How property becomes abandoned

Property may become abandoned in many ways.

People might move or cease employment and forget to take their safe-deposit contents or final paychecks. Persons experiencing a sudden change in circumstances can lose track of their assets in the confusion. They can forget assets acquired long ago or stored for a long time. They also may be unaware that property belongs to them; for example, beneficiaries of insurance policies or landowners having minerals extracted from their property.

Have you forgotten about a checking or savings account, uncashed money orders, cashiers’ checks, unclaimed insurance benefits, mineral royalty payments, safe-deposit box contents, unused gift certificates, unclaimed security deposits, cash dividends, stock, court deposits and utility deposits or refunds—even paychecks?

Click the Unclaimed Property Search button on the left-hand side of this page to find out how to check state repositories for unclaimed property.

Before starting a search, you can review the Unclaimed Property page to review the basic criteria for submitting a claim for abandoned property. The site also provides information about how property becomes unclaimed.