Finding Lost Treasure

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

June 8, 1999 / 4:46 PM EDT / CBS

It's called unclaimed property. Billions of dollars are literally sitting in state treasuries waiting for people like you to claim them. Losing track of money is easy. Now, it's almost as easy to find it again, through the Web.

The property could be in the form of abandoned bank accounts, lost stock certificates, bonds, refunds from utility companies, uncashed government checks, insurance claims, IRS checks--all the paperwork that people have lost track of over the years.

You could have unclaimed property if you moved before a check came and mail forwarding didn't kick in, or if you forgot to close out a college bank account. Or, perhaps you opened a bank savings account for your child but didn't add or withdraw money for years. Then you move. To the bank, the account is dormant. If you can't be located, the funds go to the state for safekeeping.

One easy way to find property is to write to the treasury or comptroller's office of any state where you have lived. It's unlikely your property would be anywhere else.

Be sure to include your name, address, and social security number in the inquiry. From that, they can tell you if there is property or cash in your name. Further proof of identification may be needed to recover the property.

Now, you also can do a quick search online. About 30 states have Web sites that allow you to search the records directly.

If you don't know the address of the site you want, go to www.unclaimed.org. This site is run by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. It links to all the available state sites. For some, it takes just seconds to connect and search.

In most cases, after finding out you have unclaimed property, you'll need to fill out more paperwork. Some forms are available online, others through state offices. You'll have to prove your identity and, if you're tracing a deceased relative's estate, you'll have to prove the relationship through a birth or marriage certificate.

Just some of the unusual unclaimed property found include coins, uncirculated Confederate money and, according to one state official, a gold tooth found in a safety deposit box.

Another Web site helps you find pension money. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation helps find people who are owned pensions earned from private benefit pension plans that have been closed.

Go to search.pbgc.gov to find the pension search directory.