Unclaimed Money or Property
 

Has anyone else checked the links to these sites? They tell you whether or not someone has unclaimed money or property to which you could be eligible to receive. I am very curious as to whether or not anyone else has investigated this, and how they went about claiming the money or property.

I did the initial investigation, and found the great-aunt for whom I'm named. She had always squirreled away money & property, never letting the left hand know what the right hand was doing. There are several accounts under $100, and one that could be worth much, much more. She had made me her POA on health matters, and trusted me implicitly. Most of this, I can document.

So, not knowing how much money is involved, should I hire an attorney, or try to do this myself? If I knew the amount, it would be an easier decision!

If you are ok with sharing probably half with a lawyer, then I'd say do it; hopefully s/he can make the whole process easier. If you're not ok with sharing half then I'd probably give it your best shot at handling it on your own. Maybe you get a couple of the easy ones resolved and pay for help on the more complicated ones.

Since I have gone through my dad's death, then my mom's, and now my father-in-law's, and dealt with settling estates, I do check the state treasurer's website at least once a year. My parents had several little bank accounts in two or three states (including North Carolina) over the years, so I try to check to see if anything turns up. The only thing so far was a small utility refund due a cousin.

But I'd check with the state treasurer's official site, and beware of any other offers to "help" you. You may not need a lawyer - just the proper documentation such as power of attorney, will, death certificate.

EDITING to correct "secretary of state" to "state treasurer." The link on the Alabama state treasurer's site leads to "moneyquestalabama.com" which is, to my knowledge, legit.

I'd definitely try to get what you can get yourself. Do not split 50/50.

The process could be as easy as providing proof that you are related to the deceased (that's all they require in Oklahoma).

My mom does this regularly. I NEVER get anything. lol

If they are .gov sites you should be okay. They're generally state treasury sites. And you shouldn't need a lawyer, it's pretty self explanatory. I just did this for an old check from a job I never got and it was basically just fill out the form, send a copy of your license and mail it off. For the account over $100 though, there are more requirements, but still pretty easy.

Just a few weeks ago, I submitted a claim, found on my state's unclaimed property website, for a $100 utility deposit refund from 10 years ago. I had to fill a short form, photocopy my driver's license and send in proof that I lived at the address listed. The only tricky part of the process was locating an original utility bill from 10 years ago; but, I happened to have an old box of papers in storage and was able to fish one out. I haven't gotten the check yet; but, imagine it will arrive in a few weeks.

Reading one of these S.O.S. lists in a newspaper years ago, I found parents of my sorority sister listed by name AND address. None of them still lived in-state, so I happily mailed her the information.

Nowadays, I believe only names are listed by the S.O.S. in the newspaper (with no address). So now, unfortunately, if your name is misspelled you might not even notice whether you are listed in the paper or online. Same thing if the S.O.S. has a slightly incorrect address in their unclaimed property records under your name.