Tyler J Layne : Northwestern Mutual - Putting your Hands on Missing Money : Article: Putting your Hands on Missing Money

Putting your Hands on "Missing" Money

by Grace W. Weinstein

The 50 states hold more than $16 billion in "unclaimed property." Some of it may be yours.

Even if you've kept meticulous financial records, some things have a way of slipping through the cracks. For example, a Florida man found $1,400 waiting for him in Virginia. The money was from annuities purchased for him by his parents when he was young, annuities they never told him about.

In a more dramatic example, seven heirs shared more than $500,000 in royalties from oil exploration—all stemming from a man who purchased mineral rights in North Dakota in 1935 and put the title in his daughter's name. The seven were grandchildren of the original purchaser.

Unclaimed property is rarely this dramatic—or this substantial. Typically it takes the form of abandoned bank accounts, utility deposits, insurance proceeds, even merchandise refunds and gift certificates.

Whatever the amount, it's worthwhile—and easy—to see if you have money coming to you.

If you have online access, check out the Web site sponsored by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), www.missingmoney.com. About half of the states and the District of Columbia currently participate in this collaborative effort, with more states expected to come on board.

You can also link to every state's unclaimed-property office at NAUPA's site, www.unclaimed.org, by clicking on "Owners," then "Find Property."

No online access? Send a stamped self-addressed envelope to NAUPA, P.O. Box 11950, Lexington, KY 40578, for a list of all the state unclaimed property offices and their addresses.

Unclaimed property is generally held forever by the states, although interest earned on the property may go into a state general fund or an education fund. A few states are actively seeking owners, but, in most cases, you'll have to conduct your own search to see what's out there in your name. One note of caution: You do not have to pay a finder's fee to a private search firm. In fact, suspicion is in order if any outfit requests such a fee because the information is generally available at no cost.

Source: CreativeLiving Magazine, Autumn 2002, The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company

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Northwestern Mutual Financial Network is the marketing name for the sales and distribution arm of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, WI (NM), and its subsidiaries and affiliates. Tyler James Layne is a Representative of Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company®, Milwaukee, WI (WMC), a wholly-owned company of NM and limited purpose federal savings bank. WMC is not a broker-dealer or insurance company. All WMC products and services are offered only by properly credentialed Representatives who operate from agency offices of WMC. Representative is an Insurance Agent of NM (life insurance, annuities and disability income insurance), and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC), a subsidiary of NM (long-term care insurance), and a Registered Representative of Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS), 1111 W Jefferson St Ste 540, Boise, ID 83702-5393, 208-383-0210, a wholly-owned company of NM, registered investment adviser, broker-dealer and member FINRA (www.finra.org) and SIPC. Representative may also be an Investment Adviser Representative of NMIS. NM and The Rigenhagen Financial Group are not broker-dealers, registered investment advisers or federal savings banks. There may be instances when this agent represents insurance companies in addition to NM or its affiliates.

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