Unclaimed Money Finder’s Manual

How to Earn a Good Income by Reuniting People with Their Lost Money

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Publication is designed to provide accurate and authorative information in regard to the subject matter covered.  It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and author are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service.  If legal advice or other expert assistance is required the services of a competent professional should be sought.

 

Copyright © 2008 by 10001 Press Dot Com.  All rights reserved.  Printed in the United States of America.  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or review.  For information, write P.O. Box 538, Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii 96756-0538

 

Some of the methods presented in this book may be illegal in certain parts of the United States.  This book is sold for informational purposes only.

 

Introduction

 

In the United States today, experts think that about $40 billion in unclaimed money is collecting dust in state Abandoned and Unclaimed Property offices. Some of the monetary items that end up in a state's possessions after being declared abandoned by the  holding institution include:

forgotten bank accounts

un-cashed stock dividends

insurance payments

safe deposit boxes

utility deposits

travelers checks

money orders

security deposits

gift cards and certificates

People move away, lose track of investments, or die, and the accounts or funds, after a set amount of time — frequently three to five years - are reported to the state Treasurer's Escheats, Comptroller's, or Revenue office. The state then tries to track down, the owners and return the money.

If you think financial property may be held by your state, the first step is to contact the appropriate office (a state by state list follows) to find out whether your name is listed. Or, in the case of the estate of a deceased person, the listing would be under his/her name.

You will then fill out a claim form which you must return together with the required identification or proof of ownership. Requirements for proving ownership may vary according to the amount of the claim and the complications involved, but frequently states will ask for such things as copies of driver's licenses, social security numbers, and bank account numbers and passbooks. Most require that the information be notarized. A few states have limitations on how long they keep abandoned property before turning it over to state coffers, but most keep it indefinitely. Some also pay interest on ' the money if the property was originally interest-bearing.

Honest Finders vs. Vultures

The states currently owe money from abandoned property to an estimated one in ten people in the United States, according to attorney David Epstein. But many states do not have the resources to investigate every case, and do little more than advertise names of owners in local newspapers. The resulting gap is sometimes filled by professional "finders" or "heir searchers" who find the owners themselves and charge a fee or commission in exchange for returning it. They can obtain lists, legally in most cases but sometimes surreptitiously, of the names of the owners from the state offices, then conduct their own search. Some finders have charged commissions of 60% to 100%. The price of one finder’s fee in a past Colorado case was 30% of the dividends and all the shares of stock!

Finders can, however, perform a valuable service by reuniting people with money that would have been lost to them forever. Because of cases where these finders have charged excessive fees to people for returning their own money, and because of the strain their demands have put on some already over-burdened state offices, the finders have a shady reputation in some quarters. One state office, for example, refers to them as "bounty hunters," and another calls them "vultures." Many state offices feel that the finders infringe on the owner's right to have their money returned with no charge involved, which is the goal of the state.

The National Association of Abandoned Property Administrators says that since the states never find 100% of the owners) there is a place for honest finders. For example, if a state is unable to locate the owner of a sizable property that they did not even know about, and a finder does the job, then a service has been performed.

Many states, such as Texas, limit the amount of commission a finder may charge; and others have confidentiality laws that prevent them from aiding finders in any way.

One of the biggest obstacles states face is obtaining the cooperation of the banks, insurance companies, and other institutions in reporting properties to them.

Despite laws that govern how a holding institution should deal with dormant accounts, they are often low priority items in a business.  The states use to sometimes have to work very hard to convince unclaimed fund holders that they were best qualified to return the money.  All 50 of the United States have passed laws that penalize lax holding companies by charging them a fee.

With billions of dollars in property sitting around out there unclaimed, clearly many people have an interest in what happens to it. Finders, keepers, states and businesses all have something at stake, and the losers will be those who fail to take advantage of the services that are available.  For the entrepreneurial minded individual, the finder’s fee opportunity represents the obvious “no-brainer” stake.

EARNINGS DISCLAIMER

EVERY EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE TO ACCURATELY REPRESENT THIS PRODUCT AND IT'S POTENTIAL. EVEN THOUGH THIS INDUSTRY IS ONE OF THE FEW WHERE ONE CAN WRITE THEIR OWN CHECK IN TERMS OF EARNINGS, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL EARN ANY MONEY USING THE TECHNIQUES AND IDEAS IN THESE MATERIALS. EXAMPLES IN THESE MATERIALS ARE NOT TO BE INTERPRETED AS A PROMISE OR GUARANTEE OF EARNINGS. EARNING POTENTIAL IS ENTIRELY DEPENDENT ON THE PERSON USING OUR PRODUCT, IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES. WE DO NOT PURPORT THIS AS A "GET RICH SCHEME."

ANY CLAIMS MADE OF ACTUAL EARNINGS OR EXAMPLES OF ACTUAL RESULTS CAN BE VERIFIED UPON REQUEST. YOUR LEVEL OF SUCCESS IN ATTAINING THE RESULTS CLAIMED IN OUR MATERIALS DEPENDS ON THE TIME YOU DEVOTE TO THE PROGRAM, IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES MENTIONED, YOUR FINANCES, KNOWLEDGE AND VARIOUS SKILLS. SINCE THESE FACTORS DIFFER ACCORDING TO INDIVIDUALS, WE CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR SUCCESS OR INCOME LEVEL. NOR ARE WE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OF YOUR ACTIONS.

MATERIALS IN OUR PRODUCT AND OUR WEBSITE MAY CONTAIN INFORMATION THAT INCLUDES OR IS BASED UPON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS GIVE OUR EXPECTATIONS OR FORECASTS OF FUTURE EVENTS. YOU CAN IDENTIFY THESE STATEMENTS BY THE FACT THAT THEY DO NOT RELATE STRICTLY TO HISTORICAL OR CURRENT FACTS. THEY USE WORDS SUCH AS "ANTICIPATE," "ESTIMATE," "EXPECT," "PROJECT," "INTEND," "PLAN," "BELIEVE," AND OTHER WORDS AND TERMS OF SIMILAR MEANING IN CONNECTION WITH A DESCRIPTION OF POTENTIAL EARNINGS OR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE.

ANY AND ALL FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS HERE OR ON ANY OF OUR SALES MATERIAL ARE INTENDED TO EXPRESS OUR OPINION OF EARNINGS POTENTIAL. MANY FACTORS WILL BE IMPORTANT IN DETERMINING YOUR ACTUAL RESULTS AND NO GUARANTEES ARE MADE THAT YOU WILL ACHIEVE RESULTS SIMILAR TO OURS OR ANYBODY ELSES, IN FACT NO GUARANTEES ARE MADE THAT YOU WILL ACHIEVE ANY RESULTS FROM OUR IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES IN OUR MATERIAL.

 

Preface

 

 

Unclaimed property is the original consumer protection program.  Unclaimed property laws have been around since at least the 1940s, but have become much broader and more enforced in the last 15 years.  Every one of the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands – and Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta in Canada have unclaimed property programs.  Each have two mandates, they are to collect lost and unclaimed property from its holders and to actively find owners of these lost and forgotten assets.

 

What is Unclaimed Property?

Simply stated, any account in a financial institution or business that has not had any activity over a specific period of time. Specifics, like the period of time, are defined by the type of account and individual states and laws. Every state has different statutes and rules that govern Unclaimed Property.

Some examples of unclaimed property:

• Stocks

• Dividends

• Bonds

• Salaries or wages

• Savings accounts

• Safe Deposit Box contents

• Oil and gas royalties

• Mineral proceeds

• Pension Funds

Who could be affected by Unclaimed Property?

• Children

• Widowed Parent or Spouse

• Former Employees

• Heirs

• Memory Loss Patients (people with Alzheimer’s)

• Royalty Owners

• Senior Citizens

• Widows or Widowers

 

A total nearing close to $39.797 billion is currently being held by state treasurers and other agencies for 121 million accounts.   In FY 2007 from business accounts, $5.126 billion in unclaimed money was received by the different states and provinces where contact has been lost with the rightful owners.  $1.754 billion was returned to the rightful owners in Fiscal Year 2006.

The average individual does not know they have unclaimed money nor do they know how to claim it.  The state agencies responsible for policing unclaimed monies have attempted to make the claiming of unclaimed money as easy as possible, however, most people are intimidated and frighten by governmental procedures and are unwilling to try to make a claim.  That is why this is such a bountiful opportunity.

The secret to heir finder prosperity is shear volume.  Yes, on occasion you will encounter a mega unclaimed property estate, however, the majority of your finds will be in the hundreds and thousand dollar range. Processing hundreds of claims weekly for small finder’s fees can amount to multiple thousands of dollars per week earned.  With an average time spent of 45 minutes to an hour to locate an unclaimed money owner, this amounts to hundreds of dollars an hour.  Even part-time you can double your income with minimal investment and effort.

 

Table of Contents

Introduction                                                                                                               5

Honest Finders vs. Vultures                                                                                       6

Preface                                                                                                                        9

The $40 Billion Opportunity                                                                                                  13

How to Get Things Rolling                                                                                        19

Contacting the State Offices                                                                                                  22

Class Code                                                                                                                  23

State Offices of Unclaimed Property                                                                                      25

URL Address to State Offices of Unclaimed Property Web Site                               39

Heir Finder’s Business Basics                                                                                     45

The Contract                                                                                                                           48

After The Contract Is Returned To You                                                                    50

U.S. States Unclaimed Property List Available On-Line                                            53

Tracking Down the Address                                                                                                  59

The Post Office                                                                                                           60

Directories                                                                                                                  61

Cross-street Directory                                                                                                 62

Real Estate Plot Maps                                                                                                 62

Neighbors, Relatives, and Friends                                                                              64

Identity Theft Scare                                                                                                    66

Drivers Licenses and Automobile Records                                                                67

License Plates                                                                                                              77

Let the Courts Help You                                                                                             87

Social Security Records                                                                                              113

Social Security Index of Valid Prefix Numbers                                                          114

Military People                                                                                                            117

Other Methods of Locating People                                                                            121

Credit Card Companies                                                                                              122

Major Credit Card Issuers                                                                                          123

The Salvation Army                                                                                                                130

The Money Could Be Yours                                                                                                   133

Getting Your Money                                                                                                               133

Conducting Your Search                                                                                            134

Contacting the Company That Services Your Life Insurance Policy                                     135

Government Employee Retirement Pensions                                                            136

Public Employee Retirement Systems by State                                                          136

How to Prevent Your Money from Being Lost                                                          142

Appendix                                                                                                                     143

Quick Summary of Resources for Finding People                                                    144

Unclaimed and Abandoned Property Resources                                                       146

Glossary of Unclaimed Money Terms                                                                        154

Frequently Asked Questions about Unclaimed Money (Property)                                       161

The 50 U.S. States Government Web Site Addresses                                                164

Epilogue                                                                                                                      172

 

The $40 Billion Opportunity

Are you interested in staking a claim for a share of the $40,000,000,000 the government holds for just completing a few internet searches, making a few phone calls and looking in some phone books and city directories? That is all you have to do to begin earning thousands of dollars daily and in some cases, hourly. If you can read English and speak on the phone, and are slightly computer literate (a computer is not really necessary, however it does speed up the process) you can make thousands of dollars overnight — and you don't have to sell anything!

If you're tired of tired of expending hours trying to sell products and services that don't appeal to your potential customer, here is the perfect business opportunity for you. All you have to do is gather a little information about who owns some money and tell them about it.

How often do you think you will be turned down when you contact someone to inform them that you are contacting them to give them money that they were not aware they had.  This plan is radical and it is not that well-known.  And another great thing is this opportunity never ends because the government continues to collect more and more money every year.

I stumbled upon this opportunity purely by accident. Five years ago I got involved in a bad business investment and lost $37,000.  That was all that I had so I lost everything.  I needed money desperately to feed me and my family, so I was forced to take a job way below what I believed my station to be.  I worked as a waiter at the Sheraton Hotel in Hawaii by night, and work as a clerical assistant during the day. It was so exhausting that as soon as I got home I would sleep for just a few hours, wake up in a stupor, drink four cups of coffee and then scramble to-my next job.

I had no choice. It was the only thing I could do to stop disappointing my loved ones. I remember coming home on Mother's Day really eager to call my mother, only to find that my phone had been disconnected.

I went through the mail praying for some good news, only to find an envelope with no return address — it contained my eviction notice.  Thing were really getting bad.  At that point I begin believing I would have to take my family and we would have to live in our beat-up Ford station wagon.  Thankfully I had a friend who cared enough and was kind enough to let us stay with them. I never knew life could be so miserable. I sat down on the sidewalk realizing just how much being in debt could hurt. With tears in my eyes, I prayed for a way out.

My friend Jimbo, who was also experiencing similar financial problems as I, told me a story that changed my life forever. As I mentioned, he was in the same financial boat as I.  But that changed.  He could hardly contain himself.  He told me very excitedly, "I received a funny-looking letter. When I first saw it, I thought it was another creditor making a claim on me. I almost threw it away.  I am glad I did not. The letter told me about money that was rightfully mine — it said that if I signed the enclosed form, I would receive $2,592.59. Things were so bad that I had nothing to lose, so I signed the form and quickly returned it to the company.

"A couple weeks later I received a check for $2,592.59. A distant aunt had died and left $4,320.98 in her savings account. The company that found me collected $1,728.39. The firm had no trouble finding out that I was related to her. Just for doing some research and matching up people with the same last names, that agency must be earning millions of dollars every year."

It was just then that an amazing idea popped into my mind. I was overcome with excitement. This revolutionary system was so simple. I knew that anyone could do what this company was doing and make thousands of dollars for finding the rightful owners of lost money. All l had to do was come up with a system for finding them and getting the money to them. I worked out a plan.

It's a very simple plan. I was never considered smart. I had a C-plus grade point average in high school and one year I even failed English. But I didn’t let that keep me from putting my plan into action. I was determined because my family needed the money and I saw an opportunity that I knew I could do.

I knew if I applied myself and followed through my plan would work.  What made it the ideal opportunity for me is that the start-up cost was very low.  I did not have to invest a lot of capital in equipment or license or nothing like that.  My only real difficulty was determining how do I find out who has unclaimed funds due to them.  That became simple after a little research.  This business has no seasons; it works well in both good and bad economic conditions, all year round.  That was two years ago.

Last summer I moved my family into a newly custom built home. My wife told me it was her life long dream to own a brand new car. You should have seen her tears of joy when I surprised her with her with a brand new Honda Van. This year I bought a new Lexus coupe for myself.

The amount of money I was earning is incredible. How much…? Well I don’t want to mention figures because everyone that works the plan I will be explaining in this book is different.  Some will earn less than I did and some will earn more…much more.  Let’s just say as a tax shelter, I invested over half a million dollars in income properties and a quarter of a million dollars in other tax deferred instruments.

You can do the exact same thing.

Now anyone can earn thousands of dollars just by finding people who are entitled to unknown monies due them.  And, believe it or not, there is over fifty billion dollars just sitting out there waiting to be recovered. Ten percent of American citizens have either forgotten or lost money in bank accounts, stocks, insurance premiums, gift cards, safety deposit boxes, security deposits and other means.  Of those entitled to these unclaimed funds, less than 17% of these people are getting their money back.

Do the math…the U.S. population is approximately 280 million people.  Ten per cent, minimum are due unclaimed funds.  That’s 28 million people.  Of that 28 million only 17% know and seek out their unclaimed funds, either because they are knowledgeable of the program or have been contacted by a finder or the state that is holding their funds.  That totals 476,000 or less than half a million of a total 28 million people who have been contacted.  That leaves a market of over 27,500,000 others individuals who need to be made aware of unclaimed funds awaiting their claim.

Now understand that these numbers are only estimates based on statistics provided by industry findings.  The actual numbers may be more or less.  I extended the figures out to give you an idea of how large a market there is available to work with.  This is not a well publicized opportunity.  There is only a small number of professional finder’s currently providing this service.  This opportunity is far from being saturated.  How many of this number to you think live in your state? There are people in all fifty states that have unclaimed funds due them. 

The states do make some effort to contact the rightful owners; however, it is not a strong effort. Limited budget and manpower resources restrict their effectiveness. They are slow to increase available funds to beef up their contact efforts, and why should they?   Unclaimed property is one of their largest sources of revenue, second only to taxes? The states are required by law to make a list of unclaimed owners, but most of the people who are owed money don't know about these lists.

Locating People

How hard is it to locate an individual who owns unclaimed property? One California bank had an unclaimed property list with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball on it.

Here’s an example.  Let’s look at what someone who has never done an unclaimed property search was able to do. Thomasine Steinhart, a writer for a small east coast weekly newspaper who doesn't know that much about finding people located the owners of $4,100 unclaimed funds refund in two-and-a-half hours with two telephone directories. She went to the Maryland Treasurer Office, Department of Unclaimed Property and picked up a list of current unclaimed property owners.  She started with only 15 names.  She began making phone calls.  On her very first phone call, she reached the "lost money" owner's mother who told her that her daughter was still living at the address and had been for 33 years.

You will be able to do the same. All you need is a phone book, city directories, library references, a current state list of unclaimed property claimants and some time to make yourself a fortune. This guide will show you exactly how to find people on unclaimed property lists.

 

 

 

A 1922 San Francisco Chronicle newspaper article that discuss unclaimed money in San Francisco Banks at that time

 

To make your quest for unclaimed money easier, I have information about advanced systems of searching for people that only the top private investigators and government security organizations use. You will be amazed at how easy it is to find anyone you want — no matter where this person is.

How to Get Things Rolling

I know it sounds hard to believe and in today’s economy it is difficult to fathom that people put billions of dollars in banks and other institutions and then forget that they put it there.  But it is true, they do.  I know you and I would have a hard time doing that. But our financial condition is most likely different from many of these who do theirs.  But again, the truth is that it happens all the time. Your goal as a finder is to contact the owners of this unclaimed money and collect a fee for your services. There are other finders doing just that and are making a hefty profit every year.

I’m going to intervene here and make this statement.  It takes work to reap the rewards this opportunity offers.  It is not difficult work but it is work.  Efforts in the form or research, phone calls, sending letters and follow up are essential.

All fifty United States and its territories have some form of unclaimed property office that has the sole responsibility of collecting and returning unclaimed money back to its rightful owner. In many cases the unclaimed property office is a division of the states treasury department.  Every state has different laws and policies regarding the handling of unclaimed money.

Let take a look at how the process of how money and other property is left unclaimed. A person, due to neglect, forgetfulness or death will leave behind money in a bank, with a landlord, with a utility company, a retail store, or other  institutions that require funds be placed on deposit. These institution, whether it be a bank, insurance company, business (retirement fund), government office, or even a security company, after the money has gone unclaimed for a specific period of time must report unclaimed money to the state. If the unclaimed money is not claimed by the owner in a specified period of time (the amount of time varies from state to state; in California it is five to seven years, depending on the institution), this money must be turned over to the state treasury department.

Alabama Unclaimed Property Division Search for Lost Money  (Updated Daily)   Check the Status of a Previously Filed Claim Holder Reporting Business Reporting Requirements     Claims for unclaimed property held by the State of Alabama are processed by the Office of State Treasurer Kay Ivey. There is no charge for this service! Please click on the button below to use this service or call toll free at 1-888-844-8400. Each year millions of dollars are turned over to the State Treasurer's Office by businesses who are unable to contact property owners. These funds may be in the form of cash, stocks, bonds, securities, insurance benefits, etc. This site allows you to search the State Treasurer's Unclaimed Property Database to determine if we may be holding unclaimed assets belonging to you or your family or business. Unclaimed assets are reported in the name or Social Security number of the owner(s) along with any owner information (if available). The Treasurer's office will periodically update this database to include new names reported and to remove those which have completed the claim process and have been returned to its rightful owner(s). To download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader, click here and follow Adobe's instructions for downloading and installing Adobe Acrobat Reader. We recommend you bookmark our website now to make returning easier. Claims for unclaimed property held by the State of Alabama are processed by the Office of State Treasurer Kay Ivey. There is NO CHARGE for this service!  Please click on the button below to use this service.

THE CALIFORNIA UNCLAIMED PROPERTY PROGRAM   The Unclaimed Property Law is designed to return unclaimed property to owners or to their heirs. These people have either forgotten about the property, or in some instances did not even know of its existence.   The State does not receive any of this "abandoned" property until it has been held by the organizations reporting it for seven years after the last contact with the named owners. The State begins its efforts to contact the owners as soon as the property is reported to us. The State Controller publishes the names of owners in a newspaper in the county of their last known address.  In addition, the State Controller also mails a notice to the named owners at their last known address.   Current lists are also distributed to main libraries and interested TV and radio stations. Microfilmed records of all accounts that have not been claimed are maintained in our office and are open for public review on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:00 to 4:30 p.m.  These microfilmed records have also been made available for purchase,  (See Exhibit "3" for cost and ordering instructions.)  The success of the unclaimed property program is evident. Last year alone, almost $10 million dollars were restored to owners as a result of program effort.   In addition to unclaimed property, we also receive Estates of Deceased Persons. These come to us under provision of the Probate Code. Microfilmed listings of the estates are also available for review or purchase.  (See Exhibit "3" for cost).  Unlike abandoned property accounts, which are held in perpetuity, these estates do permanently escheat after a period of time and are no longer available to claim after a specified date.   Estates with named heirs in the amount of $1,000 or greater are subject to judicial escheat.  After we have held the money received on these estates for a period of five years, we send a list to the Attorney General's Office.  Their office publishes the list, again verifies with us that there has been no activity on the account, and then initiates a court order to affect permanent escheat.  Five years from the date of this order we then complete the escheat action.  Thus, on these estates the property is subject to claim for 10 years after receipt of funds by our office.   Estates with named heirs under $1,000 and all estates with no named heirs are subject to administrative escheat. The estates under $1,000 with known heirs escheat 10 years after we receive the money - the estates with no known heirs’ escheat 5 years after receipt of money.   We publish a legal notice listing the estates under $1,000 with known heirs in the San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles areas.  The above escheated actions are reversible if it can be demonstrated that an inquiry or claim was initiated before the escheat date.

 

Some states have no time restriction for a person to claim his or her money once it is in the hands of the state, but some states do have time restrictions. Wyoming only allows owners five years to claim their money, while states like Indiana allow owners 25 years.

One more thing to remember is that some states pay interest on unclaimed money (not more than 5 percent). However, most states don't pay interest on the unclaimed money that's sitting in their accounts.

 

Contacting the State Offices

The state offices contain a gold mine of information. They have lists of owners of unclaimed property. Some states will sell you a copy of the list. Most will let you view the records if you go to the department office. But the most convenient way to see the lists may be to go to your local library where the lists may be on file. You may want to call your library to see if you can have access to their lists.

In addition to the unclaimed property, the states also receive estates of deceased persons. Listings of the estates are also available for review or purchase. Unlike abandoned property accounts—which are held in perpetuity—these estates do permanently escheat or revert to the state, after a period of time and are no longer available to claim after a specified date. In legal jargon, if an estate is subject to "escheat," it means that the state has the authority to take the money permanently if the rightful heirs don't claim it within a set number of years.

Contact your state office or any state office of unclaimed property owners from them. The unclaimed property office in your state must let you have access to this list.

Some state offices may not send you the list of names, or they may charge you a large fee. There's a way around this in most states, and that is to go to the unclaimed property office in person. A few states now require appointments, but be persistent and you can see the lists.

 

CLASS CODE

CODE TYPE OF ORGANIZATION   Banking Organizations Financial Organizations      Savings and Loans Business Associations      Title Companies-Escrow      Escrow Companies      Collection Agencies      Credit Bureaus   Convalescent Homes Mortgage Companies Equity & Mortgage	CODE TYPE OF INTANGIBLE PROPERTY   0.  Demand Deposits 1. Savings Deposits and Interest 2. Money orders and Travelers Checks 3.  Drafts, Certified Checks, Christmas Club Checks, Cashier Checks 4. Contents of Safe Deposit Boxes and Safekeeping Items 5. Trust Deposits (Escrow) 6. Liquidating Funds 7. Earnings due shareholders-Dividends 8. Shares of Stock 9. Miscellaneous Funds-(Wages, Refunds,                     Accounts Payable, Collections, etc.)
Life Insurance Companies	1.  Matured or Terminated Policies 2.  Policy Holders Dividends 3.  Premium Refunds Returned 6. Liquidating Funds 7. Earnings due Shareholders 8. Unclaimed Shares Stock 9. Miscellaneous Funds-(Commissions, Wages, Accounts Payable, etc.)
Public Officer and Agencies Other Holders, Courts, etc.	9.  All Intangible Personal Property
Utilities:      Telephone      Water      Electric      Natural Gas	5. Trust Deposits (Escrow) 6. Liquidating Funds 7. Earnings due Shareholders 8. Shares of Stock 9. Miscellaneous Funds-(Wages, Refunds Accounts Payable, Collections, etc.)
Insurance Companies      (Other than Life Insurance)	1.  Terminated Policies 2.  Policyholders Dividends 3.  Premium Refund Returned 6. Liquidating Funds 7. Earnings due Shareholders 8. Unclaimed Shares of Stock 9. Miscellaneous Funds-(Commissions, Wages, Accounts Payable, etc.)
Credit Unions Loan Companies Credit Associations	1.  Savings Deposits and Interest 2. Money Orders and Travelers Checks 3.  Drafts, Certified Checks, Christmas Club Checks, Cashier Checks 6. Liquidating Funds 9. Miscellaneous Funds

 

Various types of intangible unclaimed property

Persistence in seeing the list and going to the office in person pays. A 14-year-old boy in Connecticut was having trouble getting the list from his state's office, so he went in person. He reviewed the list, jotted down 30 names, and began his search for the rightful owners. After finding the first few names on the list, he told me that he's now $16,212 richer— and he earned his wealth in just a few days.     

Here are the names and addresses of the state agencies to contact. If you need the phone number, it can be found in the front of your white pages where there is a listing of state offices, or call information.

State Offices of Unclaimed Property

  You can contact the offices listed below to request claim forms and receive additional information regarding the documents needed to make your abandoned property claim.  

 AL  -  Alabama
Office of State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 302520
Montgomery, AL 36130-2520
Phone: (334) 242-9614
Toll Free: (888) 844-8400
alatreas@treasury.alabama.gov

AK  -  Alaska
State of Alaska
Treasury Division
PO Box 110405
Juneau, AK 99811-0405
Phone: (907) 465-3726

AB  -  Alberta Canada
Alberta Finance and Enterprise
Unclaimed Property
9811 109 Street
Edmonton, AB T5K 2L5
Phone: 780-427-3044 - Fax: 780-644-4921
tra.revenue@gov.ab.ca

AZ  -  Arizona
Department of Revenue
Unclaimed Property Unit
P.O. Box 29026, Site Code 604
Phoenix, AZ 85038-9026
Phone: (602) 364-0380

AR  -  Arkansas
Unclaimed Property Division
Auditor of State
1401 W. Capitol Ave., Suite 325
Little Rock, AR 72201-1811
Phone: 501-6866000
Toll Free: 1-800-252-4648
claimit@auditorjimwood.org

BC  -  British Columia Canada
British Columbia Unclaimed Property Society
Harbour Centre PO Box 12136
Vancouver, BC V6B 4N6

CA  -  California
Division of Collections
Bureau of Unclaimed Property
P.O. Box 942850
Sacramento, CA 94250-5873
Phone: (916) 323-2827
CA Residents 1-800-992-4647

CO  -  Colorado
Colorado Department of the Treasury
Great Colorado Payback
1580 Logan, Suite #500
Denver, CO 80203
Phone: (303) 866-6070
Toll Free: 800) 825-2111 - Fax: (303) 866-6154

CT  -  Connecticut
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
PO Box 5065
Hartford, CT 06102
Toll Free: (800) 833-7318

DE  -  Delaware
Department of Finance, Division of Revenue
State Escheator
P.O. Box 8931
Wilmington, DE 19801-3509
Phone: (302) 577-8220

DC  -  District of Columbia
DC Office of Finance and Treasury
Unclaimed Property Unit
810 1st Street, NE, Suite 401
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 442-8181
dcunclaimed.property@dc.gov

FL  -  Florida
Florida Department of Financial Services
Unclaimed Property Bureau
200 E. Gaines Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0358
Phone: 850-413-5555
Toll Free: 888-258-2253 - Fax: 850-413-3017
funclaim@myfloridacfo.com

GA  -  Georgia
Georgia Department of Revenue
Local Government Services- Unclaimed Property
4245 International Parkway, Suite A
Hapeville, GA 30354-3918
Phone: (404) 968-0490 - Fax: (404) 968-0772
ucpmail@dor.ga.gov

GU  -  Guam
Treasurer of Guam
PO Box 884
Hagatna, GU 96932

HI  -  Hawaii
Department of Budget and Finance
Unclaimed Property Program
P.O. Box 150
Honolulu, HI 96810
unclaimedproperty@hawaii.gov

ID  -  Idaho
State Tax Commission
Unclaimed Property Program
P.O. Box 70012
Boise, ID 83707-0112
Phone: (208) 334-7627
Toll Free: 1-800-972-7660
lostandfound@tax.idaho.gov

IL  -  Illinois
Office of State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 19495
Springfield, IL 62794-9495
Phone: (217) 785-6992
IL Residents 1-866-458-7327
info@cashdash.net

IN  -  Indiana
Office of the Attorney General
Unclaimed Property Division
PO Box 2504
Greenwood, IN 46142
Toll Free: 1.866.462.5246
upd@atg.state.in.us

IA  -  Iowa
Great Iowa Treasure Hunt
Lucas State Office Building
321 E. 12th St., 1st Floor.
Des Moines, IA 50319
Phone: 515-281-5367
foundit@tos.state.ia.us

KS  -  Kansas
Kansas State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
900 SW Jackson, Suite 201
Topeka, KS 66612-1235
Phone: (785) 296-4165
Toll Free: 1-800-432-0386
KS Residents 1-800-432-0386 - Fax: 1-785-291-3172
unclaimed@treasurer.state.ks.us

KY  -  Kentucky
Kentucky State Treasury
Unclaimed Property Division
1050 US Highway 127 South, Suite 100
Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: 1-800-465-4722
Fax: (502) 564-4200
unclaimed.property@ky.gov

LA  -  Louisiana
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 91010
Baton Rouge, LA 70821-9010
Phone: 225-219-9400
Toll Free: 1-888-925-4127

ME  -  Maine
Office of the State Treasurer
Attn: Unclaimed Property
39 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
Phone: (207) 624-7470
ME Residents (888) 283-2808
up.claimstatus@maine.gov

MD  -  Maryland
Comptroller of Maryland
Unclaimed Property Unit
301 W. Preston Street
Baltimore, MD 21201-2385
Phone: 410-767-1700
Toll Free: 1-800-782-7383
unclaim@comp.state.md.us

MA  -  Massachusetts
Department of the State Treasurer
Abandoned Property Division
One Ashburton Place, 12th Floor
Boston, MA 02108-1608
Phone: 617-367-0400
MA Residents 1-800-647-2300

 

MI  -  Michigan
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
Lansing, MI 48922
Phone: (517) 636-5320 - Fax: (517) 636-5324

MN  -  Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Commerce
Unclaimed Property Program
85 7th Place East, Suite 500
St. Paul, MN 55101-2198
Phone: 651-296-2568
MN Residents 1-800-925-5668

MS  -  Mississippi
Mississippi Treasury
Unclaimed Property Division
PO Box 138
Jackson, MS 39205
Phone: (601) 359-3600

MO  -  Missouri
State Treasurer's Office
Unclaimed Property Section
P.O. Box 1004
Jefferson City, MO 65102-1272
Phone: (573) 751-0840
ucp@treasurer.mo.gov

MT  -  Montana
Department of Revenue
Attn: Unclaimed Property
P.O. Box 5805
Helena, MT 59604-5805
Phone: (406) 444-6900 - Fax: (406) 444-0722
unclaimedproperty@mt.gov

NE  -  Nebraska
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
809 P St
Lincoln, NE 68508
Phone: (402) 471-2455

NV  -  Nevada
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
555 E Washington Avenue, Suite 4200
Las Vegas, NV 89101-1070
Phone: 702-486-4140
NV Residents 1-800-521-0019

NH  -  New Hampshire
Treasury Department
Unclaimed Property Division
25 Capitol Street, Room 205
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: (603) 271-2619
NH Residents (800) 791-0920
aptreasury@treasury.state.nh.us

NJ  -  New Jersey
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property
P.O. Box 214
Trenton, NJ 08695-0214
Phone: (609) 292-9200
NJ.UnclaimedProperty@treas.state.nj.us

NM  -  New Mexico
Taxation & Revenue Department
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 25123
Santa Fe, NM 87504-5123
Phone: (505) 476-1774
uproperty@state.nm.us

NY  -  New York
Office of the State Comptroller
Office of Unclaimed Funds
110 State Street, 8th Floor
Albany, NY 12236
Phone: 1-518-270-2200
Toll Free: 1-800-221-9311
NY Residents 1-800-221-9311
NYSOUF@osc.state.ny.us

NC  -  North Carolina
Department of State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Program
325 North Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC 27603-1385
Phone: (919) 508-1000 - Fax: (919) 508-5181
Unclaimed.Property@nctreasurer.com

ND  -  North Dakota
State Land Department
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 5523
Bismarck, ND 58506-5523
Phone: 701.328.2800
llfisher@state.nd.us

OH  -  Ohio
Department of Commerce
Division of Unclaimed Funds
77 South High Street, 20th floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6108
Phone: (614) 466-4433
Toll Free: 877-644-6823
unfdmm@com.state.oh.us

OK  -  Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
4545 N. Lincoln Blvd., Ste. 106
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-3413
Phone: (405) 521-4273
unclaimed@treasurer.ok.gov

OR  -  Oregon
Division of State Lands
Trust Property Section
775 Summer St. NE #100
Salem, OR 97301-1279
Phone: (503) 378-3805

PA  -  Pennsylvania
Treasury Department
Bureau of Unclaimed Property
P.O. Box 1837
Harrisburg, PA 17105-1837
Toll Free: 1-800-222-2046

PR  -  Puerto Rico
Office of the Commissioner of Financial Inst.
Alfredo Padilla, Commissioner
PO Box 11855
San Juan, PR 00910-3855
Phone: (787) 723-3131 X 2330
up@ocif.gobierno.pr

QC  -  Quebec Canada
Unclaimed Property
500, boulevard Rene-Levesque Ouest, Bureau 10.00
Montreal Quebec, QC H2Z 1W7

RI  -  Rhode Island
Office of the General Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 1435
Providence, RI 02901
Phone: (401) 222-6505
ups@treasury.state.ri.us

 

SC  -  South Carolina
Unclaimed Property Program
State Treasurer's Office
P. O. Box 11778
Columbia, SC 29211
Phone: (803) 737-4771 - Fax: (803) 734-2668
payback@sto.sc.gov

SD  -  South Dakota
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
500 East Capitol Ave, Suite 212
Pierre, SD 57501-5070
Phone: (605) 773-3379

TN  -  Tennessee
Treasury Department - Unclaimed Property Division
Andrew Jackson Bldg., 9th Floor
500 Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN 37243-0242
Phone: (615) 741-6499

TX  -  Texas
Comptroller of Public Accounts
Unclaimed Property Division
Post Office Box 12019
Austin, TX 78711-2019
Toll Free: 1-800-654-FIND (3463)
unclaimed.property@cpa.state.tx.us

UT  -  Utah
State Treasurer's Office
Unclaimed Property Division
341 South Main St., 5th Floor
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Phone: (801) 320-5360
Toll Free: 1-888-217-1203

VT  -  Vermont
Vermont State Treasurer
Abandoned Property Division
Pavillion Building 109 State Street, 4th Floor
Montpelier, VT 05609-6200
Phone: 802-828-2407
VT Residents 1-800-642-3191

VI  -  Virgin Islands
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
Division of Banking
18 Kongens Gade
St. Thomas, VI 00802
Phone: 340-774-7166

VA  -  Virginia
Virginia Department of the Treasury
Division of Unclaimed Property
P.O. Box 2478
Richmond, VA 23218-2478
Phone: (804) 225-2393
Toll Free: 1-800-468-1088
ucpmail@trs.virginia.gov

WA  -  Washington
Department of Revenue
Unclaimed Property Section
PO Box 47477
Olympia, WA 98504-7477
Phone: (360) 705-6706
WA Residents 1-800-435-2429
ucp@dor.wa.gov

WV  -  West Virginia
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property Division
One Players Club Drive
Charleston, WV 25311
Phone: 304-558-2937
Toll Free: 1-800-642-8687

WI  -  Wisconsin
State Treasurer's Office
Unclaimed Property Unit
P.O. Box 2114
Madison, WI 53701-2114
Phone: (608) 267-7977 - Fax: (608) 261-6799
unclaim@ost.state.wi.us

WY  -  Wyoming
Office of the State Treasurer
Unclaimed Property
2515 Warren Avenue, Suite 502
Cheyenne, WY 82002

Phone: 307-777-5590
 

URL Address to State Offices of Unclaimed Property Web Site

 

Alabama

http://www.treasury.state.al.us/up/

 

Alaska

http://www.revenue.state.ak.us/treasury/programs/programs/index.aspx?23050

 

Arizona

http://www.azunclaimed.gov/

 

Arkansas

http://www.state.ar.us/auditor/unclprop/

 

California

http://www.sco.ca.gov/col/ucp/

 

Colorado

http://www.colorado.gov/treasury/gcp/

 

Connecticut

http://www.ctbiglist.com/

Delaware

http://revenue.delaware.gov/

 

District of Columbia

http://cfo.dc.gov/cfo/cwp/view,a,1326,q,590614,cfoNav,|33208|.asp

 

Florida

http://www.fltreasurehunt.org/index.jsp

 

Georgia

http://www.etax.dor.ga.gov/ptd/ucp/index.aspx

 

Hawaii

http://hawaii.gov/budget/uncprop/

or

http://www.unclaimedproperty.hawaii.gov/

 

Idaho

http://tax.idaho.gov/unclaimed.htm

 

Illinois

http://www.treasurer.il.gov/programs/cash-dash/cash-dash.aspx

 

Kansas

http://www.kansascash.com/prodweb/up/index.php

Maryland

https://interactive.marylandtaxes.com/Individuals/Unclaim/default.aspx

 

Massachusetts

http://abpweb.tre.state.ma.us/abp/abp.htm

 

Michigan

http://www.michigan.gov/treasury/0,1607,7-121-1748_1876_1912-7924--,00.html

 

Minnesota

http://www.state.mn.us/portal/mn/jsp/content.do?id=536881373&agency=Commerce

 

Mississippi

http://www.treasury.state.ms.us/Unclaimed/

 

Missouri

http://www.treasurer.mo.gov/mainUCP.asp

 

Montana

http://mt.gov/revenue/programsandservices/unclaimedproperty.asp

 

Nebraska

http://www.treasurer.state.ne.us/up/upsearchprop.asp

 

 

Nevada

https://nevadatreasurer.gov/uphome.htm

New Hampshire

http://www.nh.gov/treasury/Divisions/AP/APindex.htm

 

New Jersey

http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/updiscl.shtml

 

New Mexico

https://ec3.state.nm.us/ucp/

 

New York

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/ouf/index.htm

 

North Carolina

https://www.treasurer.state.nc.us/DstHome/AdminServices/UnclaimedProperty/

 

North Dakota

http://www.land.nd.gov/

 

Ohio

http://www.com.state.oh.us/unfd/treasurehunt.asp

 

Oklahoma

http://www.ok.gov/treasurer/Unclaimed_Property/

Oregon

http://www.oregon.gov/DSL/UP/

Pennsylvania

http://www.patreasury.org/Unclaimed/Search.html

 

Rhode Island

http://www.treasury.ri.gov/unclaimedproperty/

 

South Carolina

http://treasurer.sc.gov/palm_payb_prog_uncla_prop/

 

South Dakota

http://www.sdtreasurer.com/default.asp?page=unclaimed_property

 

Tennessee

http://www.tn.gov/treasury/unclaim/index-find.htm

 

Texas

http://www.window.state.tx.us/up/

 

Utah

http://www.up.utah.gov/UP_Start.asp

 

Vermont

http://www.vermonttreasurer.gov/unclaimed/index.html

 

Virginia

http://www.trs.virginia.gov/Ucp/ucp.asp

 

West Virginia

http://www.wvsto.com/Unclaimed+Property/DefaultUP.htm

 

Washington State

http://ucp.dor.wa.gov/

 

Wisconsin

http://www.statetreasury.wisconsin.gov/section.asp?linkid=1381&locid=155

 

Wyoming

http://treasurer.state.wy.us/uphome.asp

 

 

Heir Finder’s Business Basics

Now is the time to begin earning money by returning lost money to the rightful owners.  Here are the simple steps to start the process;

1.         Contact your local state office and get a list of unclaimed property owners. The state office will either give you a list of all unclaimed owners or direct you to the local newspaper ad in which they published a list of current unclaimed property owners. Almost every state publishes the accounts in the largest circulation newspapers of every county either once or twice a year. The month they publish this list varies, however, the most popular month for the listings appears to be February. The lists are found in the Legal Notices section of the paper. An example of a newspaper Legal Notice clipping of unclaimed owners has been included at the end of this chapter.

 

2.      You have the list of names from your state office.  Now it is time to set up your business. Some record keeping is necessary so you will need some file folders and some place to store them.  This is a small expense, about $5.00.  This is the best time to establish good work habits. Remember this is a business, so treat it like it is one.  Since it is a business another important part is how much will you charge for your finder’s fee.  Some states have a limit on the amount of finder’s fee you can charge.  It is important that you also obtain a copy of your state’s and the unclaimed property statute for each state you will be offering your services in.  The first question most new finders ask is: how much should you charge for your finder's fee? I say that one-third or 33.3 percent of a share of the unclaimed money is fair. There are those who charge up to 65 percent commission to find owners of unclaimed money. I think that is rather high. But the ball is in your court—you can charge whatever you think is fair. But do remember, some states do have limits to the amount of fee you can charge and there are penalties for non compliance.  Know the law for the state you are servicing!

 

After you find the name for a particular individual you contact him or her either by phone or mail. You then explain to this person that they will receive a check for a sum of money if he or she can provide the correct verification and afterwards, signs and notarizes the contract you are sending. Notarization is done by a public notary. After the person signs the contract, you will then send the information to the state and they will tell you what further information they need to process the claim. Easy, isn't it? You'll have money in your pocket in a matter of weeks.

Some states won't release how much the account is for until they know you have found the right person. What you tell the claimant is that you need a copy of their driver’s license and/or social security number when they send the contract back to you so that initial verification can be made. Tell them that your source (the state) will release the amount and you will tell them what it is once that verification is made.

Some states won't allow you to share one-third with the property owner you've found. Check with a lawyer if you are unsure of regulations in your state. Included is a sample of a document you can use as a guide for drawing up the contract between you and the unclaimed property owner. Be sure you check with a lawyer first to make sure everything in your document is legal and falls within the state you are servicing statutes—as you know each state is different.

If contacting the potential unclaimed property owner by telephone, here is a sample conversation for you to study. In my experience of contacting unclaimed property owners, they will be skeptical and highly suspicious of you initially.  A relaxed professional tone is important.  This is how a typical conversation would go:

You: May I speak to Ms. Mary Brown?

Mary: Hello. This is she.

You: Hello, Ms. Brown. This is Harold Macman with Heir Finders here in Seattle.

Mary: What can I do for you?

You: Ms. Brown, Heir Finders assists and unites individuals with lost and unclaimed properties that they may not be aware are due them.  We have come across $6,752.31 that is due you and have assisted in obtaining for you.

Mary: Just a minute, I don't have $6,752.31 coming to me.

You: Ms. Brown, haven't you heard of wealthy people leaving money behind to people that didn't even know them or distant relative passing and leaving money and property without a will?

Mary: Yes.

You: Well, Ms. Brown, this money is definitely yours; however, I can't tell you the source of this money at this point until more information is obtained.

Mary: Are you telling me the truth? Is this some type of crank call? I have read stories in the newspaper about call like this. Is this really legitimate?

You: I assure you, Ms. Brown, that everything I am telling you is the complete truth based on the information that has been discovered to this point in time.

Mary: If this is true that would definitely be a Godsend because I could sure use that money. What do I have to do to get it?

You: Ms. Brown, I will be sending you a form in the mail. All you have to do is sign the form and the money is yours.

Mary: That is all I have to do?

You: Yes, Ms. Brown, my record lists your address as 1234 Forbes Lane N.E., Seattle, Washington, 98442. Is this your correct address?

Mary: No that is my old address. My current address is 1 7851 Hearst Street S.W., Emerson, Washington, 98234.

You: All right, I have updated my record and will send the form to that address.  Ms. Brown you'll find everything you need to know about Heir Finder’s and what you need to do to get your money in the packet exactly the way I explained it to you. If you have any questions, you're welcome to call me at 800-934-5674, ext. 564.

Mary: Okay.

You: Ms. Brown, it is very important that you send this form back to me as quickly as possible. The sooner you return the form to me, the sooner you will have your money.

Mary: Thank you and I'll be speaking to you soon.

You: You're welcome. Goodbye.

 

The Contract

Below is a guideline for the contract between you (the Investigator) and the person whose property you've recovered (the Claimant):

Investigator Agreement/Contract

Claimant______________________________________

Address_______________________________________

Reported______________________________________

Social Security Number_______—_______—_______

Type of Account_____________ Amount_____________

Stock___________________________________________

I

This agreement is entered into by and between

_________________________________________________hereinafter referred to as "Claimant", and

_________________________________________________hereinafter referred to as "Investigator".

II

The Investigator, through his/her efforts, has located claimant, who will be entitled to the above described assets.

III

Investigator and Claimant do hereby agree that in consideration of Investigator's efforts in locating Claimant and assisting in the actual recovery of the above described assets to which Claimant is entitled, Claimant hereby assigns to the Investigator a set fee of (the finder’s fee percentage goes here) for expenses and services rendered, providing Claimant recovers described assets.

 

 

IV

Investigator and Claimant agree that in the event Claimant is not entitled to assets described above and such assets are not recovered, there is no obligation on either party to the other.

This agreement is void unless executed by both parties.

Investigator__________________________________________

Phone______________Address__________________________

_____________________________________________________

Date                                                     Investigator's Signature

Claimant_____________________________________________

Phone________________Address_________________________

______________________________________________________

Date                                                        Claimant's Signature

 

 

 

 

The Reported Line, in this sample contract, is to be filled in with the year that the bank, insurance company, or other unclaimed property generator reported the money to the state. If the state you are servicing does not release information about the account, then you should leave the type of account and amount section off your form. You can not be expected you to know this information if they haven't been revealed.  An individual finding their own unclaimed property account wouldn't know this information if they just saw their name in the paper.

When producing your form make it look professional.  Create an informative header that includes company contact information such as, company name and logo, address, telephone number, email address, and web site address if applicable.  The packet should also include a cover letter, brochure about your company and a self address return envelope should be included.

If the property value isn’t stated, then you will need to specify your finder’s fee percentage in Section III of the contract.  This is the percentage of the property value that you will be receiving instead of listing the actual amount, since you don't know what it is. You may also need to modify other sections of the contract to specify the lack of unclaimed property value information.

It would be a good idea to review and discuss the contract with an attorney or other legal authority with in the state you are servicing. Unclaimed property laws change frequently from state to state, so it is important that you be aware and abide with the state laws that regulate unclaimed property in your state and the state(s) you service. The contract presented herein contains a good guideline for you to follow.

Some state’s require that finder’s have special licenses.  Know if your state or the state you are servicing requires that you need a private investigator's license. These states did require special licensing at one time, be sure that you confirm the current status of unclaimed property finder’s licensing requirements if you will be servicing Florida, New Mexico, Washington, Arizona and New York.

 

After The Contract Is Returned To You

After you have received the completed contract and other necessary documentation, you are prepared to proceed to the next step. You should contact the state unclaimed property office and send them a copy of your signed contract as well as verification documentation and identification to prove that the person you found is indeed the individual that owns the unclaimed money.

When the state receives your paperwork, they will send you forms to complete.  This may sometimes include a claim form for the claimant to complete.  If this is one of the state’s requirements, you may want to include a copy of the state’s unclaimed property application or facsimile in the contact packet you send to the claimant. 

After you fill out the forms and return them to the state, they in turn will send a check in the mail. Depending on the state, the check may be sent to you or to the claimant. Other states will send the check to you but in the claimant's name to make sure everybody gets their money. You will have to ask the state office’s you service how they disburse their checks.

It is as easy as that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Example of a newspaper published Unclaimed Property List

 

 

50 U.S. States Unclaimed Property List Available On-Line

 

You can use the following web addresses to access each states most recently published unclaimed property list online.  Most require that you register and log in.

 

Alabama Database:

http://www.treasury.state.al.us/up/UP_Search.asp

 

Alaska Refers Residents to Missing Money.Com Database:

http://www.missingmoney.com/

 

Arizona Database:

http://www.azunclaimed.gov/Owners/search.asp

 

Arkansas Database:

http://www.state.ar.us/auditor/unclprop/

 

California Database:

http://scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP/

 

Colorado Database:

https://www.colorado.gov/apps/treasury/ucp/claims/personalSearch.faces

 

Connecticut Online Database

http://www.ctbiglist.com/

 

Delaware

http://php.delawareonline.com/state/unclaimed.php

 

Florida Refers Residents to Missing Money.Com Database:

http://www.missingmoney.com/

 

Georgia Database:

https://www.etax.dor.ga.gov/unclaimedproperty/main.aspx

 

Hawaii database

http://pahoehoe.ehawaii.gov/lilo/app

 

Idaho Database:

http://tax.idaho.gov/ucp_search_idaho.htm

 

Illinois Database:

http://www.treasurer.il.gov/programs/cash-dash/Owner/Owner.aspx

 

Indiana Database:

https://www.indianaunclaimed.com/apps/ag/ucp/index.html

 

Iowa Database:

https://www.greatiowatreasurehunt.com/dsp_search.cfm

 

Kansas Database:

http://www.kansascash.com/prodweb/up/disclaimer_page.php

 

Kentucky Database:

https://secure.kentucky.gov/treasury/unclaimedProperty/Default.aspx

 

Massachusetts Database:

http://abpweb.tre.state.ma.us/abp/frmNewSrch.aspx

 

Michigan Database:

http://www.michigan.gov/treasury/0,1607,7-121-44435-7924--,00.html

 

Minnesota Database:

http://www.commerce.state.mn.us/DOC_Unclaimed_Property_Lookup.htm

 

Mississippi Database:

http://www.treasury.state.ms.us/Unclaimed/

 

Missouri Database:

https://www.treasurer.mo.gov/Search.asp

 

Montana Refers Residents to Missing Money.Com Database:

http://www.missingmoney.com/

 

 

Nebraska Database:

http://www.treasurer.state.ne.us/up/upsearchprop.asp

 

Nevada Database:

https://nevadatreasurer.gov/upclaim.htm

 

New Hampshire Refers Residents to Missing Money.Com Database:

http://www.missingmoney.com/

 

New Jersey Database:

http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/missingmoney.shtml

 

New Mexico

https://ec3.state.nm.us/ucp/

 

New York

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/ouf/index.htm

 

North Carolina Database

https://www.nctreasurer.com/DstHome/AdminServices/UnclaimedProperty/Search.htm

 

North Dakota Database:

http://www.land.nd.gov/

 

 

Ohio Database:

http://www.com.state.oh.us/unfd/treasurehunt.asp

 

Oklahoma Database:

https://www.ok.gov/unclaimed/index.php

 

Oregon Database:

http://mscfprod2.iservices.state.or.us/dsl/unclaimed_property/search.cfm

 

Pennsylvania Database:

http://www.patreasury.org/Unclaimed/Search.html

 

Rhode Island Database:

http://www.treasury.ri.gov/unclaimedproperty/search.php

 

South Carolina Database:

http://www.state.sc.us/treas/cms/uppmm_search_cio.htm

 

South Dakota Database:

https://www.sdtreasurer.com/default.asp?page=unclaimed_property&section=search_claim

 

Tennessee Database:

http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/unclp/

 

 

Texas Database:

https://txcpa.cpa.state.tx.us/up/Search.jsp

 

Utah Database:

https://www.up.utah.gov/UP_Search.asp

 

 

Vermont Database:

http://www.vermonttreasurer.gov/unclaimed/index.html

or

http://www.vermonttreasurer.gov/unclaimed/ownerSearch.asp

 

Virginia Database:

https://www.trs.virginia.gov/propertysearchdotnet/

 

Washington D.C. Database

http://cfo.dc.gov/cfo/cwp/view,a,1326,q,590719,.asp

 

Washington State Database:

http://ucp.dor.wa.gov/

 

West Virginia Database:

http://www.wvsto.com/UPNameSearch/UPSearch2.aspx

 

 

Wisconsin Database:

http://www.statetreasury.wisconsin.gov/ucpweb/ucpsearch.aspx

 

Wyoming Database:

http://treasurer.state.wy.us/upsearch.asp

Tracking down the Address

 

You have a list of potential unclaimed property owners and have reviewed it.  Now you have to locate these potential clients. The list you will receive from the state will give you the full name, address and type of account of people owning unclaimed property. This information will vary from state to state.  You will now have to put on your private investigator hat. It's not difficult if you know what to do. In the next few chapters, I will tell you exactly how to find the person or persons you are looking for.

Two excellent references I recommend you obtain that will be very valuable as you track down the address of unclaimed property owners are Find Them Fast, Find Them Now: The Handbook for Finding Missing Persons and You Can Find Anyone: A Complete Guide on How to Locate Missing Persons. No one vanishes without a trace.  And because the missing always leaves behind paper and verbal trails, you can find anyone you wish and find them now.  These books provide private investigators secrets for finding missing persons.

In most cases, these people are no longer living at the address you will receive. But you never know. Send a letter to the address you have on record and see what happens. If someone is living at that address, contact these people and ask them for the whereabouts of the people you are looking for.

How do you find out who is living at that address? You can find the person through the post office, with telephone directories, city directories, plot maps, or the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records. Let's start with the post office.

 

The Post Office

You may be able to get the address you need through your local post office. There is a good chance the person you are looking for is no longer at the current address. This doesn't even present a problem if you handle it correctly. The post office has a helpful service for a small cost. You can ask the postal clerk for the current address of the person you're searching for.  Most likely they will not give it to you via a verbal request, however, if you do so utilizing USPS services there is a good chance you will get the information you want, if it is available.  On method is to send your letter by registered mail, return receipt requested. This forces the people at the post office to give your request priority.  Another method is to send a letter and write 'DO NOT FORWARD' and 'ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED' on the letter. This second method is not as effective as the first method, but it is free.

Getting a street address from a P.O. Box number is much more difficult today then in the past. In some cases you may want to reach someone at his or her home address. You can almost always get someone's address with a subpoena. This isn't difficult. Just pay a visit to the county clerk's office and pick up a subpoena form. Complete the form, filling in all the necessary information. Next, you'll need to go to the post office and explain to the clerk that you need the street address of this individual so that you can serve them a subpoena. This should always prove to get you your street address.

 

Directories

You will probably be able to find the person you are looking for by simply looking through the phone book. If you can't find the person you are looking for in your current phone book, look in older editions of that phone book. Older editions are available in public libraries or the librarians can tell you where you can find old phone books. Don't overlook calling up people with similar surnames of the person you are looking for. You may be surprised how many relatives this person may have in that town. Call up people with similar surnames and ask them first if the person you are looking for resides there. Then ask them if they know of the person you are looking for.

Do not over look the phone and search directories available online.  Typing an individuals name in an online search box will generate all available address and contact information for all individuals with that name surname.

Old city directories may come in handy, also. They can be of great assistance to you; they can help you find out who is living at a given address. City directory companies like R. L. Polk and Cole Publications canvas neighborhoods and utilize all available resources to find out who lives at each address. You may find that their directories are more complete than the telephone book directories because they even tell you where people with unlisted numbers live. Both of these directories can be found at most public libraries. You may want to look at old city directories. These are available at the Library of Congress, historical societies or some large public libraries. These books are available for purchase online at Amazon.com. 

A virtual treasure chest of information on nearly every business and consumer in any given location throughout the U.S... The city directory should be one of your first stops as you seek to track down addresses.   Information on over 1,000 cities is available in hard copy print editions and on electronic CD-ROMs.

 

 

Cross-street Directory

Another tool along the same lines of city directories is called the by-street or cross-street directory.  They are simply reference books similar to the standard telephone directories; however they enable you to locate an address from a telephone number and a telephone number from an address.  Large local libraries will have a copy in their reference section.

 

Real Estate Plot Maps

Real estate companies have to know who owns every piece of land in this country. No matter what address you find, you will be able to look up the owner on a plot map. These maps are available at your local library or from any real estate agent. If you have a hard time getting these lists, they are available at no cost from your county assessor's office.

Look up the address of the unclaimed owner that you received from the state. On the lot maps you will see the name and address of the owner of the property. The person residing on the property may not necessarily be the owner. He could be renting the address from the owner. Contact the owner either by mail or just look up his phone number and call him. Ask the owner if he is aware of the whereabouts of the person for whom you are searching. He may give you a good lead to follow.

With real estate plot maps you have the ability to look up the person by his address or by his name. Look up the person you are searching for in the town where the person last resided. By doing this, you may be able to find a piece of property that the person owns. If you do find that person, contact him by mail or phone.

The Department of Motor Vehicles offices of some states have a free address verification service that you may use. If you contact them and give them the address, name and date of birth of the person you are looking for, they will tell you if they have the same address in their records. This service is mainly used by car rental agencies. If you want to use this service, use the DMV list I have provided for you in the next few chapters.

The County Recorder (County records section) is a wealth of information.  The County Recorder maintains records of all Assumed Business (DBA) certificates which list all registered business of that county alphabetically by business name.  It will include the business address, owner and owner’s address.  The same records are maintained on corporations in the county.  Also, records are maintained on all real estate transactions including information on deeds and mortgages, powers of attorney, judgments against real property, military service discharges, pistol permits issued, death, birth, marriage and coroner’s certificates.

Neighbors, Relatives, and Friends

 

Very few of you studying this guide will be willing to go to this extent to locate an unclaimed property owner.  The following techniques take lots of guts and effort. They require face to face contact and require that you create pretext scenarios to draw information from people.  These are professional investigator tactics.  They are highly effective.  I include them here because they are alternative approaches and will deliver excellent returns.

In the last chapter I explained how to find someone you are looking for at a particular address. If you are having a hard time locating a certain individual, it's time to ask the neighbors. They could tell you more in less time than you could find out yourself.

There are people who do very little else but watch their neighbors. These are the people you will want to contact. They love telling you everything they know if you approach them the right way. Contact them preferably by phone and ask them what they know about the person you are looking for. Let us review the methods in contacting neighbors and relatives.

1)  Use phone books to look up relatives (people with similar last names).

2)  Use city and cross-street directories to look up neighbors and ex-neighbors.

3)  Use real estate plot maps to look up neighbors and landlords of neighbors.

Here is how a typical conversation would be between you and one of the neighbors. Let's say the person you are looking for is Peter Johnson.

You: Hello, Mrs. Stein.

Stein: Yes, speaking.

You: Let me introduce myself. My name is Sam Smith and I'm with the Helpful Finance Company. Peter Johnson used you as one of his references on his loan application with us. Could I ask you a few questions?

Stein: Sure.

You: How long have you known Peter Johnson?

Stein: I've known him ever since he moved into this neighborhood ... must be about six years.

You: Do you know where Mr. Johnson is employed?

Stein: Last I heard he was a high school counselor at Henry Stahls.

You: Do you know where Mr. Johnson's current address is right now?

Stein: He used to live across the street. He now lives on Park Place Lane, some where in the 9300 block.

You: Do you happen to have the exact address?

Stein: Hold on. Here it is. It's 9337 Park Place Lane, N.E...

You: One more question, Mrs. Stein. Mr. Johnson has left us 609-274-8365 as his phone number. Do you list the same phone number?

Stein: That's his old phone number; let me give you his new number. It's 609-274-7974.

You: I want to thank you for your help. You have been very helpful. Have a good day, Mrs. Stein.

Do you see how many leads Mrs. Stein has given you to the whereabouts of Peter Johnson? Not only will you know where he lives and works, but you will have his phone number. Using this technique will get you a great deal of information.

You may sense aggressiveness when you talk to some people. They may not have liked their old neighbor and would not want to help their old neighbor pass a credit application.

If this is the case, tell the person the truth. You may be surprised how much people will help you for your sake and not for their neighbor's sake. If you still have a hard time getting any information from the neighbors, try the independent courier delivery man routine.

Go to the neighbor's door in person with a courier message, addressed to the person you are looking for, in your hands. Make sure the message is personally signed. Let us use Peter Johnson for this example. Go to the house where Peter last lived and try to deliver the package.

If that person can't help you, go to all the neighbors and ask Peter. Explain to the people living there it is an urgent delivery and you must find Peter. Ask them for a phone number or address. You will be surprised at how helpful neighbors can be. If the person you are interviewing does not know very much, ask them for the name and address of a relative or a close friend with whom you could leave the package. One word of caution: do this stunt early or late in the day so that the neighbors are home.

You will find that relatives and friends are more loyal than neighbors. It will be harder to get information from them. I have had success with the credit application story in getting information from relatives and friends. But they ask a lot of questions. You also stand the risk of them not trusting you if you lie to them. If you just want an address, appear at their doorstep with a package.

Telling the truth sometimes works if they have a good relationship with the person you are looking for. You will have to use your intuition with friends and relatives for using the best technique. Relatives and good friends are one of the best sources of information you will get, so don't give up on them.

 

 

Identity Theft Scare

 

Identity theft is a national problem and a majorly scary concern for most people.  This makes them very suspicious of strangers inquiring about people they know.  Be aware of this and be prepared to encounter resistance when utilizing the pretext interview scenario as you search for contact information.  People are more familiar with the heir finders today then in the pass.  Being honest about your intent to unite the individual with found inheritance may put the person you contact in a more helpful frame of mind.  No matter what pretext approach you use make sure you look and sound professional.

People seem to trust people who present picture identification and a business card.  A picture ID card in a plastic sleeve attached to a lanyard around your neck and a well printed business card will generally suffice to persuade the person you approach that you are on official business.  When you initiate the interview, you should hold up the picture ID card so the person can see the picture as you introduce yourself then hand them a business card.  Leaving a business card also enables the interviewee to pass on your contact information to the individual you are attempting to locate, if they know that person.

As I stated in the beginning of this chapter these tactics involve field work.  You can do it yourself or outsource the service.  There are a number of online databases and directory archives that will allow you to do much of the work from your desktop.  At some point and time during the process, personal contact is going to be necessary.  By telephone for initial contact, to confirm you have made the right contact, or to exchange the check and collect your finder’s fee.  This is not a totally behind the scenes operation. 

Drivers Licenses and Automobile Records

Driver’s licenses records are public information for anyone. You can obtain them in practically every state.  A few states do not allow public access to this information; they include, but are not limited to Arkansas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Be sure to confirm that the state you are servicing has not been added to this banned list.

These records will tell you where a person lives or where he or she was stopped for a moving violation. You can contact any state and find out if that person resides in that state. You may decide to contact the state where the potential unclaimed property owner applied for their Social Security card. These records will locate the individual for you if they have a driver's license in that state. They will also physically identify the person you are looking for.

When you contact the Department of Motor Vehicle, ask for a complete list of activities from your subject's driving record. You will most likely need to know their full name, date of birth and pay the required fee. Changes in information handling services since 911 may require you have the individual‘s permission before the DMV will release this information to you, therefore, it may be less hassle to obtain this information through an online service.

If a person has transferred his license to another state, it will say so within their driver’s license record. If you can't find your subject, he may have transferred to Texas. Texas is one of the states that don’t notify other states of license transfers.

There are a number of companies that can obtain drivers license information for you online.  They have computer access to large national DMV databases.  Listed below is information on the largest online DMV search service.  You can use them or you can contact the local DMV directly from the list provided for you.

Government-Records.Com and GovtRegistry.Com  provide access to publicly available records and resources. Many of their public record searches are geared towards United States public records.

Here is a complete list of state agencies that will give you drivers license information:

ALABAMA
Driver Licenses
State of Alabama
Post Office Box 1471-H
Montgomery, Alabama 36192

Alabama Department of Revenue(DMV)

ALASKA
Driver Licenses
State of Alaska
Post Office Box
20020-E
Juneau, Alaska 99802
Alaska Department of Motor Vehicles

ARIZONA
Driver Licenses
State of Arizona
Post Office Box 2100-L
Phoenix, Arizona 85001
Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles

ARKANSAS
Driver Licenses
State of Arkansas
Post Office Box 1272-L
Little Rock, Arkansas 72203
Arkansas Department of Motor Vehicles

CALIFORNIA
Driver Licenses
State of California
Post Office Box 944231-O
Sacramento, California 94244
California Department of Motor Vehicles

COLORADO
Driver Licenses
State of Colorado
140 West 6th Avenue
Denver, Colorado 80204
Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles

CONNECTICUT
Driver Licenses
State of Connecticut
60 State Street
Wethersfield, Connecticut 06109
Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles

DELAWARE
Driver Licenses
State of Delaware
Post Office Box 698-M
Dover, Delaware 19903
Delaware Department of Motor Vehicles

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Driver Licenses
District of Columbia
301 C. Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001
District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles

FLORIDA
Driver Licenses
State of Florida
Neil Kirkman Building
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
Florida Department of Motor Vehicles

GEORGIA
Driver Licenses
State of Georgia
Post Office Box 1456-I
Atlanta, Georgia 30371
Georgia Department of Motor Vehicles

HAWAII
Driver Licenses
State of Hawaii
530 South King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Hawaii Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division (Hawaii DMV)

IDAHO
Driver Licenses
State of Idaho
Post Office Box 7129-T
Boise, Idaho 83707
Idaho Division Of Motor Vehicles (Idaho DMV)

ILLINOIS
Driver Licenses
State of Illinois
2701 South Dirksen Parkway
Springfield, Illinois 62723
Illinois Department of Vehicle Services (Illinois DMV)

INDIANA
Driver Licenses
State of Indiana
State Office Building
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (Indiana DMV)

IOWA
Driver Licenses
State of Iowa
100 Euclid Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa 50306
Iowa Department Of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division (Iowa DMV)

KANSAS
Driver Licenses
State of Kansas
Docking Office Building
Topeka, Kansas 66626
Kansas Division Of Motor Vehicles (Kansas DMV)

KENTUCKY
Driver Licenses
State of Kentucky
State Office Building
Frankfort, Kentucky 40622
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet

LOUISIANA
Driver Licenses
State of Louisiana
Post Office Box 64886-C
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70896
Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (Louisiana DMV)

MAINE
Driver Licenses
State of Maine
State House, Room 29
Augusta, MN 04333
Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (Maine DMV)

MARYLAND
Driver Licenses
State of Maryland
6601 Ritchie Highway, N.E. Room 211
Glen Burnie, Maryland 21062
Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (Maryland DMV)

MASSACHUSETTS
Driver Licenses
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
100 Nashau Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02114
Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (Massachusetts DMV)

MICHIGAN
Driver Licenses
State of Michigan
7064 Crowner Drive
Lansing, Michigan 48918
Michigan Department Of State (Michigan DMV)

MINNESOTA
Driver Licenses
State of Minnesota
Transportation Building, Room 108
Saint Paul, Minn. 55155
Minnesota Department of Public Safety Driver and Vehicle Services (Minnesota DMV)

MISSISSIPPI
Driver Licenses
State of Mississippi
Post Office Box 958-H
Jackson, Mississippi 39205
Mississippi Motor Vehicle commission (Mississippi DMV)

MISSOURI
Driver Licenses
State of Missouri
Post Office Box 200-E
Jefferson City, MO 65105
Missouri Motor Vehicle and Driver Licensing (Missouri DMV)

MONTANA
Driver Licenses
State of Montana
303 North Roberts
Helena, Montana 59620
Montana Department Of Justice Motor Vehicle Division (Montana DMV)

NEBRASKA
Driver Licenses
State of Nebraska
301 Centennial Mall South
Lincoln, Nebraska 68509
Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (Nebraska DMV)

NEVADA
Driver Licenses
State of Nevada
555 Wright Way
Carson City, Nevada 89711
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles & Public Safety (Nevada DMV)

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Driver Licenses
State of New Hampshire
10 Hazen Drive

Concord, New Hampshire 03305
New Hampshire Department Of Safety Division Of Motor Vehicles (New Hampshire DMV)

NEW JERSEY
Driver Licenses
State of New Jersey
25 South Montgomery Street
Trenton, New Jersey 08666
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Services (New Jersey DMV)

NEW MEXICO
Driver Licenses
State of New Mexico
Post Office Box 1028-L
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504
New Mexico Taxation And Revenue Dept. Motor Vehicle Division (New Mexico DMV)

NEW YORK
Driver Licenses
State of New York
Empire State Plaza
Albany, New York 12228
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (New York DMV)

NORTH CAROLINA
Driver Licenses
State of North Carolina
1100 New Bern Avenue
Raleigh, North Carolina 27697
North Carolina Division Of Motor Vehicles (North Carolina DMV)

NORTH DAKOTA
Driver Licenses
State of North Dakota
Capitol Grounds
Bismarck, North Dakota 58505
North Dakota Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division (North Dakota DMV)

OHIO
Driver Licenses
State of Ohio
Post Office Box 7167-L
Columbus, Ohio 43266
Ohio Bureau Of Motor Vehicles (Ohio DMV)

OKLAHOMA
Driver Licenses
State of Oklahoma
Post Office Box 11415-F
Oklahoma City, OK 73136
Oklahoma Drivers License Service

OREGON
Driver Licenses
State of Oregon
1905 Lana Avenue, N.E.
Salem, Oregon 97314
Oregon Division Of Motor Vehicles (Oregon DMV)

PENNSYLVANIA
Driver Licenses
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Post Office Box 8695-L
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105
Pennsylvania DMV

PUERTO RICO
Driver Licenses
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Post Office Box 41243-O
Santurce, Puerto Rico 00940
Puerto Rico DMV(Spanish)

RHODE ISLAND
Driver Licenses
State of Rhode Island
345 Harris Avenue
Providence, Rhode Island 02909
Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles (Rhode Island DMV)

SOUTH CAROLINA
Driver Licenses
State of South Carolina
Post Office Box 1498-L
Columbia, South Carolina 29216
South Carolina Division Of Motor Vehicles (South Carolina DMV)

SOUTH DAKOTA
Driver Licenses
State of South Dakota
118 West Capitol Avenue
Pierre, S. D. 57501
South Dakota Department Of Revenue Division Of Motor Vehicles (South Dakota DMV)

TENNESSEE
Driver Licenses
State of Tennessee
Post Office Box 945-E
Nashville, Tennessee 37202
Tennessee Department of Safety ( As close as you'll get to a Tennessee DMV)

TEXAS
Driver Licenses
State of Texas
Post Office Box 4087-S
Austin, Texas 78773
Texas Department Of Transportation (Texas DMV)

UTAH
Driver Licenses
State of Utah
1095 Motor Avenue
Salt Lake City, Utah 84116
Utah Division Of Motor Vehicles (Utah DMV)

VERMONT
Driver Licenses
State of Vermont
120 State Street
Montpelier, Vermont 05603
Vermont Agency Of Transportation Department Of Motor Vehicles (Vermont DMV)

VIRGINIA
Driver Licenses
State of Virginia
2300 West Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23269
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (Virginia DMV)

WASHINGTON
State of Washington
1125 Washington St. SE
Olympia, Washington 98507-9020
Washington Department Of Licensing (Washington DMV)

WEST VIRGINIA
Driver Licenses
State of West Virginia
1800 Washington Street, East
Charleston, West Virginia 25305
West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (West Virginia DMV)

WISCONSIN
Driver Licenses
State of Wisconsin
Post Office Box 7918
Madison, Wisconsin 53707
Wisconsin Division Of Motor Vehicles (Wisconsin DMV)

WYOMING
Driver Licenses
State of Wyoming
122 West 25th Street
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002
Wyoming Department Of Transportation (No Site for Wyoming DMV)

 

 

 

License Plates

 

It is always handy to be able to know who owns which car. In your attempt to locate an owner of unclaimed property you may be able to use license plate information. The Department of Motor Vehicles can supply you several types of information.  With a license plate number, they can tell you the owner of that vehicle, their date of birth, address, insurance company, date of expiration for that registration, vehicle year, make, type and color.  You may find a car at your subject's address that may be able to give you information. These are, however, circumstances where you would want to speak to an owner of a car. Listed are the state agencies to contact for car ownership information. This information is available in every state.  Some states may require that you have permission from the registered vehicle owner before providing you with their information.  Some states charge a fee for this service.  There are online services that provide DMV search information.

Here is a complete list of state license plate offices:

Alabama
Alabama Department of Revenue Motor Vehicle Division
1202 Gordon Persons Building
50 North Ripley Street
P.O. Box 327610
Montgomery, AL 36132-7610

Alaska
IVR Registration
3300 B Fairbanks St.
Anch., AK 99503
(907) 269-5590
(907) 269-6084 [fax]
(888) DMV-KWIK Renewal

Arizona
Arizona Motor Vehicle Division
PO Box 2100
Mail Drop 539M
Phoenix, AZ 85001
mvdinfo@dot.state.az.us

Arkansas
Arkansas Driving Records
Room 127
P. 0. Box 1272
Little Rock, AR 72203

California
California Department of Motor Vehicles
Office of Information Services
Public Operations Unit G199
P. O. BOX 944247
Sacramento, California 94244-2470

Colorado
Colorado Department of Revenue,
Motor Vehicle Division
1881 Pierce St.
Lakewood, CO 80214

Connecticut
Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles
60 State St.
Wethersfield, CT 06161-5070
1-800-842-8222

Delaware
Delaware Motor Vehicles Dept
Po Box 698
Dover DE 19901
(302) 739-4421

District of Columbia
Department of Motor Vehicles
65 K Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20002
727-1737 (Director's Office)
727-1159 (Public Contact for Inquiries)

Federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act
Prohibition on Release and Use of Certain Personal Information From State

 

Florida
Bureau of Records
P.O. Box 5775
Tallahassee, Florida 32314-5775

Georgia
Georgia Department of Public Safety MVR Unit
Post Office Box 1456
Atlanta, Georgia 30371-2303

Hawaii
Hawaii Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division
1031 Nuuanu Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
(808) 532-7700
(808) 532-7722 [fax]

Idaho
Idaho Transportation Department
Vehicle Services/Special Plates
P.O. Box 34
Boise, ID 83731-0034
208-334-8773
208-334-8542 [fax]
kblunk@itd.state.id.us

Illinois
Illinois Secretary of State
2701 S. Dirksen Parkway
Springfield, IL 62723
1-800-252-8980

Indiana
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles
100 N. Senate Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-6000

 

Iowa
Iowa Office of Driver Services
100 Euclid Ave.
P.O. Box 9204
Des Moines, IA 50306-9204

Kansas
Kansas Department of Revenue
Kansas Division Of Motor Vehicles
P. O. Box 2188
Topeka, KS 66601-2188

Kentucky
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
Division of Driver Licensing
501 High Street
Frankfort, Ky. 40622

Louisiana
Office of Motor Vehicles
P.O. Box 64886
Baton Rouge, La. 70896

Maine
Bureau of Motor Vehicles
29 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333-0029
207-287-9000
207-287-6304 [fax]

Maryland
Maryland Department of Transportation
Motor Vehicle Administration
6601 Ritchie Highway, N.E.
Glen Burnie, Maryland 21062

Massachusetts
Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Driver Control Unit
Attn: Court Records
PO Box 199150
Boston, MA 02119-9150
(617) 351-9213

Michigan
Michigan Department of State Record Lookup Unit
7064 Crowner Drive
Lansing, Michigan 48918-1540
517-322-1624
517-322-1181

Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Public Safety Driver and Vehicle Services
445 Minnesota Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
651-296-6911

Mississippi
Mississippi Department of Public Safety
Driver Records Branch
P. O. Box 958
Jackson, MS 39205

Missouri
Drivers License Bureau
PO Box 200
Jefferson City MO 65105
(573) 751-4600
dormail@mail.dor.state.mo.us

Montana
Montana Records and Driver Control Bureau
Second Floor, Scott Hart Building
PO Box 201430
303 N. Roberts
Helena, MT 59620-1430
(406) 444-3288

Nebraska
Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles
State Office Building
301 Centennial Mall South
Lincoln, NE 68509
402-471-2281

Nevada
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety
Drivers License Division
555 Wright Way
Carson City, NV 89711

New Hampshire
James H. Hayes Building
10 Hazen Drive
Concord, New Hampshire 03305-0002
(603) 271-2589

New Jersey
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Services
P.O. Box 160
225 East State St.
Trenton, NJ 08666
609-292-6500
1-888-486-3339 in NJ
webmaster@cpm.dot.state.nj.us

New Mexico
New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division
P.O. Box 1028
Joseph Montoya Bldg.
Santa Fe 87504
1-888-683-4636

New York
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles
6 Empire State Plaza Room 430
Albany, NY 12228
(518) 473-5595
1-800-225-5368 in NY

North Carolina
North Carolina DMV
Driver License Section
1100 New Bern Ave.
Raleigh,NC 27697
919-715-7000

North Dakota
North Dakota Drivers License & Traffic Safety
608 E Boulevard Ave
Bismarck ND 58505-0700
dl@state.nd.us

Nova Scotia -Registry of Motor Vehicles
Maritime Centre
1505 Barrington Street
8th Floor
PO Box 1003
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Canada, B3J 2X1
bcs@gov.ns.ca
Tel: (902) 424-5200
Fax: (902) 424-7434

Ohio
Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Attn: MVOSDM
P.O. Box 16520
Columbus, Ohio 43266-0020

Oklahoma
Oklahoma Department of Public Safety
3600 North Martin Luther King Blvd
Oklahoma City, OK 73111
(405) 425-7709

Oregon
Oregon DMV Headquarters
Attn: Record Services
1905 Lana Ave. NE
Salem, OR, 97314
(503) 945-5000
(503) 299-9999

 

 

Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Bureau of Driver Licensing
Driver Record Services
P.O. Box 68695
Harrisburg, PA 17106-8695

Rhode Island
Division of Motor Vehicles
286 Main Street
Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02860

South Carolina
Division of Motor Vehicles
Post Office Box 1498
Columbia, South Carolina 29216
(803) 251-2940
(803) 251-2969
(800) 442-1DMV

South Dakota
South Dakota Department of Commerce and Regulation
Drivers License
118 West Capitol
Pierre, SD 57501
For Driving Record/MVR

South Dakota Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles
445 East Capitol Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501-3185
For Title Search or History

Tennessee
Tennessee Department of Safety
1150 Foster Avenue
Nashville, TN 37249
(615) 251-5216
(615) 253-2091 [fax]
(615) 741-3954

 

Texas
Texas Department of Transportation
Vehicle Titles and Registration Division
Austin, Texas 78779-0001
(512) 465-7611

Utah
Administrative Office
210 North 1950 West
Salt Lake City, Utah 84134
297-7780 in salt lake
800-368-8824

Vermont
Vermont Agency of Transportation 

Department Of Motor Vehicles
120 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05603-0001
802-828-2000

Virginia
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
P.O. Box 27412
Richmond, VA 23269
(757)461-1919
(804)309-1500
(703)761-4655
(804)367-0538

Washington
Department of Licensing
PO Box 9030
Olympia, WA 98507-9030

West Virginia
West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles
1800 Kanawha Boulevard East
Charleston, WV 25317
304-558-3900
800-642-9066 (in-state)

 

Wisconsin
Wisconsin Department of Transportation
PO Box 7995
4802 Sheboygan Avenue
Madison, WI 53707-7995
(608) 266-2353
rlis.dmv@dot.state.wi.us

Wyoming
Wyoming Department of Transportation / Driver Services
PO Box 1708
Cheyenne,WY 82003-1708
(307) 777-4800
(307) 777-4810

 

When available, you will find a hyperlinked internet address and email address for each Department of Motor Vehicle and Driver’s License office.

Let the Courts Help You

 

There is a wealth of information at the local county courthouse. You may be able to find information about the person you are searching for at the county court house. All of the information at the courthouse is supposed to be public information. Ask the clerk at the desk for a file on the person you are looking for. Look through the file and look to see what address was used. In some cases people use different addresses when they are served a citation than the address on their driver’s license.

On occasion the court clerk behind the desk may deny you access to the information you want. Unfortunately things have changed and some municipalities have begun to restrict access to court documents that do not pertain to the individual requesting the information.  Privacy regulations may apply, therefore, they may actually be able to do this. Some states, like California, have progressive Freedom of Information Act regulation where this information must be made available to the public. Unfortunately, every state has different public information laws.

When encountering a privacy snafu, remember services such as Government-Records.Com and GovtRegistry.Com  provide access to publicly available records and resources.  It is also possible to access each states court records online.  Following is a list of the hyperlinks to the state and county court systems in the United States and some of its territories.  You can navigate through the court records online to locate information on the person you are looking for.  There will be some type of record if the individual was involved in any type of legal proceeding:

 

Alabama 

 Judiciary Home

Administrative Office of Courts

 Supreme Court

Court of Civil Appeals

Court of Criminal Appeals

District Courts (not available)

Probate Courts (complete list not available)

Mobile County Probate Court

Municipal Courts (complete list not available)

Athens Municipal Court

Alalinc: Alabama's Legal Information Network

 

Alaska 

Court System Home

 Appellate Courts (Supreme Ct, Ct of Appeals)

Trial Courts calendars, records, etc. (Superior Ct, District Ct.)

Court Directory (address information)

Alaska Judicial Council

 

Arizona 

Judicial Branch

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals - Division One

Court of Appeals - Division Two

Superior Courts (contact info)

 Superior Court websites (incomplete list)

Justice of the Peace Courts (contact info)

Municipal Courts

Glendale Municipal Court

Scottsdale City Court

Tempe Municipal Court

Tucson City Court

Tax Court (division of Maricopa County Superior Court)

Coconino County Courts

Pima County Juvenile Court

 

Arkansas 

Judiciary Home

Administrative Office of the Courts

Judicial Directory

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Circuit Courts

District Courts

City Courts

 

California 

Judicial Branch

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court

Courts of Appeal

Superior Courts

Los Angeles County Juvenile Court

San Francisco County Probate Court

Santa Clara County Juvenile Court

 

Colorado 

Judicial Branch

Office of the State Court Administrator

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

District Courts

 Denver Probate Court

Denver Juvenile Court

Water Courts

County Courts

Municipal Courts (complete list not available)

Colorado Springs Municipal Court

 

 

Connecticut 

Judicial Branch

Supreme and Appellate Court

Superior Courts

Probate Courts

Delaware 

State Court Home

Supreme Court

Court of Chancery

Superior Court

Court of Common Pleas

Family Court

Justice of the Peace Court

 

District of Columbia 

Courts Home

Court of Appeals

Superior Court

Family Court

 

Florida 

State Courts Home

Judicial Administration

Supreme Court

District Courts of Appeal

Circuit Courts

County Courts

 

Georgia 

Judicial Branch

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Superior Courts

Augusta Judicial Circuit

Gwinnett Judicial Circuit

Cobb Judicial Circuit

Southern Judicial Circuit

Magistrate Courts

Cherokee County Magistrate Court

Jasper County Magistrate Court

 

Guam 

Supreme Court

Superior Court

 

Hawaii 

Judiciary Home

Supreme Court

Intermediate Court of Appeals

Circuit Courts

Family Courts

District Courts

 

Idaho 

State Judiciary

Supreme Court (information available in the Judicial Directory)

Court of Appeals (information available in the Judicial Directory)

District Courts

Magistrate Division (information available in the Judicial Directory)

Judicial Directory

Tribal Court

 

Illinois 

Judiciary Home

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court

Appellate Court

Circuit Courts

Links to Circuit Courts

Chicago Juvenile Justice

Indiana 

Courts Home

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Tax Court

St. Joseph Probate Court

Marion County Juvenile Court

Misc. Trial Court Websites

 

Iowa 

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

District Courts    

 (Directory)

 

 

Kansas 

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

District Courts

Municipal Courts (currently not available)

Shawnee Municipal Court

 

Kentucky 

Court of Justice Home

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Circuit Courts

District Courts

Family Courts

 

Louisiana 

Judicial Administrator's Office

Supreme Court

Courts of Appeal

Justice of the Peace Courts (not available)

Mayor’s Courts (not available)

City and Parish Courts (complete list not available)

Baton Rouge City Court

Lafayette Parish Court

Lake Charles City Court

Misc. Courts (organized alphabetically by parish)

 

Maine 

Judicial Branch

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Judicial Court

Superior Courts

District Courts

Specialized Courts

 

Maryland 

Judiciary Home

Administrative Office of the Courts

Court of Appeals

Court of Special Appeals

Circuit Courts

District Courts

Family/Juvenile Court (Baltimore)

Orphan's Court

 

Massachusetts 

Judicial Branch

Supreme Judicial Court

Appeals Court

Superior Court

District Court

Boston Municipal Court

Juvenile Court

Housing Court

Land Court

Probate and Family Court

Bristol County

Hampshire County

Middlesex County

Plymouth County

 

Michigan 

Courts Home

State Court Administrative Office

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Court of Claims (30th Circuit)

Circuit Courts

District Courts (incomplete list)

Probate Courts (incomplete list)

Courthouses by County (inc. Municipal Courts)

 

Minnesota 

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

District Courts

 

Mississippi 

Judiciary Home

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court

(Directory)

Chancery Courts

County Courts

Justice Courts

Municipal Courts (not available)

 

Missouri 

Judiciary Home

Office of State Courts Administrator

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Circuit Courts

Family Court

Municipal Courts (not available)

 

Montana 

Court Administrator's Office

Supreme Court

Water Court

District Courts

Workers' Compensation Court

Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (Justice, City, and Municipal Courts)

 

Nebraska 

Judicial Branch

Administrative Office of the Courts

Court of Appeals

District Courts

Juvenile Courts

County Courts

Workers' Compensation Court

 

Nevada 

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court

District Courts

Justice Courts (incomplete)

Municipal Courts (incomplete)

Court Directory

Judicial Directory

 

New Hampshire 

Judicial Branch

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court

Superior Courts

Probate Courts

District Courts

 

New Jersey 

Courts Home

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court

Appellate Division of Superior Court

Superior Courts

Tax Court

Municipal Courts

 

New Mexico

Courts Information Center

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

District Courts (and more)

Magistrate Courts

Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court

Zuni Tribal Court Listing

Judicial Directory

 

 

New York 

Court System Home

Office of Court Administration

Court of Appeals

Appellate Divisions of Supreme Court

Appellate Terms of Supreme Court

Supreme Courts

Court of Claims

Courts by County (inc. Surrogate's, Family, District, and City)

Ithaca City Court

New York City Civil Court

New York City Criminal Court

New York City Family Court

Town and Village Justice Courts

 

North Carolina 

Court System Home

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Superior Courts

District Courts

Family Courts

 

North Dakota 

Office of the State Court Administrator

Supreme Court
(Contact Info)

District Courts

Municipal Courts (list of judges)

 

Ohio 

Supreme Court

 Butler County Common Pleas Court - Division of Domestic Relations

 Clermont County Domestic Court

County Courts

Courts of Appeal

Court of Claims

Court of Common Pleas

 Cuyahoga County Probate Court

 Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court

 Franklin County Probate Court

 Hamilton County Clerk of Courts

 Hamilton County Probate Court

 Lucas County Juvenile Court

 Mahoning County Domestic Relations Court

Mayors Courts

Groveport Mayor's Court

Upper Arlington Mayor's Court

Independence Mayor's Court

Dublin Mayor's Court

Louisville Mayor's Court

Misc. Courts

Municipal Courts

Akron Municipal Court

Barberton Municipal Court

Brown County Municipal Court

Canton Municipal Court

Dayton Municipal Court

Delaware Municipal Court

Franklin County Municipal

Hamilton County Municipal Court

Marietta Municipal Court

Medina Municipal Court

Painesville Municipal Court

Willoughby Municipal Court

Ohio Judicial Conference

 Stark County Family Court

 Stark County Probate Court

Trumbull County Probate Court

Ohio Judicial Conference

 

 

Oklahoma 

Oklahoma State Courts Network

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court

Court of Criminal Appeals

Court of Civil Appeals

District Courts

Small Claims

Court of Tax Review

Tulsa Municipal Court

Municipal Court Not of Record (not available)

County Courthouse (Tulsa Families in Transition)

Municipal Court of Record (not available)

Judicial Directory

 

Oregon 

Courts Home

Office of the State Court Administrator

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Tax Court

Circuit Courts

County Courts

Justice Courts

Municipal Courts

Eugene Municipal Court

Salem Municipal Court

Multnomah County Juvenile Court

 

Pennsylvania 

Unified Judicial System Home

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court

Commonwealth Court

Superior Court

Court of Common Pleas

Philadelphia Municipal Court (PA County)

District Justice Court

Philadelphia Traffic Court

 

Puerto Rico 

Office of Court Administration

 

Rhode Island 

Judicial Home

Supreme Court

Superior Courts

Workers' Compensation Court

District Courts

Family Courts

Traffic Tribunal

Municipal Courts (not available)

Probate Courts

 

South Carolina 

Judicial Department Home

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Circuit Courts

Charleston County Courts

Family Courts (occupy same courthouses as Circuit Courts)

Magistrate Courts

Probate Courts

Municipal Courts

 

South Dakota 

Unified Judicial System Home

State Court Administration

Supreme Court and Circuit Courts

 

Tennessee 

Administrative Office of the Courts

Appellate Courts (Supreme, Appeals, Criminal Appeals)

Judicial District Courts (Circuit, Probate, Chancery, and Criminal found in drop-down menu)

Davidson County Circuit Court Clerk

Hamilton County Judicial System

Shelby County Courts and Criminal Justice

Juvenile Courts

Nashville Juvenile Court

General Sessions Courts 

 

Texas 

Office of Court Administration

Supreme Court

Court of Criminal Appeals

Court of Appeals

District Courts

Constitutional County Courts

County Court at Law (not available)

Fort Bend County Courts at Law

Justice of the Peace Courts

Municipal Courts  

Clerks of the Texas Courts

Texas Judicial Web Server

 

Utah 

State Courts Home

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

District Courts

Juvenile Courts

Justice Courts

Directory of Courthouses

 

Vermont 

Judiciary Home

Supreme Court

Superior Courts

District Courts

Family Courts

Probate Courts

Environmental Court

Judicial Bureau

 

Virginia 

Judicial System Home

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Circuit Courts

District Courts

Juvenile Court

 

 

 

Virgin Islands 

Supreme Court of the U.S. Virgin Islands

Superior Court

 

Washington 

Courts Home

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court and Court of Appeals

Supreme Court Directory

Court of Appeals Directory

Superior Courts

District Courts

Municipal Courts

Directory by County

 

West Virginia 

Administrative Office of the Courts

Supreme Court of Appeals

Circuit Courts

Magistrate Courts

Municipal Courts (not available)

 

Wisconsin 

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Circuit Courts (incomplete)

Municipal Courts

Milwaukee Municipal Court 

 

Wyoming 

Judiciary Home

Office of State Court Administrator

Supreme Court

District Courts

Circuit Courts

 

The judiciaries (courts) are probably the single most valuable resource of information available to you.  This list is broken down into various jurisdictions.  I recommend you utilize each available jurisdiction your potential unclaimed property owner lived in when researching for information about them.

There is always the possibility that the person you are looking for has passed away. In this case you would want to know that this person has indeed died. Obituary records are kept at the county clerk's office. If you use the county clerk's office, you must be sure that the person's last known address was in that county. Records are kept from county to county.

 

 

Social Security Records

 

The Social Security department can reach practically anybody in the United States who has a social security number. These records can tell you anything you want to know about an individual. The only way you can get access to someone's social security records is if you know someone who worked for the Social Security department. The department is always behind on its records about two to four months.

The Social Security department does have one division that will help you out. This division will let you send a letter to any person. They will not give you the address of that person; they will just forward your letter. This can really come in handy so that you could contact a person who owns unclaimed money by mail. Include your phone number and address in your correspondence so that the person can contact you.

When corresponding purely by mail your letter must do all the work for you, therefore, it is important that your correspondence is well written and offer a good call to action.  Get the person excited about the money they will receive and be very honest with them. When you write to the Social Security department, try to include as much information as you can about the person you are looking for. The address of the division that will forward your letters is:  Social Security Location Service (Baltimore, MD: area code 301)

1-800-772-1213
6401 Security Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21234

If you have the Social Security number of the person you are looking for, you may be able to use this prefix to locate them. By prefix I mean the first three digits of the Social Security number. This prefix will indicate what state the person obtained their social security card from.  This is not necessarily the state in which they were born, however, in the great majority of cases, it is. Sometimes people return to the state of their birth.  Knowing the Social Security Number prefix code will allow you to back track to your potential client’s home state which is generally a good starting point.

Be advised that the Social Security Administration is the most secretive of all governmental agencies.  Even the F.B. I. needs a court order to access their system.  Even with an inside source, co-operation will almost be null and the information most likely will not be up-to-date…unless that individual is receiving payments.

Social Security Index of Valid Prefix Numbers

The chart below shows the first 3 digits of the social security numbers assigned throughout the United States and its possessions.

001-003     New Hampshire

004-007    Maine

008-009    Vermont

010-034     Massachusetts

135-158      New Jersey

035-039    Rhode Island

040-049   Connecticut

050-134     New York

135-158      New Jersey

159-211      Pennsylvania

212-220     Maryland

221-222     Delaware

223-231      Virginia

232-236     West Virginia

237-246     North Carolina

247-251      South Carolina

252-260     Georgia

261-267      Florida

268-302     Ohio

303-317      Indiana

318-361      Illinois

362-386     Michigan

387-399     Wisconsin

400-407    Kentucky

408-415     Tennessee

416-424     Alabama

425-428     Mississippi

429-432     Arkansas

433-439     Louisiana

440-448    Oklahoma

449-467     Texas

468-477     Minnesota

478-485     Iowa

486-500    Missouri

501-502      North Dakota

503-504     South Dakota

505-508     Nebraska

509-515     Kansas

516-517      Montana

518-519      Idaho

520            Wyoming

521-524      Colorado

525 & 585  New Mexico

526-527     Arizona

528-529     Utah

530            Nevada

531-539      Washington

540-544    Oregon

545-573     California

574            Alaska

575-576     Hawaii

577-579     District of Columbia

580            Virgin Island

581-585     Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Philippines Island

700-729    Railroad  

 

A social security number with any of the following conditions may be an invalid number:

Three or more leading zeros

Ending in 4 zeros

Leading with numbers 73 through 79

Leading number of 6 or 8   and

Leading number of 9 (very few were ever issued)

Military People

 

If you know that the person you want to reach is in military service — you are in luck. There is a department in the military that will locate a person in the service for you. Just send the person's full name as well as his or her Social Security number to:

United States Army World Wide Locator Service

US Army Personnel Service Support Center

 Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN 46249

 (317) 542-4211

 

There is a fee for this service. They will write you a letter informing you where the person you are looking for is stationed.

 

The military changed many social security numbers of new recruits in the mid 1970’s.  Should the individual you are searching for be one of these, their number will contain 10 or more digits.  This is more than the standard nine digits.

 

The numbers listed below represent the first two digits of an air force or army service numbers issued between the years of 1940 to 1969. These service numbers were assigned to air force and army enlisted personnel by state entrance stations.

(1) Regular and reserve air force and army

(2) Draftees between 1948 and 1969

(3) State or territory 

Regular Army No.      Draftee No.       State or Territory

                14                             53                     ALABAMA

                19                             50                     ALASKA

                19                             56                     ARIZONA

                18                             54                     ARKANSAS

                19                             56                   CALIFORNIA

                17                             55                    COLORADO

                11                             51                     CONNECTICUT

                12                             51                     DELAWARE

                14                             53                    FLORIDA

                14                             56                    GEORGIA

                10                             50                    HAWAII

                19                             56                    IDAHO

                16                             55                    ILLINOIS

                15                             52                    INDIANA

                17                             55                    IOWA

                17                             55                    KANSAS

                15                             52                    KENTUCKY

                18                             54                    LOUISIANA

                11                             51                      MAINE

                13                             52                     MARYLAND

                11                             51                      MASSACHUSETTS

                16                             55                     MICHIGAN

                17                             55                     MINNESOTA

                14                             53                     MISSISSIPPI

                17                             55                     MISSOURI

                19                             56                    MONTANA

                17                             55                     NEBRASKA

                19                             56                   NEVADA

                11                             51                     NEW HAMPSHIRE

                12                             51                     NEW JERSEY

                18                             54                    NEW MEXICO

                12                             51                     NEW YORK

                14                             53                    NORTH CAROLINA

                17                             55                    NORTH DAKOTA

                15                             52                    OHIO

                18                             54                    OKLAHOMA

                19                             56                    OREGON

                13                             52                     PENNSYLVANIA

                11                             51                      RHODE ISLAND

                14                             53                     SOUTH CAROLINA

                17                             55                     SOUTH DAKOTA

                14                             53                     TENNESSEE

                19                             56                     UTAH

                11                             51                       VERMONT

                13                             52                      VIRGINIA

                15                             52                      WEST VIRGINIA

                19                             56                     WASHINGTON

                16                             55                     WISCONSIN

                17                             55                      WYOMING

                10                             50                      PANAMA

                10                             50                     PUERTO RICO

Other Methods of Locating People

 

 

Credit bureaus can help you to locate an individual. If the individual has used credit in any way, shape or form, their financial transactions are located somewhere with in their records. In some cases you may not get an exact address but will be able to find out the general area the person is located. Once you find out their approximate location finding their address is easy.

 

Credit bureaus are not a great resource of information. Naturally they have access to confidential information; however accessing this information is not very easy.  You can purchase their business and pay service for an annual fee and use it to obtain credit reports.  It is also possible to obtain an individuals credit report on line.  If you have an individual’s date of birth and social security number you can request their credit report for a fee.  You could ask a friend who owns a business to get the report for you.  If they do not have direct access (an account with a credit reporting agency) they usually know someone who does.  It’s simply a matter of knowing someone.

 

The contact information for the three major credit reporting agencies (or credit bureaus) is below.  When you contact them, you must have specific information handy so that they can verify your identity.  Note that these agencies have a duty to make sure that the person requesting a copy of his or her credit report is indeed that person and not a thief or unauthorized third party.  Therefore, if the information they have on file about person you are requesting a report for does not match the information provided to them, there will be a delay in obtaining the report, or they might deny your request altogether. 

 

For example, if the individual has recently moved, the credit bureau might not have the new address and phone number yet. If you request they send the credit report to a new address, they will refuse your request and ask you to prove you are who you say you are.  This might require sending them copies of your driver's license with the new address and a statement from a landlord, utility company, etc. that proves you live at the new address.  Therefore, if you want to obtain a copy of a credit report as quickly as possible, it would be wise to phone them first and find out if you can simply order the report over the phone, or online.

 

When requesting a credit report, you might be asked to provide the following information:  First, middle and last name; current address; previous addresses for the past five years; social security number, date of birth; spouse's name

Experian

P. O. Box 9595 [see note], Allen, TX 75013-9595   Tel:  888-397-3742

 

Note:  Experian has a long history of changing its mailing address periodically, so the mailing address provided may not be accurate.

 

Equifax

P. O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241  Tel:  800-685-1111

 

Trans Union

P. O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022  Tel:  800-888-4213

 

 

Credit Card Companies

 

Credit card companies can be of some assistance to you in locating the person you are looking for. If you know the person you are looking for has a credit card and you know which credit card company and the card number, you have a good chance of obtaining their current address utilizing the pretext technique, discussed earlier in this book.

 

Here is another example usage of the pretext technique using Peter Johnson.  This is how you would discover his current address.  Assuming you have his credit card company information and card number.  You contact the credit card company billing department:

 

Operator: Woolworth Credit Billing Department, may I help you?

 

You: I haven’t been received my statement in a couple of months and I know I have a balance.  How come you guys aren’t sending me a statement?

 

Operator: Sir, can you tell me your account number and name the name on the account?

 

You: My name is Peter Johnson and my account number is 98-5408-9879.

 

Operator:   You say you haven’t been receiving your statements?  Our records indicate they have been sent out and we show none has been returned undeliverable.

 

You: Yes, can you tell me to what address you have been sending my statements to?

 

Operator: Mr. Johnson, we have been sending your statements to 65225 Powerhouse Rd., S.E., Three Rivers, WA 94216.

 

You: That seems to be correct. How much do I owe you?

 

Operator: You have an outstanding balance of $671.69.  Would you like me to send you another statement?

 

You: Yes, would you.  I will check with the local Post Office and ask my family if they have been placing the mail in a new location.  Thank you for your help.

 

 

Major Credit Card Issuers

 

AAA Stored Value Cards
Offering pre-paid debit and gift cards that act as credit or ATM cards.
www.storedvalue.aaa.com

AirPlus International
Offers business travel management services such as corporate cards and a travel portal.
www.airplus.com

Amexe.com
Offering online banking and merchant services including travel promotions and applications for Blue, Platinum, Gold, student, personal, business, and corporate accounts.
www.AMEXe.com

Aspire
Offers Visa cards at Classic, Diamond, Gold, and Platinum levels.
www.aspirecard.com

AT&T Universal Card
The AT&T Universal credit card offers discounts on AT&T services, ThankYou Rewards, and other extras.
www.universalcard.com

Bank Freedom
Provides prepaid credit and debit cards.
www.bankfreedom.com

Bank of America Credit Cards
Offers a selection of credit card programs with various interest rates, rewards programs, and security features.
www.bankofamerica.com/creditcards

Capital One
Capital One financial services provides MasterCard and Visa credit cards, auto, home, and medical loans, and other consumer lending products through its Capital One Bank and Capital One FSB subsidiaries.
www.capitalone.com

Card Member Services
Consumer credit card services include online account management, bill pay, and more.
www.cardmemberservices.com

Centennial Credit Card
Offering unsecured or secured cards designed for people with credit difficulties.
www.centennialcard.com

Cetelem
Financial company in France with several subsidiaries in Europe that issues the Aurore credit card.
www.cetelem.fr

Chase Freedom Rewards VISA Credit Card
Promotional site offers online application for the Chase Freedom Visa credit card, and information regarding the details of the program.
www.chasefreedomnow.com

Citi Cards
Apply online for Citibank platinum, college student, charge, business, and rewards MasterCard credit cards with low annual percentage and balance transfer interest rates.
www.citicards.com

ClaimCard, Inc.
Developer of browser-based applications for the insurance industry and a MasterCard-based payment system for insurance claims.
www.claimcard.com

Cybacom
Offers specialty debit card programs for business and consumers.
www.cybacom.com

Direct Merchants Bank
MasterCard issuer.
www.directmerchantsbank.com

Discover Card
Offers a variety of credit cards, CDs and money market accounts, auto insurance, and home loans to meet the needs of individual card members.
www.discovercard.com

easyMoney
Credit cards from easyGroup in partnership with Accucard. Features can be selected for individual financial needs, including interest rate, cash back rewards, and annual fee.
www.easymoney.com

EFT Source, Inc.
Offering comprehensive card data processing, manufacture, management software, and related debit and credit card fulfillment products and services.
www.eftsource.com

First National Bank Credit Cards
Offers online banking and bill pay services for credit card accounts, in addition to offering checking, savings, money market accounts, CDs, and more.
www.firstnational.com/fnb/personal/cc

First Premier Bank
Specializing in credit cards that help consumers re-establish their credit history.
www.premiercreditcard.com

First USA Bank
Issues credit cards under the Bank One/First USA/First Card names and on behalf of its partners.
www.firstusa.com

Fleet Credit Card Services
Online account applications and customer service.
www.fleetcards.com

FNANB Online
Provides information about FNANB and Circuit City credit cards.
www.fnanb.com

GM Card
Offers GM MasterCard applications online with information about the General Motors Rewards program.
www.gmcard.com

Golf Fee Card
International greenfee card offering discounts at many golf clubs worldwide.
www.golfcards.com

Hang Seng Business Credit Cards
Provides a range of credit cards for large and small businesses.
www.hangseng.com/e_business/credit_cards/credit_cards.html

Horizon Card
Fully licensed secure charge card designed to maximize international financial strategies. Security, privacy, and 24 hour phone and Internet access to account. Based in Turks and Caicos Islands.
www.horizoncardtci.com

Household Bank Credit Card
Apply online for a MasterCard or access your account with free bill pay.
www.householdbank.com

HSBC Credit Cards
Offers standard and platinum MasterCard and VISA.
us.hsbc.com/personal/cards

IN:NYC Card
Carry a balance and rack up points towards hotspots in New York City. From American Express.
www.innyc.com

JCB International Credit Card Co.
Offering credit cards and other business products.
www.jcbusa.com

Juniper Bank
Offers checking and savings accounts, online bill pay, credit cards, CDs, and much more.
www.juniper.com

M&T Bank
Issues platinum and standard Visa credit cards.
www.mtvisa.com

MasterCard: Cards & Services
Discover world-class credit card services and earn priceless credit card benefits with MasterCard.
www.priceless.com/cards

mCashCard
Provides prepaid cards that are reloadable and act like a debit card.
www.mcashcard.com

Merrick Bank
Unsecured credit cards for people looking to build or re-establish their credit history.
www.merrickbank.com

My Life. My Card.
Promotional site for the American Express and MBNA credit cards featuring rewards for cardholders.
www.mylifemycard.com

NextCard
Consumer credit issuer providing services to online users.
www.nextcard.com

Obopay Prepaid Credit Cards
Obopay is the newest way to send money. Transfer money via a text message and have it instantly available on your Obopay MasterCard.
www.obopay.com

Orchard Bank
Makes credit cards available to those consumers unable to obtain them through traditional means.
www.orchardbank.com

Providian
Provider of credit cards and deposit products to customers throughout the United States.
www.providian.com

QuickBooks MasterCard
Offers a business credit card for small business owners.
www.quickbookscard.com

Quicken MasterCard
Transactions can be downloaded directly into Quicken and automatically categorized. Business and personal options available, as well as air travel programs.
www.quickencard.com

Rainbowcard
An internationally accepted Visa card designed to support and fund causes of interest to the lesbian and gay community.
www.rainbowcard.com

RBC Royal Bank Card Products
Includes information on their suite of Visa products and services.
www.royalbank.com/cards

Rush Card
Issues credit cards that are funded through direct deposit, MoneyGrams, money orders, bank loads, or PayPal.
www.rushcard.com

Sears Cards
Offers the Sears Card, which can be used at all Sears locations in addition to related businesses, and offers Gold Mastercard and premiere programs.
www.searsmastercard.com

TD Canada Trust Credit Cards
Includes information, tools, and features for various types of credit cards available.
www.tdcanadatrust.com/tdvisa

Travelocity World Mastercard
Allows users to earn points towards online travel purchases.
www.travelocitycard.com

United College Marketing Services
Offering credit cards to college students, as well as online seminars to learn proper strategies of financial management.
www.collegevisa.com

Universal Savings Bank Visa Platinum
Offers an HP Evo notebook computer when balances of at least $5,000 are transferred.
www.4mylaptop.com

USA Paycard
Offers prepaid debit cards with no credit checks or bank account requirements.
www.usapaycard.com

Wal-Mart Credit Card Online Credit Center
Apply for a card, view account details, and access other e-Services.
www.walmartstorecard.com

Wells Fargo Credit Cards
Offers a range of consumer credit cards, including cash back, secured, and student cards.
www.wellsfargo.com/credit_cards

Yahoo! Titanium Visa
With online application and account information, and protection from unauthorized purchases.
card.yahoo.com

 

 

 

The Salvation Army

 

Transients have been known to carry hundreds of thousands of dollars in their possessions.  One transient that was found frozen to death in Montana had about $75,000 in bonds and securities in a plastic bag he carried with him. The person you are looking for might be a transient.

The Salvation Army operates many missions all over this country. If you have reason to believe that the person you are looking for is a transient, you may want to ask the Salvation Army for help. Understand that finding people is really not their specialty.

 

 The service exists for the purpose of trying to restore (or to sustain) family relationships, by locating relatives who for whatever reason have become out of touch.  The department is sometimes able to help also in matters to do with identity and relationships.

The Missing Persons Service works in more than 100 countries where The Salvation Army is operating. Searches are carried out by Salvation Army personnel in the countries concerned. It is usual for a standard inquiry form to be completed in the country where the inquirer is living. To contact the department, simply write to your nearest Territorial Headquarters, addressing your letter to "The Family Tracing or Missing Persons Service".  Inquiries may take a few minutes - or a few years!

Absolute confidence is observed. The address of a relative who has been found is never disclosed without his or her prior consent. In certain cases, the department is, however, willing to act as a "post office box" until such time as the missing person involved feels free to reveal their address for direct communications.  The Salvation Army charges a fee for this service.

The Salvation Army has several different offices.  Contact the office that you feel would help you the most.

 

Salvation Army National and Regional Head Quarters:
USA National
615 Slaters Lane,
Post office Box 269
Alexandria
Virginia
22313
United States (National)

Tel: (703) 684 5500
Fax: (703) 684 3478

e-mail: SA_Information@USN.salvationarmy.org
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org



USA Central Territory
10 West Algonquin Road
Des Plaines
Illinois
60016,
United States

Tel: (847) 294 2000
Fax: (847) 294 2295

e-mail: webusc@usc.salvationarmy.org
http://www.usc.salvationarmy.org

(for states IL, IN, IA, KS, Ml, MN, MO, NE, ND, SO and Wl)



USA Eastern Territory
440 West Nyack Road,
Post Office Box C-635,
West Nyack
New York
10994-0635
United States (East)

Tel: (845) 620 7200
Fax: (845) 620 7756

e-mail: info@salvationarmy-usaeast.org
http://www.SalvationArmy-USAEast.org/

(for states CT, DE, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, VT and Rl)

USA Southern Territory
1424 Northeast Expressway
Atlanta
Georgia
30329-2088
United States

Tel: (404) 728 1300
Fax: (404) 728 1392

e-mail: webmaster@uss.salvationarmy.org
http://www.uss.salvationarmy.org

(for states AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, DC and WV)



USA Western Territory
180 East Ocean Blvd.
Long Beach
California
90802
United States

Tel: (562) 436-7000
Fax: (562) 491 8699

(for states AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NY, NM, UT, WA and WY.)

The Money Could Be Yours

 

You may own unclaimed money. Did you know that one out of every ten people has some sort of lost money? You may be one of those people or an heir to one of those people. People that die almost always leave some money behind. It’s a fact.  This lost money is disguised in many different ways.  You may possibly be the heir to thousands of dollars of some of this disguised lost money and not even know it. You can discover if you are an heir to unclaimed or lost money and receive your money by following a few simple steps.

 

Answer the following questions.  If any apply to you, are you ready to discover if there is money waiting for you?  Every day people are contacted and notified about unclaimed money discovered to belong to them. You may be very surprised to learn the same and at how much money can be yours.

 

1)  Have you been married or divorced?

2)  Changed jobs?

3)  Changed your name?

4)  Moved in the past 15 years?

5)  Retired?

6)  Had a safe-deposit box?

7)  Had a death in your family or someone related to you?

8)  Bought stocks, bonds or any type of a security?

9)  Worked for a city, state, county or federal government office?

10)  Worked for the railroad?

11)  Served with any division of the armed forces?

12) Owned and paid on a federally insured home mortgage?

13) Owned and paid the premiums on a Mutual insurance company policy?

 

 

Getting Your Money

 

If you have answered yes to any one of these questions, you may have unclaimed money waiting for you. Want to learn how to find out if you have unclaimed monies waiting for you?  I will tell you, but first you must understand that it is going to take some effort to locate it.  The reason you do not know about it is because it is somewhat hidden.  To discover it you must remove some of the barriers between you and it.  They are not insurmountable barriers; however they are barriers just the same. Here are the steps you must follow to insure that you will uncover and collect any unclaimed money due you.

 

1) Make a list of every relative you know that has died. If the relative was distant, you may be an heir but only if that relative had few or no other direct descendants.

 

2) For each state you may potentially have a claim, locate the address of the Unclaimed Property or Treasury Office or telephone them. Many of the states have computerized their unclaimed money process; therefore you can obtain this information on line. Try searching Google with the terms “unclaimed property and the state name” you want to check for your unclaimed money. Use the addresses in Chapter 2. Try to provide as much of this information as you can for the state office. Give them your name and address that would be applicable at the time an account in question account was opened. Also include your Social Security number.  Give them the (your relative's) account owner's name (maiden name) and address and Social Security number that would be applicable at the time death had occurred. It is wise to include your relationship to the property owner, if that is applicable. Or use this information to initiate you own search.  Remember many states have computerized this process which includes access to their database of unclaimed money owners online.

 

3) Depending on the method of discovery that you use, you own personal database search or allowing the state to do the search for you, when you or the state office finds money, a claim form will need to be fill out. After you complete the forms and provide the necessary verification documentation, the money is yours.

 

The deceased person may have had an insurance policy that you can't locate.  For assistance with this matter you can contact MIB Solutions or the American Council of Life Insurance. 

ACLI does not conduct missing policy inquiries. If you suspect a policy exists, but cannot locate it, you may want to conduct your own search using the steps provided below. As an alternative, MIB, an insurance trade association, offers a policy locater service for a fee. For more information about this service, visit MIB's Web site: http://www.mib.com/html/lost-life-insurance.html.

Conducting Your Search

• Check your loved one's papers and address and telephone books to look for life insurance policies and the names of insurance agents. Contact every insurance company with which they had a policy, even if you're not sure it is still in force.
• Check with the employee benefits office at their latest and previous places of employment. Or, check with the union welfare office.
• Check bank books and canceled checks for the last few years to see if any checks may have been written to pay life insurance premiums.
• Check the mail for a year after death for premium notices, which usually are sent annually. If a policy has been paid up, there will not be any notice of premium payments due. However, the company may still send an annual notice regarding the status of the policy or it may pay or send notice of a dividend.
• Review your loved one's income tax returns for the past two years. Look for interest income from and interest expenses paid to life insurance companies. Life insurance companies pay interest on accumulations on permanent policies and charge interest on policy loans.
• Check with the state's unclaimed property office to see if any unclaimed money from life insurance policies may have been turned over to the state. If, after a number of years, an insurance company holding the unclaimed money cannot find the rightful owner, it turns the money over to the state.
• Of course, you may wish to contact life insurance companies directly to see if a policy exists. Each state insurance department has a listing of life insurance companies licensed to do business in its state.

 

Contacting the Company That Services Your Life Insurance Policy

If you are the owner or beneficiary of a life insurance policy written long ago, you may need help locating the life insurer that services and pays claims on the policy.

Over the years, a policy owner may lose touch with the life insurer due to frequent moves, or the company that wrote the policy may have changed its name or merged with another company.

Two sources of information can assist you in finding the life insurance company that currently services your policy:

• The state insurance department of the state in which the insured person resided at the time he or she bought the insurance policy.
• Best's Insurance Reports, available in the reference section of many larger libraries. This annual update lists insurance company names and addresses, as well as insurers' name changes, mergers and other changes.

Contact Us

Phone	202-624-2000
Mail	American Council of Life Insurers 101 Constitution Avenue, NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20001-2133

 

 

 

Government Employee Retirement Pensions

 

 

If you have worked for a city, county or state government office, you may have earned a pension. Working on a part-time basis will not exclude you from earning your pension. If you would like to find out if you or someone else is owed a pension, write or phone the following government offices. Please include the name and address of where you were while employed by them as well as your location and dates of employment, Social Security number, and birth date. Here is the complete list of the offices.

 

Public Employee Retirement Systems by State

Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama

Alaska

Alaska Public Employees Retirement System

Arizona

Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System
Arizona Corrections Officers Retirement Plan
Arizona State Retirement System

Arkansas

Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System

 

California

California Public Employees' Retirement System

Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Connecticut

Connecticut Office of the State Comptroller — Retirement Division

Delaware

State of Delaware Pension Office

Florida

Florida Division of Retirement

Georgia

Georgia Employee Retirement System

Hawaii

Hawaii Employees' Retirement System

Idaho

Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho

Illinois

State Employees' Retirement System of Illinois
State Universities Retirement System of Illinois

Indiana

Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund

 

Iowa

Iowa Public Employees' Retirement Systems

Kansas

Kansas Public Employees Retirement System

Kentucky

Kentucky Retirement Systems

Louisiana

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Maine

Maine State Retirement System

Maryland

Maryland State Retirement and Pension System

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission

Michigan

Michigan Office of Retirement Services — links to all state retirement systems

Minnesota

Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association

Mississippi

Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System

 

 

Missouri

Missouri State Employees' Retirement System
Public School Retirement System of Missouri

Montana

Montana Public Employee Retirement Administration — links to all retirement systems

Nebraska

Nebraska Public Employees Retirement System — links to all retirement systems

Nevada

Public Employees' Retirement System of Nevada

New Hampshire

New Hampshire Retirement System

New Jersey

New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits — links to all state retirement systems

New Mexico

Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico

New York

New York State and Local Retirement Systems — links to all state retirement systems

North Carolina

North Carolina Retirement Systems Division

North Dakota

North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System

Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio
School Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Oklahoma

Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System

Oregon

Oregon Public Employees Retirement System

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Public School Employees Retirement System
Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System

Puerto Rico

Administración de los Sistemas de Retiro de los Empleados del Gobierno y la Judicatura de Puerto Rico

Rhode Island

Employees Retirement System of Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Carolina Retirement Systems — links to all state retirement systems

South Dakota

South Dakota Retirement System

Tennessee

Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System

Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas

Utah

Utah Retirement Systems

Vermont

Vermont State Employees Retirement System
Vermont Municipal Employees' Retirement System

Virginia

Virginia Retirement System

Washington

Washington State Department of Retirement Systems

West Virginia

West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board — links to all state retirement systems

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds

Wyoming

Wyoming Retirement System

How to Prevent Your Money from Being Lost

 

 

By now, you're probably worried that some time in the future you'll forget about money that's yours or due you. To prevent your assets from being abandoned, lost or escheated, make sure you take the following precautions:

 

Insurance Policies

 

• Tell your attorney and your family about all insurance policies you have.
• Tell the beneficiaries of your policy that they are beneficiaries.
• Keep a record of your policies and their policy numbers; store them in a safe place.

 

Safe-Deposit Boxes

• Tell your family, attorney and accountant where your safe-deposit box is.
• Pay the box rental when due.

 

Bank accounts

• Keep track of accounts opened by you, a friend or a relative for your child. These accounts are usually opened when a child is born, is christened, graduates, etc., and, after time, are easily lost track of.
• Make sure your savings account doesn't sit without activity for more than a year. Deposit some money, withdraw some money just make sure the account is 'active.' If you have a passbook account, have a bank teller enter your accrued interest.
• For all CDs (certificates of deposit), note their maturity date on your calendar so you don't forget to claim them when due.

 

Stocks, Bonds, Interest, Dividends

• Keep records of all stocks and bonds that you own.
• Mark on your calendar the maturation dates of all your bonds.
• If you can vote on issues facing stockholders, do so; vote your proxy card.
• If you change brokers, check your holdings for errors.

 

The least you can do is to inform everyone you do financial business with if you move, change your name or job, your bank, if you retire, or have problems receiving your mail. To prevent loss, don't trust the postal service with your irreplaceable personal financial assets.

 

 

Appendix
Quick Summary of Resources for Finding People

 

If you have the SSN and name, credit bureaus are probably the best places to start:

Equifax
PO BOX 790123, Atlanta, GA 30374-0123   Tel: 1-800-685-1111

 

Experian

P. O. Box 9595 [see note], Allen, TX 75013-9595   Tel:  888-397-3742

 

Note:  Experian has a long history of changing its mailing address periodically, so the mailing address provided may not be accurate.

 

Innovis

250 E. Town St., Columbus, Ohio 43215  Tel: 1-800-540-2505

 

TransUnion
2 Baldwin Place, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022  Tel: (800) 888-4213

 

 

One can do some searches with just the name, but with common names, there will be hundreds of matches. The more information about the person’s whereabouts, the more luck you will have.

 

Some Internet Directories:

Yahoo People Search
switchboard.com

Searchsystems.net

NETRonline

 

The Social Security Location Services will not release people’s addresses but will pass on information for you (e.g., that you are looking for a participant).

 

Social Security Location Service

(Baltimore, MD: area code 301)

1-800-772-1213
6401 Security Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21234

 

United States Army World Wide Locator Service will locate a person in the service for you. Just send the person's full name as well as his or her Social Security number to:

 

United States Army World Wide Locator Service

 

US Army Personnel Service Support Center

 Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN 46249

 (317) 542-4211

 

 

National Driver Registry

 

You can obtain a copy of a driving record for free from the National Driver Registry in Washington, D.C. They get a copy usually if your license was revoked or suspended at one time. You have to send them a NOTARIZED application form.

 

Their address:

 

National Driver Register

400 7th Street, SW.

Room 6124

Washington, DC 20590-0001

 

(202) 366-4800

 

Unclaimed and Abandoned Property Resources

 

Savings Bonds Treasury Hunt! - Lost, missing and unclaimed U.S. Savings Bond information. Use this link to locate Lost and Unclaimed Saving Bond Information Tools available to you online.

US Savings Bonds - To find out which savings bonds are no longer earning interest or information about lost/missing savings bonds. SavBonds@bpd.treas.gov - Public Debt's e-mail address for savings bond inquiries: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/email.htm

Internal Revenue Service - Contact the IRS directly for information on Unclaimed tax refunds.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation - For information about refunds on retirement accounts search Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Housing and Urban Development - HUD mortgages are insured. Unused premium fees paid are refundable. Visit HUD for information about refunds for mortgage insurance obtained by government loan.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) - Discover if you are entitled to unclaimed funds for insured deposits or for dividend checks issued which were undeliverable or never cashed.

Canadian Bank Accounts - Search and locate unclaimed accounts in Canadian Banks.

British Columbia Bank Accounts - Search for unclaimed accounts in British Columbian Banks.

Dept. of Veterans Affairs - Information on VA education benefits

Swiss Bank Accounts - Research dormant bank accounts and other financial instruments.

Australia Unclaimed Property Website - Search for unclaimed accounts in Australia Banks: 

Bank Failures – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation repays accounts to insured members of failed banks.

Credit Union Unclaimed Shares – The National Credit Union Administration pays members when federally insured credit unions liquidate.

Damaged Money – The Treasury Department will exchange mutilated or damaged U.S. currency.

Economic Stimulus Payments Not Yet Claimed – You must file by October 15, 2008 to get your stimulus payment for this year.

Get Your Money Back – "Investors Claims Funds" and Class Actions – Securities and Exchange Enforcement cases where a Receiver, Disbursement Agent, or Claims administrator has been appointed.

Government Benefits – See if you're eligible for the benefit programs the government offers to Americans in need.

HUD/FHA Mortgage Insurance Refunds – You may be eligible for a refund from your HUD/FHA insured mortgage. Search by name or case number.

Pension Funds from Former Employers – Search for unclaimed pension money from companies that went out of business or ended a defined plan.

Savings Bonds Calculator – Determine what your bond is worth today.

Savings Bonds Interest – Check to see if your bonds still earn interest for you.

Savings Bonds Recovery – Cash and replace lost, stolen, or destroyed bonds.

States' Unclaimed Property – Check state offices in charge of reuniting property with its rightful owner.

Tax Refund Status – Check the status of your income tax refund.

Tax Violations – Report federal tax violators to the IRS' Whistleblower Office and possibly earn a reward.

Undelivered Tax Refunds – Millions in tax refunds go undelivered due to faulty addresses. Check your refund.

National Association of State Treasurers - To keep abreast of the coming revisions to unclaimed and abandoned property policies.

NH State Government Online Information Center - The official New Hampshire State Government information web site.

NAUPA(National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators) - The official organization for state, federal, and private sector unclaimed property administrators.

MissingMoney.com - Links to United States and Canadian Unclaimed Property web sites.

Lost Pensions Search Website - Find information about pension programs and unclaimed funds.

Wagers & Associates - State, Federal, and Private sector unclaimed property administrators Unclaimed Property Systems.

National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) - includes links to other states' owner lookup sites.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - If you think the IRS owes you money, call the toll-free assistance line at 1-800-829-1040.

U.S. Treasury Department - Search for unclaimed federal savings bonds and interest payments. Records on undeliverable savings bonds since 1996 can be searched online or call the toll-free assistance line at 1-800-245-2804.  For Treasury securities other than savings bonds call 1-800-722-2678.

FDIC - Search for any unclaimed insured deposits for financial institutions that were closed by a regulatory agency between January 1, 1989 and June 28, 1993.

Housing and Urban Development - If you had a HUD/FHA insured mortgage, you may have a refund on part of your insurance premium or a share of the earnings.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) - If you worked for a company in the past that went out of business or ended its defined benefit pension plan, you may be entitled to pension money. PBGC is looking for over 12,000 people who are owed pension money.

Search the U.S. Treasury Web Site

Index by Topic

Frequently Asked Questions About Checks & Payments

Frequently Asked Questions About Grants & Loans

Frequently Asked Questions About Offsets & Withholdings

Frequently Asked Questions About Unclaimed Money

Treasury Glossary & Acronyms

More Unclaimed Money and Assets Resources

IMPORTANT: This point can not be over emphasized enough. There is no government wide, centralized information service or database on how unclaimed government assets may be obtained. Each individual federal agency maintains its own records. Each agency provide easy access to information about their procedures and resources.

1. How can I find out if the government has unclaimed money or property that may be mine?

To determine whether any unclaimed funds are being held by the federal government, you must determine the type of benefit or payment that could be involved, the date on which the payment was expected, and how the payment should have been made. Given this information, the agency responsible for certifying any payment due should be able to assist you in determining the current status of any payment involved. The titles and addresses for all federal agencies are available in The United States Government Manual which is available in most public libraries.

Below are government agencies that have databases you can search for unclaimed money.

Treasury Hunt: Unclaimed U.S. Securities and Payments

HUD/FHA Mortgage Insurance Refunds

Credit Union Unclaimed Shares

Pension Funds from Former Employers

National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators - (Individual State Unclaimed Asset Web Sites) - This association consists of state officials charged with the responsibility of reuniting lost owners with their unclaimed property. This site was developed by state unclaimed property experts to assist the public, free of charge, in efforts to search for funds that may belong to you or your relatives.

2. I received a letter stating that the Treasury Department may owe me money or may be holding funds (or property) in my name. The letter indicates that I can receive this unclaimed property if I pay a "finders" fee. Can these companies help me?

Several companies, or locator services, engaged in the business of identifying and recovering unclaimed assets for profit, acquire federal check issuance data from various federal government agencies under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. The information requested by these companies pertains to specific check symbols, numbers and dollar amounts identified on Treasury check cancellation listings. These listings are not searchable by personal identifiers, such as a person's name or social security number. Personal identifiers may, however, exist in federal agencies' check issuance or cancellation records. Using such personal identifiers, if available, these locator services attempt to locate the prospective beneficiaries, or "payees," for canceled/unpaid government checks and, on their behalf, attempt to collect the payment amounts from the federal agencies that originally certified the payments. It is important to note that these firms are also involved in recovering unclaimed property in the possession of state and local government entities.

3. What happens with federal checks that are returned undeliverable or cannot be paid for one reason or another?

No non-federal agency can issue payments on behalf of federal program agencies until official certification of those payments is received from the agencies. In those cases when undeliverable, nonnegotiable and/or otherwise unpaid checks are returned to the Treasury disbursing centers, the checks are merely cancelled and the respective funds return to the agencies that originally certified the payments.

Unpaid Foreign Claims - Unpaid Foreign Claims: Programs and Systems: Financial Foreign Claims Awards are certified to the Department of the Treasury for payment by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (FCSC).

Treasury Managed Accounts: Unclaimed Moneys - Unclaimed Moneys Account Balance by Agency: Treasury Managed Accounts Unclaimed Moneys Account (20X6133) is one of 92 Treasury Managed Accounts.

Not all unclaimed funds are submitted to the states for holding. You might want to check with former employers for any pension benefits you may be due, as well as any former insurance companies. In addition, you might want to check the sites below.

Better Business Bureau - To find information about a business or to file a complaint against a business

Consumer Sentinel - To find information about consumer fraud or to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Bloomberg - Stock Prices

Securities Transfer Association - To determine which Transfer Agent you may need to contact regarding your securities

CNN Money - Stock Prices

Federal Government Agencies that may be holding unclaimed funds

United States Treasury Department - Various federal agencies that may be holding funds

United States Government - Various federal agencies that may be holding funds

United States Department of the Interior - Lost funds for American Indians

American Council of Life Insurance - Information regarding lost policies

Department of Financial Institutions - Information regarding banks and consumer complaints

Federal Reserve System - Information regarding merged banks and lost accounts

Social Security Administration - Information regarding Social Security benefits

Railroad Retirement Information - Information regarding Railroad Retirement benefits.

US Department of the Interior, Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians - Locating Individual Indian Money (IIM) Account Holders. Looking for lost American Indian assets or property?

Undeliverable Tax Refunds - If you think that the IRS owes you money from past tax filings, call the toll-free assistance line at (800) 829-1040 or if you wish to follow up on your current year's refund, follow this link to the official IRS web site.

National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators - A resource website to search for Unclaimed Property in all 50 states.

US Federal Savings Bonds - The official source of information in regards to US Savings Bonds: Check this website for any Savings Bonds you may have forgotten about.

Internal Revenue Service - A resource website to contact the IRS, obtain forms, find out about free electronic filing resources and check on current year refund status.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation - A resource website to search for Unclaimed Pension Benefits that might be owed to you.

US Department of Housing and Urban Development - A resource website to search for Unclaimed Refunds: If you had a HUD/FHA insured mortgage, you may have a refund on part of your insurance premium or a share of the earnings.

Veterans Administration Benefits - A resource website to search for Unclaimed Veterans Benefits owed to you by the Federal Government.

Swiss Bankers Association - A new claims process to provide Nazi victims or their heirs the opportunity to make claims to assets deposited in Swiss Banks during World War II.

Bank of Canada - A resource website to search for Unclaimed Bank Accounts held by The Bank of Canada.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission - A resource website to search for Unclaimed Money and Unclaimed Property held by The Australian Commonwealth Government.

Province of British Columbia - A resource website to search for Unclaimed Property in the British Columbia Unclaimed Property Society Databases.

Unclaimed Assets - A resource website to search for Unclaimed Property, Dormant Bank Accounts, Abandoned Safe Deposit Boxes, Lost Stocks, and Missing Inheritances in many foreign countries.

The National Unclaimed Property Database - A centralized database and resource website for Unclaimed Money and Unclaimed Property held by Federal Agencies.

US Railroad Retirement Board - A resource website to search for Unclaimed Railroad Retirement Benefits.

Armenian Assembly of America - A resource website that provides reliable information and informed viewpoints on the most pressing Armenian Issues.

Holocaust Claims Processing Office of the New York State Banking Department - The mission of this office: Recover assets deposited in European Banks: Recover monies never paid in connection with Insurance policies issued by European Insurers: Recover lost or looted Art

Irish Bankers' Federation - A resource website that provides information and the steps needed for submitting a claim for Dormant Accounts to The Irish Banker's Federation.

Australian Department of the Treasury and Finance Unclaimed Moneys & The Australian Department of the Treasury Unclaimed Estates - A resource website where you can search for Unclaimed Moneys with The Department of the Treasury and Finance and where you can search for Unclaimed Property, belonging to yourself or a family member.

New York Life Insurance Company - A website where you can search New York Life records of Unclaimed Assets for funds that may be owed to you or a member of your family.

Living Heirs - A resource website to aid heirs of Holocaust Victims to identify their ancestors and documented assets.

New South Wales Unclaimed Moneys - A resource website where you can search for Unclaimed Moneys held by The Office of State Revenue in New South Wales.

France Unclaimed Moneys - A resource website where you can search for Unclaimed Moneys held by banks in France, however this website is in French, there is no English version available at this time.

Swiss Bankers Association - A resource website where you can search for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland.

The International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims - A Resource website to search for unpaid insurance policies issued to victims of the Holocaust. Information is available in 23 languages.

Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury - A resource website to search for Unclaimed Moneys in Puerto Rico.

Frozen Swiss Accounts Database Search Form - This website provides a notice of claim procedures for locating Swiss, Swedish, French, British Bank and Insurance Accounts.

Your First Click to US Government - This website provides links to US government services for citizen, business, and government.

 

 

Glossary of Unclaimed Money Terms

 

   Term                                                                         Description

 

Abandonment Period:  The period of inactivity (usually 3-5 years) after which property is considered abandoned.

 

Abandoned  Property:  Tangible or intangible property that is unclaimed by its rightful owner after a significant period of time.  Various states and government agencies have programs to return these funds to the rightful owners.

 

Account Information:  The name and address listed for the owner of the property at their last know address. This information will also include the type of property reported and the value.

 

Activity:  Action taken on property by the owner including making a deposit or a withdrawal, or a memorandum of correspondence by the owner to the holder.

 

Address of Record:  The address reported with the property when remitted to the Unclaimed Property Division. This will not necessarily be your current address.

 

Affidavit of Heirship:  Court documentation identifying the heir(s) to an Estate.

 

Age Verification:   Documentation that establishes age, e.g. state issued identification.

 

Aggregate Amount:  The amount below which holders need not include the name and last known address of the owner with the report. The aggregate amount in Vermont is $25.00.

 

APV1:   Each claim must be reviewed by at least two staff members (four if in excess of $10,000). This status indicates the first level of approval has been applied.

 

 APV2:   Each claim must be reviewed by at least two staff members. This status indicates the second level of approval has been applied and if the claim is less than $10,000, a voucher will be issued.

 

APV3 and APV4:   Any claim with a value of $10,000 will receive additional review and be approved after the 4th level of approval has been applied. A voucher will than be issued.

Asset Finders or Asset Locators:  Asset finders or locators are individuals or companies that offer to reunite the apparent owner or heirs with unclaimed property, for a fee.

 

Bond:  A debt investment, where the investor loans money to a company or government that borrows the money for a defined period of time at a specified interest rate.

 

Certified Copy of a Will:   or other court document Copy of a will or other estate document that bears the certified stamp of the Court.

 

Claim:   A signed form required by the State Treasurer’s Office which begins the process of returning unclaimed property.  

 

Claim ID:   The multi digit number given to each claim form submitted to the Unclaimed Property Division. Claimants may reference this number when following up on a claim.

 

Claimant:  An entity or individual claiming to be the rightful owner of the unclaimed property.

 

Closed Estate:   An estate which has been under the supervision of the court and for which a final report has been issued.

 

Custodian:  An individual or entity that holds property until it is delivered to the rightful owner. Most states' laws make the State the "custodian" of the abandoned property.

 

Date of Last Activity:  The date of the owner's last activity on the property or the owner's contact with the holder.

 

Decedent:  A person who has died.

 

Demutualization:   Process by which a Mutual organization or co-op changes legal form to a joint stock company. As part of this process, members of a Mutual usually receive a payout, in the form of shares in the successor company, a cash payment or a mixture of both. Property owners may find their stocks have gone through the demutualization process as they go through the claim process.

 

Dormancy Period:  The period of inactivity (usually 2-5 years, but check with your state) after which property is considered abandoned.

 

Due Diligence:  As required by various states, this represents the degree of effort a holder of abandoned property would reasonably make in order to find the rightful owner of property before the property is remitted to the state.

 

Entity:  Company, corporation, limited liability company, trust, etc.

 

Escheat:  When the title (ownership) to property is transferred to a state or government agency, making the state or agency the legal owner.

 

Executor:   The person(s) appointed by the courts to manage an Estate.

 

FEIN (Federal Employer Identification Number):   Always required to prior to the payment of corporate and non-profit claims.

 

Final Distribution:   The final accounting of an Estate, certified by the court, showing how the final distribution of the estate’s assets.

 

Found Money:  Money held that is unclaimed by its rightful owner after a significant period of time.  Various states and government agencies have programs to return these funds to the rightful owners.

 

General Inquiry:  A written letter or inquiry form asking for the Unclaimed Property Division to search for a specific property or conduct a general search for a specific individual or business.

 

Heir:   The person(s) who has a right of inheritance to the property of another following the latter’s death.

 

Heir Finders or Heir Locators:  Heir finders or locators are individuals or companies that offer to reunite the apparent owner or heirs with unclaimed property, for a fee.

 

Holder:   The business or organization that turned over the unclaimed property to the Unclaimed Property Division.   The entity that controls abandoned property until it is transferred to the owner or to the state on behalf of the owner.

 

Indemnification:  An agreement that protects the holder from loss by transferring the legal responsibilities to a third party (the State or Government agency).

 

Indemnification Form:   A signed form releasing the State Treasurer’s office from any legal action in the event someone else comes forward at a later time to claim a piece of property. Often used when a property owner cannot prove the address as originally reported on the property.

Intangible Property:  Property that cannot be held in your hand, something that is abstract, or represented by a symbol. For example, an ownership interest in a company is represented by a stock certificate.

 

Joint Owner:  Multiple owners were reported as the owners of the asset.

 

Letters of Office:   An Order, signed by a judge, authorizing a person(s) to administer the estate of another individual.

 

Lien Payment Proof:   Documentation from an institution showing that all liens have been satisfied on safety deposit box contents remitted to the Unclaimed Property Division.

 

Lost Money:  Money held that is unclaimed by its rightful owner after a significant period of time.  Various states and government agencies have programs to return these funds to the rightful owners.

 

Missing Money:  Money being held that is unclaimed by its rightful owner after a significant period of time.  Various states and government agencies have programs to return these funds to the rightful owners.

 

Missing Owner:  A "Missing Owner" is a person who has left an asset somewhere (bank account, safe deposit box, payroll check, utility deposit, etc.) and cannot be located by the company holding the asset in order to return it. This differs from "Owner" only slightly, in that an "Owner" is generally at the same address on file with the company but has simply forgotten or lost tract of the asset.

 

NAUPA:   This stands for the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, a national network of administrators, representing each State and its unclaimed property program. If you live outside of Illinois, you can go to the NAUPA website and choose the state you want to search.

 

Name Change Proof :  Documentation, oftentimes a marriage license, verifying a change in ones legal name.

 

Notarized Signature:   Certification the individual signing a document is entitled to sign for that name. Notaries are often found at County Courthouses, banks or financial institutions. The State Treasurer’s Office has several notaries available to assist claimants.

 

Official Check:  A check or written instrument for which a bank, financial organization, or business association is directly liable, including but not limited to drafts, money orders, traveler's checks, cashier's checks, expense and payroll checks.

 

Open Estate:   An Estate that has been filed with the courts but has not been settled.

 

Owner:   The individual whose name is listed with the property.   

 

Person:   Any individual, business association, government or public subdivision, public corporation or authority, estate, trust, two or more persons having a joint or common interest; or any other legal or commercial entity.

 

POA – Power of Attorney:   A document in which one person appoints another to handle financial and/or health matters for that individual.

 

Probate:   The legal process of settling the estate of a deceased person including resolving claims and distributing assets and overseen by a court of law.

 

Property:   The financial asset or safe deposit box contents being held by the Unclaimed Property Division.

 

Property ID Number:   A multi digit number assigned to each single property that is turned over to the State. Claimants will find their property ID numbers on the Cash Dash website next to their name.

 

Real Property:  Real estate and fixtures, which are not generally applicable to the unclaimed property statutes.

 

Release of Interest Form:   Used for joint ownership. One person signs interest in an unclaimed asset over to the other person listed on the property.

 

Report:  List of the owners of unclaimed property that a holder sends each year to the State Treasurer along with the remittance of the property's value.

 

Re-Review:   An ongoing claim held at the Unclaimed Property Office for which further documentation has been submitted.

 

Rightful Owner:  A person who has the legal right to property.

 

SEA (Small Estate Affidavit):   A notarized document that an heir(s) complete, listing all heirs entitled to a portion of an estate and in what manner the funds should be distributed. Settlement The daily process in the State Treasurer’s office which creates an electronic file of all claims approved for payment. This file is sent daily to the State Comptroller’s office where vouchers are generated and mailed to claimant. Small Estate Affidavit (SEA) A notarized document that an heir(s) complete, listing all heirs entitled to a portion of an estate and in what manner the funds should be distributed.

 

SSN:   Social Security Number   

 

Tangible Personal Property:  Property that is physical, such as a diamond ring or a silver coin.

 

Testate:   Having left a will at death.

 

Trust Documentation:   A complete copy of a trust document and any codicils explaining the terms, successor trustees and beneficiaries to the Trust. Often times a FEIN number is required before processing payment on a claim involving a Trust.

 

UGMA:   Uniform Gift to Minors Act (Under this Act, a minor means an individual who has not attained the age of 21 years).

 

Unclaimed Money:   Money held by a government agency that is unclaimed by its rightful owner after a significant period of time.  Various states and government agencies have programs to return these funds to the rightful owners.

 

Unclaimed Property:  Tangible or intangible property that is unclaimed by its rightful owner after a significant period of time.  Various states and government agencies have programs to return these funds to the rightful owners.

 

Underlying Shares:  Shares of stock that have been issued by a business association, or a banking or financial organization. The original certificate for the shares is in the possession of the shareholders, who have failed to either cash the dividend checks or correspond with the issuing corporation.

 

Unexchanged Stock of Successor:  Undelivered stock issued by a business association, banking or financial organization, or a corporation as a result of a merger with or acquisition of another business association, banking or financial organization, or a corporation.

 

UTMA:   Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (Under this Act, a minor means an individual who has not attained the age of 21 years).

 

 

Verification Letter:   Documentation to be sent to the Holder of a property which when completed will direct payment of assets held at the Unclaimed Property Division. Generally used when a claimant is unable to verify ownership.

 

Voluntary Compliance:  A program that allows banks, businesses, government agencies and other entities to turn over unclaimed assets to all participating states without the fear of penalties or interest. The Voluntary Compliance Program is an attempt to alleviate the reluctance of holders to report their abandoned funds.

 

Warrants:  Uncashed checks issued by state agencies or departments.

 

Frequently Asked Questions about Unclaimed Money (Property)

 

What is unclaimed property?

Unclaimed property (sometimes referred to as abandoned property) refers to accounts in financial institutions and companies that have had no activity generated or contact with the owner for one year or a longer period. Common forms of  unclaimed property include savings or checking accounts, stocks, uncashed dividends or payroll checks, refunds, traveler’s checks, trust distributions, unredeemed money orders or gift certificates (in some states), insurance payments or refunds and life insurance policies, annuities, certificates of

deposit, customer overpayments, utility security deposits, mineral royalty

payments, and contents of safe deposit boxes.

 

What happens to these accounts that have no activity?

Acting in the best interest of consumers, each state has enacted an unclaimed

property statute that protects your funds from reverting back to the company if

you have lost contact with them. These laws instruct companies to turn forgotten

funds over to a state official who will then make a diligent effort to find you

or your heirs. Most states hold lost funds until you are found, returning them

to you at no cost or for a nominal handling fee upon filing a claim form and

verification of your identity. Since it is impossible to store and maintain all

of the contents that are turned over from safe deposit boxes, most states hold

periodic auctions and hold the funds obtained from the sale of the items for the

owner. Some states also sell stocks and bonds and return the proceeds to the

owner in the same manner.

 

How do states try to return this money?

The state treasurers and other officials who administer the unclaimed property

programs have developed many powerful and effective methods to locate owners

including the use of websites, cross-checking public data, staging thousands of

awareness events at state fairs and even shopping malls, and developing a

national database. The methods work as tens of millions of potential lost owners inquire annually resulting in this vital consumer protection program returning money to people at a rate approaching two billion dollars annually.

 

How do I begin my free search?

Companies are required by law to send funds from lost accounts to the state of

the owner’s last known address. That means you could potentially have unclaimed

property in every state that you have resided. You might want to begin your

search on your states unclaimed property online database, or other Web sites

endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA).  These sites are free.

 

If searching is free, why do I receive notices that there is a charge to search?

Several business firms have used the states’ freedom of information acts to

obtain owner information. These firms notify individuals that they will conduct

a search for unclaimed property in their name for a fee. Many states do not even

provide complete records to these firms to protect your privacy. The bottom line

is that you may pay them to search if you wish, but all the information is

accessible free of charge by searching the state databases by contacting any state unclaimed property office.

 

I have received a notice that property has been found, but there is a fee to

obtain it.

 

There are many businesses, sometimes called finders or locators, which find

legitimate lost property for owners and offer to inform them of how to obtain it

for a fee, usually a percentage of the total (some states limit the fee to 10

percent). Sometimes, companies will hire these firms to find you before they

turn the funds over to the state. Ultimately the finder will ask you to sign a

contract. The majority of firms that provide these services work within the law,

but there are also many unclaimed property scams across the United States.

Before signing any contract from a firm of this type, we recommend that you be

cautious and contact the unclaimed property office in your state for more

information.

 

How do I keep my property from becoming lost in the future?

• Remember, property becomes lost due to a company having no communication with the owner. You should contact institutions that hold your money or property every year and especially when there is an address change or change in marital status. For security reasons, most financial institutions do not forward mail.

 

• Keep accurate financial records and record all insurance policies, bank account numbers with bank names and addresses, types of accounts, stock certificates, and rent and utility deposits.

 

• Cash all checks for dividends, wages, and insurance settlements without delay.

 

• Respond to requests for confirmation of account balances and stockholder proxies.

 

• If you have a safe deposit box, record its number, bank name and address, and give the extra key to a trusted person.

 

• Finally, prepare and file a will detailing the disposition of your assets.

 

Does the Federal Government hold unclaimed property?

Yes, but only in federal agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, HUD

mortgage insurance refunds, pensions, and U.S. Savings Bonds to name a few.

More information regarding reclaiming lost assets from the federal government

and other sources can be obtained by visiting the web site link listed below.

 

Additionally, millions of Americans are holding more than 35 million U.S.

Savings Bonds that have fully matured. Some have lost bonds. Others have

forgotten about their bonds. Still others think their bonds continue to earn

interest. The value of these bonds is nearly $15 billion and continues to rise.

 

When savings bonds are sold, the Bureau of the Public Debt collects the name and

address of the bond owner. These names and addresses are literally buried within

five billion microfilm issuance records. The vast majority of microfilm records

are not indexed and practically inaccessible. As a result, nobody is actively

searching for the owners of more than 35 million matured unredeemed savings bonds.

If you have bonds that have recently matured or if you have questions about U.S. Savings Bonds, you can learn more at the Bureau of the Public Debt Web site: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/tools/tools_treasuryhunt.htm

 

 

The 50 U.S. States Government Web Site Addresses

 

Often, the individual state government web sites have links to helpful portals of specialized information that may aid you in your unclaimed property search. The accumulated information or services provided through these web sites is generally easy to navigate because most state homepages have simple and advanced search engines, site maps, directories and other finding tools.

 

Alabama
State of Alabama
http://www.alabama.gov/

Alaska
State of Alaska
http://www.state.ak.us/

Arizona
State of Arizona
http://az.gov/

Arkansas
State of Arkansas
http://www.accessarkansas.org/

California
California State Government
http://www.ca.gov/

Colorado
State of Colorado
http://www.colorado.gov/

Connecticut
State of Connecticut
http://www.ct.gov/

Delaware
State of Delaware
http://sos.delaware.gov/default.shtml

Florida
MyFlorida.com
http://www.myflorida.com/

Georgia
State of Georgia
http://www.georgia.gov/

Hawaii
eHawaiiGov
http://www.ehawaiigov.org/

Idaho
Access Idaho
http://www.accessidaho.org/

Illinois
State of Illinois
http://www.illinois.gov/

Indiana
Indiana State Government
http://www.in.gov/

Iowa
State of Iowa
http://www.iowa.gov/

Kansas
accessKansas
http://www.kansas.gov

Kentucky
Commonwealth of Kentucky
http://www.kentucky.gov/

Louisiana
Louisiana.gov
http://www.louisiana.gov/

Maine
Maine State Government
http://www.maine.gov/

Maryland
Maryland.Gov
http://www.maryland.gov/

Massachusetts
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
http://www.mass.gov/

Michigan
State of Michigan
http://www.michigan.gov/

Minnesota
North Star: State of Minnesota
http://www.state.mn.us/

Mississippi
State of Mississippi
http://www.ms.gov/

Missouri
State of Missouri
http://www.missouri.gov/

Montana
Discovering Montana
http://www.discoveringmontana.com/

Nebraska
Nebraska State Government
http://www.nebraska.gov/

Nevada
State of Nevada
http://www.nv.gov/">State of Nevada

New Hampshire
New Hampshire State Government: WEBSTER
http://www.state.nh.us/

New Jersey
State of New Jersey
http://www.state.nj.us/

New Mexico
New Mexico State Government Information
http://www.state.nm.us

New York
Welcome to New York
http://www.state.ny.us/

North Carolina
State of North Carolina
http://www.ncgov.com/

North Dakota
State of North Dakota
http://www.discovernd.com

Ohio
State of Ohio
http://ohio.gov/

Oklahoma
State of Oklahoma
http://www.ok.gov/

Oregon
Oregon Online
http://www.oregon.gov/

Pennsylvania
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
http://www.state.pa.us/

Rhode Island
Rhode Island State Government
http://www.ri.gov/

South Carolina
MySCGov.com
http://www.myscgov.com/

South Dakota
State of South Dakota
http://www.state.sd.us/

Tennessee
TennesseeAnytime
http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/

Texas
TexasOnline
http://www.texasonline.com/

Utah
State of Utah
http://www.utah.gov/

Vermont
State of Vermont
http://www.vermont.gov/

Virginia
Commonwealth of Virginia
http://www.virginia.gov/

Washington
Access Washington
http://access.wa.gov/

West Virginia
State of West Virginia
http://www.wv.gov/

Wisconsin
State of Wisconsin
http://www.wisconsin.gov/

Wyoming
State of Wyoming
http://wyoming.gov/

 

Epilogue

The Unclaimed Money Finder’s business is truly a sleeper opportunity.  Few people know about it and even fewer individuals avail themselves of its lucrative income earning potentials.  This complete manual to finding unclaimed money tells you exactly how to set up a money finder’s business.  The internet has greatly contributed to the ease at which you can operate this business.  That is because of your ability to perform extensive research in a short period of time.  It is a very valuable tool.  However, my twenty plus years as a money finder has taught me nothing beats the pro-active action approach…getting on the telephone, knocking on doors, and hands on research.  If you only have a few hours daily to devote to your business, using the internet only will generate an above average income for you.  But if you want to really earn some money the pro-active action approach is the way to go.  The difference in income earning potential is like night and day!