Simple and Effective Ways to Recover Unclaimed Inheritance Money or Other Unclaimed Assets

Occasionally, news outlet report stories about someone receiving a large inheritance. Most of these stories focus on individual that had no idea about such funds. Either a loved one or a random stranger left them money, and they didn't find out until years later. You might think such stories are incredibly rare, but they do occur from time to time. In most cases, you'll think nobody will ever leave you money. That mindset could make you the perfect person to never discover money that's been left in your name.
Thousands of people receive inheritance money each and every year. When a person passes away, he or she may leave money for a family member or close friend. Sometimes, funds are willed to acquaintances or somewhat random individuals. Anyone can leave another person money after passing away, so inheritance funds may come from countless sources. The average recipient doesn't receive more than a few thousand dollars. Nonetheless, any amount of money is welcome gift, and nobody wants to turn down gifted money.
What Happens After Someone Passes Away?
An individual needs to leave a will behind upon death. Otherwise, legal precedent puts funds into the hands of a spouse, child, or family member. Detailed wills often include names, addresses, and social security numbers for beneficiaries. Not everyone keeps such a detailed will, though. In most cases, a simple will won't contain this information, and someone with power of attorney will have to find beneficiaries. Tracking down people is never an easy task as an individual might move away or change names due to marriage.
The executor of the will must make a concerted effort to find beneficiaries of a will. However, he or she can only take so many steps to track someone down. If that person is easy to find, then the funds may be held by the executor. Finding someone that has moved multiple times or married multiple times can seem impossible. Plus, that particular person doesn't know an executor of the will is searching for themselves. This makes the search even harder, especially when only a handful of leads are available to start with.
What If The Inheritance Money Remains Unclaimed?
Assuming the executor cannot find a beneficiary, various things can happen to inheritance money. First of all, funds are sometimes transferred to another beneficiary. This occurs after all options to find an heir have been exhausted. Inheritance money could also be sent to the state to be held until someone comes with an ownership claim. Similarly, the state may receive inheritance money because a named heir has passed away themselves. Each state features slightly different rules on what happens to these funds today.
After the state receives inheritance money, funds are kept with an unclaimed funds department. All 50 states operate a department like this, although the official department name tends to vary from state to state. Other funds like paychecks, utility bill refunds, and other payments can be turned over to the state as well. Either way, most states won't make too much of an effort to locate an individual with unclaimed property. They don't have the resources or the requirement to do so these days.
It's up to you to search for unclaimed inheritance money or unclaimed funds.
How To Find Money That Has Been Left In Your Name
Searching for an unclaimed inheritance, or other funds, isn't too complicated. Each state operates its own database for unclaimed assets. Therefore, you'll need to search through each database on an individual basis. A national database isn't available for unclaimed assets, so this can be a time-consuming process. You could hire a third-party service to carry out these searches in your name, but doing so costs money for each search. Your best option is to tackle this work on your own whenever you have free time.
State databases are updated on a regular basis, so new assets are added often. For the best results, you'll need to start with states where you have friends and family members. You might even find a handful of other types of unclaimed assets during a search. It's not necessarily a good idea to search through states you have no connection to, but a random search here and there won't hurt. By focusing on probable locations of unclaimed assets, you'll find the money in your name rather than seeing tons of empty results.
When you find an unclaimed asset in your name, you'll need to place a claim on the funds. For most states, this process is simple and straightforward. You can either fill out a form and mail it in, or use an online redemption form. Virtually all states require that you provide your personal information and reveal your relationship to the asset. If your name isn't attached to the asset, then placing a claim may prove impossible. Some states will require extra documentation and verification to give you an asset.
Start Finding The Money In Your Name Today!
Not everyone will have assets in their name at any given moment. Still, you shouldn't assume that you don't have money floating out there. Perhaps a close friend or relative left you money in their will to reward you for being a friend or loved one. You probably won't receive a multi-million dollar inheritance from someone, but it happens on occasion. In the end, receiving even a small inheritance is rewarding to many people. Since the money is already in your name, you shouldn't abandon something that you own.
You don't need to constantly search the unclaimed assets database of every state in the country. From time to time, it's a smart idea to search a few databases to see what's in your name. Anything from an inheritance to an old paycheck and more could show up. You'll want to initiate a search every few months just in case. Without a doubt, curiosity doesn't hurt here, and you might even find something unexpected in a given state.