You may have heard success stories of people stumbling across hundreds or thousands of dollars during a quick search for unclaimed funds.
Michael Horrigan is one of those people. On a whim, he checked an unclaimed funds website and discovered four checks totaling more than $600.
“It’s a lot of money,” he said. “If you have something, it could be your lucky day.”
But others searching for unclaimed funds find themselves up against a wall, especially when trying to claim money on behalf of a deceased relative.
Dave Zellner tried to collect several thousand dollars after his sister died in 2024. What he thought would be a simple process turned into months of tracking down death certificates and records.
“I’d have to get her father’s death certificate, her uncle’s death certificate,” Zellner said. “I had to send out my Social Security card and my driver’s license, my sister’s driver’s license.”
So, are unclaimed funds worth the time and effort?
Watch to learn what you need to do to collect unclaimed funds in your name:
Collecting unclaimed funds not always as easy as it seems
Checking for unclaimed funds
Financial experts say it’s always worth checking for unclaimed funds belonging to you or family members — deceased or living.
According to MissingMoney.com, a site endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, about one in seven people have unclaimed funds that belong to them, but have been turned over to state unclaimed property programs for safekeeping.
The average claim value is $2,080.
“A majority of the time when you’re talking about unclaimed funds, you’re going to be looking at something that is related to a cash distribution of sort,” said Casey Hayden, financial advisor and CEO of the firm Stoneford. “It’s going to be an old paycheck; it’s forgotten bank accounts. It is old policies that have been reported to the state.”
If money is left in an old bank account, for example, financial institutions send that money to the state after three years.
“There’s so many monies that we’re paying all the time. It’s easy to lose track and we forget to claim it,” said Tessie Santiago, financial center leader at Bank of Texas.
Unclaimed funds could also include unclaimed civil litigation, insurance claims, overpayments, and deposits.
When unclaimed funds get complicated
States and agencies holding unclaimed funds may have slightly different requirements.
Claiming funds that belong to you can be simple and straightforward. The process generally requires a photo ID, Social Security number, and documentation to verify your address.
When claiming funds for a deceased person, you will have to prove your right to the deceased person’s assets.
For Zellner, that meant obtaining death certificates from local government offices, which does come with a fee.
Over time, Hayden suggests a proactive approach to estate planning by organizing family members’ old addresses, IDs, bank statements and other records.
“When the time comes to make a claim and you have old IDs, you have family members’ old IDs, all in one place for your estate, and you’re proactive that way — it’s a very easy process,” he said.
What you owe for unclaimed funds
According to MissingMoney.com, you will never pay a fee for filing a claim.
Santiago warns there are some scammers or shady services that try to take advantage of people looking for unclaimed funds.
“If somebody’s charging you a fee to help you, it’s possibly a scam,” she said.
In rarer cases, usually dealing with large sums of money, legal fees are a possibility.
“Looking at some old things tied to legal matters,” Hayden said. “There can be some doorways that you have to enter or some attorneys that you’d have to work with to get those funds fully recovered.”
So, is it worth it?
To check for unclaimed funds, start with MissingMoney.com or your state treasurer’s website. Experts suggest checking about once a year.
Before submitting a claim, you can see approximately how much money you’re owed ranging from “under $10,” to “over $100.”
From there you can decide if the amount is worth pursuing depending on whether you have the necessary documents.
While Zellner successfully claimed some funds on behalf of family members, he said he found other examples that didn’t make sense to pursue.
“By the time I go through everything I have to go through to get all the death certificates that are required to claim all this, I’m losing money,” he said.
Still, experts say it’s worth checking. What you find could cover a week’s worth of groceries.
“It’s like finding a $20 in your jeans,” Santiago said.
Just know it could be more work than you expected, so you don’t waste your money.
___________________________________
“Don’t Waste Your Money” is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. (“Scripps”).
_____________________________________
Follow John:
For more consumer news and money saving advice, go to www.dontwasteyourmoney.com
More Don’t Waste Your Money news: