(Part 2 of 2)

Upon first hearing about unclaimed money, the big question most people have is – How could people possibly abandon that amount of cash? There are a number of reasons, but believe it or not there really are tens of billions waiting to be located across the country. More often than not, though, it's as simple as not notifying everyone of a correct forwarding address. Once a check of some kind is sent back to a property holder, or a holder just loses contact with the rightful owner, it begins a "dormancy period". The dormancy period is a period of time which must go by before the cash is deemed to be "unclaimed" or abandoned, and then handed over to the state for safekeeping.

There are a number of kinds of properties that can become unclaimed money if left dormant for a long enough time period, but the State Treasury's site lists the following as the more common: savings accounts, checking accounts, unpaid wages or commissions, stocks, underlying shares, un-cashed dividends, customer deposits or overpayments, certificates of deposit, credit balances, refunds, money orders, paid-up life insurance policies, un-cashed benefits checks, and gift certificates. Each of these types of accounts has its own unique dormancy period. In South Dakota, these periods range from 1 year to 15 years, depending on what type of asset is being discussed.

While the majority of people are totally clueless about abandoned assets owed to people by the government, a few do know about these funds. But even those that are aware usually have no clue how to correctly locate them and take back what belongs to them. For starters, only a few unclaimed search sites have real records in their databases, and even fewer have remotely recently updated records. With millions being turned over every year, spread across thousands of accounts, the state simply can't update the records in real time, leaving people searching databases that are often very incomplete. This problem is multiplied when we take in to account the varying dormancy periods which means that showing no results one day could be misleading if a certain property isn't due to be handed over to the state for another year, or even a few years.

The best way to ensure all potential lost assets has been located is to learn what professional searchers do to sidestep these, and quite a few other issues, and then use their tips in your own searches.

–

$1.5B in
The

This week, I'm answering questions from readers, because there's an

Deadline looms for $16.5M lottery winner
On Monday, a $77 million lottery ticket went

Missouri Facing $600 Million in
Missouri

(Part 1 of 2)

The bottom slice of bread in the Dakota sandwich is recognized as the home to Mt. Rushmore, but South Dakota is holding something just as valuable but much less known. The Office of the State Treasurer currently holds tens of millions of dollars in South Dakota unclaimed money that belongs to residents of the state. With one of the smallest state populations in the United States, South Dakota citizens have very good odds of locating money owed to them, if they learn where to look.

Increased efforts by the state to hand back lost money to the actual owners have helped give back approximately $2.2 million annually in recent years, but the vast majority still doesn't get returned, because an average of $6.7 million is handed over to the state every year. This basically means that the state's fund grows by about $5 million annually. So while the State Treasury Department provides no exact total, it is reasonable to assume that they're holding in excess of tens of millions.

(to be continued)

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Missouri Facing $600 Million in
Missouri

Ohio getting more
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WTW) — Officials say a state agency celebrating its 30th anniversary has reunited Ohioans with about $830 million they didn't realize was out there. The Division of

Ohio getting more unclaimed money to owners
Officials say a state agency celebrating its 30th anniversary has reunited Ohioans with about $830 million they didn't realize was out there.

State Celebrates 30 Years Of Returning
COLUMBUS — An agency is marking 30 years of reuniting Ohioans with

(Part 2 of 2)

While the majority of people are completely clueless about missing money owed to people by the government, a few are aware of these funds. But even those few that are aware usually have no idea how to properly locate them and take back what belongs to them. To start with, only a few unclaimed search sites have accurate records in their listings, and even less have remotely recently updated records. With millions being handed over each year, spread across thousands of accounts, the state simply can't update the records in real time, leaving residents searching listings that are often not complete. This problem is even worse when we factor in the varying dormancy periods which means that getting no results one day might be misleading if a particular asset isn't due to be handed over to the state for another year, or number of years.

The best way to ensure all possible lost money have been located is to learn what professional searchers do to overcome these, and quite a few other issues, and then use their advice in your own searches.

–

Unclaimed money: Woman gets record $6.1 million
Unclaimed money goes to anonymous Kansas City woman for a lost security. The sum is the single largest return of unclaimed money in Missouri's history.

$32 billion in unclaimed money is floating around America
A Kansas City woman received an unclaimed $6.1 million check from Missouri on Wednesday. The money is from an unclaimed property fund consisting of a single security. There is over $32 billion in unclaimed money in the United States.   read more

Lawmaker proposes TSA give pocket change left at checkpoints to USO
One lawmaker has his sights on the

Lawmaker doesn't want TSA to pocket change left at checkpoints
One lawmaker has his sights on the

$77m Powerball ‘Lottery’ Ticket Still
In Georgia, all

(Part 1 of 2)

The bottom slice of bread in the Dakota sandwich is recognized as the home to Mt. Rushmore, but South Dakota is holding something just as valuable but much less known. The Office of the State Treasurer currently holds tens of millions of dollars in South Dakota unclaimed money that belongs to people living in the state. With one of the smallest state populations in the United States, South Dakota residents have great odds of discovering cash owed to them, if they know where to look.

Increased efforts by the state to hand back lost money to the rightful owners have helped give back an average of $2.2 million each year in recent years, but most of it still goes unreturned, because an average of $6.7 million is turned over to the state each year. This basically means that the state's total grows by roughly $5 million each year. So while the State Treasury Department provides no exact total, it is reasonable to assume that they are holding at least tens of millions.

After first hearing about unclaimed money, the main question many people have is – How could people possibly abandon that much cash? There are a number of reasons, but believe it or not there actually are tens of billions up for grabs across the nation. Most of the time, though, it's as simple as not notifying everyone of the right forwarding address. Once a check of some kind is returned to a property holder, or a holder just loses contact with the owner, a "dormancy period" begins. The dormancy period is a time period which must pass before the cash is determined to be "unclaimed" or abandoned, and then passed along to the state for holding purposes.

There are a number of kinds of properties that can become unclaimed money if left inactive for a long enough time period, but the State Treasury's web site lists the following as the most common: savings accounts, checking accounts, unpaid wages or commissions, stocks, underlying shares, un-cashed dividends, customer deposits or overpayments, certificates of deposit, credit balances, refunds, money orders, paid-up life insurance policies, un-cashed benefits checks, and gift certificates. Each of these types of accounts has its own individual dormancy period. In South Dakota, these periods range from 1 to 15 years, depending on what kind of asset is being discussed.

(to be continued)

–

Better hurry up! $206m Mega Millions payload remains
Only Tuesday, a Powerball ticket sold in Georgia last summer worth $77million went

Alberta program returns missing
Dozens of Albertans are enjoying a little more cash this holiday season, thanks to a little-known provincial program that reunites people with

Powerball jackpot goes
Players have 180 days to claim their prize. The

(Part 2 of 2)

There are a number of kinds of accounts that can become unclaimed property if left dormant for a long enough time period, but the State Treasury's site lists the following as the most common: savings accounts, checking accounts, unpaid wages or commissions, stocks, underlying shares, un-cashed dividends, customer deposits or overpayments, certificates of deposit, credit balances, refunds, money orders, paid-up life insurance policies, un-cashed benefits checks, and gift certificates. Each of these types of accounts has its own individual dormancy period. In South Dakota, these periods range from 1 to 15 years, depending on what kind of property is being discussed.

While most citizens are totally in the dark about forgotten funds owed to people by the government, a few are aware of these funds. But even those that are aware usually have no idea how to correctly locate them and take back what belongs to them. For starters, just a few unclaimed search web sites have accurate records in their listings, and even less have remotely recently updated records. With millions being handed over each year, spread across thousands of accounts, the state simply can't update their listings in real time, leaving people searching listings that are often not complete. This problem is even worse when we take in to account the varying dormancy periods which means that getting no results on a given day might be misleading if a particular property isn't due to be handed over to the state for another year, or number of years.

The best way to ensure all potential lost assets has been located is to learn what expert searchers do to sidestep these, and quite a few other issues, and then use their strategies in your own searches.

–

Find Unclaimed Money for Your School
'GMA's' unclaimed money segments have become one of our hottest features. People have found money from old insurance policies or pensions, closed accounts, relatives and government refunds, and they've even found money for their kids and favorite charities. Now we show you how to find money for your school.

Unclaimed Money: Missouri Woman Nets $6.1 Million, is Largest Known Property Claim in U.S. History
One unidentified Missouri woman received $6.1 million from an unclaimed property she didn't know she had.

Powerball jackpot goes
Players have 180 days to claim their prize. The