Unclaimed Property
or
"Christmas in June"
Maybe Christmas might come early this year for a few people. A couple of years ago, I was playing around on the Texas Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property web site. I found over $1,500 in funds being held by the State of Texas in my relative’s names. The funds were varied. They were dividends, utility refunds and apartment deposits that were just waiting out there to be claimed. Unfortunately, I didn’t fare as well.
The web site for Unclaimed Property in Texas is: http://www.cpa.state.tx.us/up/.
If you have lived in states other than Texas, you can go to that State’s web site and review the Unclaimed Property lists. The web site for viewing other states is: http://www.unclaimed.org.
You might be amazed that you had money out there which you didn’t know about.
As for Christmas, the State Comptroller also has an Auction Site which is accessible on the Unclaimed Property web site. There are interesting items on this site which you might be able to purchase for a reasonable price. Many of these items have been in Safe Deposit Boxes which have gone unclaimed. The site for the State of Texas Auction is: http://www.cpa.state.tx.us/up/auctions.html .
There are some scams where people will try to charge you for locating these funds. These state web sites are free to the public and just out there waiting for you to view them.
Claiming your property is not complicated, but it might require a little bit of work on your part. But for my relatives, it was well worth the effort.
And let’s admit it, it’s like treasure hunting. Don’t forget to look up your own relatives (especially your children), your friends and be sure to pass this information on to your clients. If you are an executor of an estate these web sites should definitely be checked.
One other reminder. Mark your calendar and do “Christmas in June” each year. You don’t really want the state to keep your money do you?
Happy Treasure Hunting!