The BusinessWeek article discusses billions of dollars in unclaimed property being held by different states and how people can claim title to their property. For example, the Bureau of Public Debt has set up TreasuryHunt.gov where people can search for a missing US Savings Bonds by the original owner's Social Security number. The article also provides other useful info for claiming unclaimed property:Most people don't realize that even if the original holder of a bond has died, their heirs can still redeem it. Heirs can download a series of documents from www.treasurydirect.gov that enable them to state their relationship to the original owner and send in a copy of legal documentation, like a will or estate agreement, that proves it. Anyone who knowingly provides false information on these forms could potentially be brought up on perjury charges, according to the Treasury Dept. As for unused gift cards, in many states, firms are required to turn over any unused balances in expired gift cards over to the state. However, some firms are getting smart in trying to keep the money to themselves.Companies are getting smarter about unclaimed money, too. Many are establishing separate gift certificate companies in states such as Virginia, Ohio, and Arkansas that don't require unclaimed gift certificates to be transferred to the state where the parent company is incorporated. "So companies get to keep the difference," says Carter in Delaware. "The amount of gift certificates we receive has dropped dramatically." Listed below are some of sites you can check out for finding unclaimed property:- NAUPA - Also, called Unclaimed.org, this site is operated by National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, a non-profit organization affiliated with the National Association of State Treasurers and the Council of State Governments
- MissingMoney - this is a free site to check for unclaimed property
- MissingMoney.com: State Sites for Unclaimed Property - this page at MissingMoney contains links to the appropriate contact departments in different states for unclaimed property/assets
- TreasuryDirect - U.S. Federal Investments's Web site to search for missing or lost U.S. Savings Bonds for free
- HUD -This is the US HUD's site to check for any refund on part of insurance premium if you had a HUD/FHA insured mortgage
- PBGC - Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation offers "Missing Participants" service to locate people who may be owed certain benefits under the defined benefit pension plan but whose company's pension plan was transferred to PBGC
Labels: find lost savings bonds, find missing property, investing, investment, lost assets, unclaimed assets, unclaimed property |
