Use Find My Funds to search for your unclaimed or lost property

Find My Funds is a completely free and secure website that easily allows you to search for unclaimed or lost property in any of the more than 20 states that participates in its program. Examples of unclaimed or lost property that is safeguarded by state governments include, but are not limited to, bank accounts, safe deposit box contents, uncashed checks, insurance policies, CDs, trust funds, utility deposits, stocks and bonds, wages and other financial assets that have been placed on inactive status. By visiting Find My Funds, which works directly with each participating states’ official treasurer's office, you can conduct a thorough search on its consolidated unclaimed property database. If you locate unclaimed property, money or other assets that are owed to you, simply file a claim with the state where it’s being held. State governments receive hundreds of millions of dollars in unclaimed property on an annual basis and this site’s database is updated daily with new properties!

Provided your claim is accepted, you will receive an email from each individual state where your property is being kept. The email will have a claim form with specific instructions and details which are designed to validate that you are the rightful owner of the unclaimed property. Complete the form and any documents attached in the email and collect the required personally identifiable information (PII). Then, submit all necessary material electronically or by mailing it to the address listed on the form. Your claim will be assigned a unique number and link so that you can safely monitor and track its status throughout the entire process.

Randy and Jill Sherwood have lived together in Manasquan, New Jersey, since they were married in September 1978. In early October, their 41-year-old son, Colin Sherwood, told them about Find My Funds. Initially, primarily due to security concerns, the couple were skeptical and hesitant to use the site. However, Colin persisted and his parents eventually searched the site to see if they had any unclaimed or lost property. Jill quickly learned that she was the heir to $671.83 that was left in her late mother’s checking account.

“My Mom passed away in September 2001,” Jill said. “I don’t know why I wasn’t notified about the money that was left in her bank account, but I wasn’t. My son, Colin, helped me complete the forms and scan the required documents. Colin scanned my Mom’s death certificate and social security card and my passport and social security card. We then mailed everything to New Jersey’s Department of the Treasury. The entire process took less than 30 minutes. After nearly 20 years, it’s like finding free money and I know my Mom would be happy that I finally have it.”

Because Randy was the victim of identity theft in July 2012, he was wholly uncomfortable with using Find My Funds and needed to be convinced to try it. Colin explained the process and showed Randy that Jill had been owed nearly $700 for roughly two decades. Most importantly, Colin showed Randy that Find My Funds works directly with New Jersey’s Department of the Treasury and features enhanced security protections. Ultimately, Randy agreed to conduct a search and he discovered that he was owed $871.42 from a business venture he was briefly involved with in May 1998.

“Ever since I was a victim of identity theft, I’ve been extremely cautious with my personal information,” Randy said. “Needless to say, Colin really had to persuade me to give this site a try. Honestly, I completely forgot about being owed that money and was shocked when I saw it appear on the screen. I would have never even done a search if this site didn’t work with the state’s treasury department. Fortunately, it does and now I have back almost $1,000. Plus, when doing the search, I noticed that two of my brothers from Indiana are owed money, too. So, I used the site’s ‘share’ function to let them know. It’s unreal!”

The government utilizes the hundreds of millions of dollars it annually collects in unclaimed property on numerous initiatives, such as scholarships, to benefit communities across the United States. Nevertheless, this is your money and you are entitled to claim unclaimed funds and spend them however you choose. Using Find My Funds is a riskless proposition at a time of unprecedented uncertainty. Find My Funds employs state-of-the-art encryption technology to protect your personal information. Moreover, your personal information is strictly accessible to each participating states’ unclaimed property officials for the purpose of processing and it’s permanently removed from the site’s database after being submitted to each state. Accordingly, the question becomes: Why would you not use Find My Funds to search for unclaimed or lost property that may belong to you?