Need Holiday Money? Check Your Memory

Tuesday Tips is a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future.

Uh-oh, holidays are coming. It’s time to crack open the piggy ban- oh, you already did that? Have you scrounged through the couch for some extra cash? Yeah? Maybe you forget about a savings account, or security deposit?

There’s a lot of money out there that belongs to you. You just need to remember where you left it.

Are any of these possible?

• You have moved and failed to give your forwarding address to everyone who might owe you money.
• It has been more than five years since your last deposit and/or withdrawal in your bank account.
• You have changed jobs or retired and failed to pick up your final paycheck.
• You have discontinued payments on an insurance policy.
• You have forgotten to pay your safe deposit rental fee.
• You have failed to receive a utility, cable or telephone deposit after stopping service.

The same is true for a business.

Where should you start?

1.     First, make a list of every state you have lived in and all the jobs you have held.

2.     Make another list of deceased relatives, including their Social Security numbers and birth dates. Usually, all that is needed to claim a deceased person’s property is proof of relationship, such as a birth certificate or a marriage license.

3.     Search every state where you or your deceased relatives lived.

• For New York  New York State Comptroller website
• For any State http://www.unclaimed.org/

Make sure that you search multiple times with various derivations of your name, especially if you own a company.  If the company name has multiple words just search under the first part of the name.  Sometimes the database lists the company name slightly different from what it should be.

How to Claim the Funds:
If you are entitled to unclaimed funds then simply complete the form online or if you are not eligible to claim online, simply print the mail claim form & send it to the State.

Additional Interest Due to You:
You will also benefit from additional interest due to you should you have unclaimed funds.  The State is required by law to remit the funds with interest based on the date they received the property and when the claim was made.

There are various companies which will send you a notice about money which may be due you, and of course they will charge a fee averaging 15 percent to 50 percent. But –

Why pay for it when you can get it for free?

Joseph Reisman, of Joseph S. Reisman & Associates, has been serving tax prep and business accounting expertise from his Coney Island Avenue office for more than 25 years. Check out the firm’s website.