Is there any unclaimed money that belongs to you?

The State of Minnesota has returned more than $6 million in unclaimed cash and property to Minnesotans who forgot or were unaware it was theirs.

One in ten Americans has money or assets belonging to them that they didn’t even know existed. It could be an inheritance, money from an old bank account, leftover paychecks from an old job, or just about anything you can think of.

The good news is that it’s quite easy to check if you’ve lost money or property that belongs to you. The Minnesota Department of Commerce has a website that makes searching quite easy.

People lose track of their money or financial assets due to a change of address, a death or because they have inherited something they knew nothing about. As part of our mission to protect consumers, Commerce is committed to reuniting Minnesotans with missing money.

There is another comprehensive website called MissingMoney.com, which partners with states and Canadian provinces to search their programs (similar to Minnesota’s) nationwide to once again help you find missing money and property.

There are several reasons why money is lost

• Dormant bank accounts
• Uncashed checks
• Unclaimed wages
• Payments or benefits of insurance claims
• Stocks or bonds
• Lockers

MissingMoney.com says: Every year, states receive lost and unclaimed money, property or other assets, and MissingMoney.com helps them find the rightful owners. It costs nothing to search for your money, it’s FREE.

The state of Minnesota says the property is considered unclaimed if it is owned by a company or organization that has not had contact with the owner for a certain number of years. Businesses and organizations are legally required to check their details and attempt to contact the property owner if it appears to be abandoned.

If the owner does not respond, the property will be considered abandoned. The property is then sent to Commerce so that the Department can protect it and continually attempt to return it to the rightful owner or heirs.

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