MissingMoney

You've come a lot further than most people, simply by recognizing that there are BILLIONS in lost money, just waiting to be claimed. But if you've been told one internet search is all you need, then you've been mislead.

Let's start with how often the 50 states update their databases. The fact is that there's no rhyme or reason to it. Each state updates whenever they choose to, and in most cases it's not that often. What this means is that if you search their records on Monday, and they haven't added your record until Tuesday, you might think you don't have a claim! This causes a lot of people to simply give up on their search.

In addition to infrequently updated gov missingmoney databases, many funds simply haven't been turned over to the state because their dormancy period hasn't passed.

Dormancy periods are the periods of time in which your funds live in unclaimed property limbo. Each state has different laws for each type of unclaimed property which force companies to turn dormant accounts over to the state (to hold for you) after a certain number of years. Account types include (but are not limited to):

cash or property like cashiers checks

dormant savings and checking accounts

stocks

payroll checks

unclaimed insurance benefits

uncashed money orders

mineral royalty payments

unused gift certificates

unclaimed security deposits

lost cash dividends

safe deposit box contents

securities

court deposits

found utility deposits

credits

If you can't find missing money at the state level, it could be due to the infrequent updates, or because the company simply hasn't turned it over yet, so the state just doesn't have a record.

There are a number of ways to get around these obstacle, but not all unclaimed asset sites will tell you that.