
Is there any further reading you would recommend on this?
ReplyDeleteAmela
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