unclaimedfunds — Page 11

Are you owed insurance money? Here’s how to check

The following article from 60 minutes can be found at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-overtime-are-you-owed-insurance-money-heres-how-to-check/

60 Minutes reports that states are collectively holding billions in unclaimed assets. Some of it could be yours.

Joseph Bigony receives a long-overdue payment from his sister’s life insurance policy

On 60 Minutes this week, Lesley Stahl revealed that life insurance companies are withholding payments owed to a significant number of beneficiaries, many of whom don’t realize their loved ones had a policy. Even when the insurance companies could easily determine that a policyholder has died, they don’t bother to locate the next of kin.

In a series of settlements, 25 insurance companies admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to pay out more than $7.5 billion — either directly to the unpaid beneficiaries or to individual states, which will attempt to contact the beneficiaries.

So how do you find out if you’re owed a life insurance payment from a deceased loved one?

If you know the company that issued the policy, start there. Keep in mind that life insurance companies are often bought and sold, changing their names in the process. If you’re unable to locate your company, it may be operating under a new name. The insurance commissioner of the state in which your policy was issued can help you determine your insurer’s new company name.

At this website, you can click on the state in which you reside. You will then be redirected to that state’s unclaimed property website. Follow the prompts on the screen to conduct the search for every state in which you have lived.

To conduct a multi-state search to find out if you have unclaimed property, visit this site and type your name in the box that says “Start your FREE governmental search for missing money.”

Did you know you can make money finding unclaimed money for other people?

There is a little known business that lets you do that. Unclaimed money finders locate people that don’t know they money being held for them and help them to recover it.

In return, they charge a commission after the money is recovered.

Please click here if you would like to learn more about this business.

New Mexico Unclaimed Funds

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New Mexico is holding hundreds of millions of dollars of unclaimed money!

The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD) is responsible for this money. The purpose of the Unclaimed Property Office is to reunite lost owners with their property. They want you to have your property!

Generally, unclaimed property has monetary value and has been abandoned. Property is considered abandoned when efforts by the holder to locate the owner fail, and it remains unclaimed by the rightful owner for the number of years prescribed by statute.

When that time expires, businesses holding property for which the owner cannot be located turn it over to TRD. TRD is then responsible for safeguarding the funds, attempting to locate the owners, publicizing the names of apparent owners who cannot be located otherwise, and returning the assets to the owners as they come forward.

The turn-around time for receiving an unclaimed property varies. TRD has 90 days from the date a claim is filed to approve or deny the claim and an additional 30 days to pay the claim. However, TRD processes claims in a timely manner when sufficient ownership documentation is provided. Often a claim requires review and approval by more than one agency, or payment is issued by an agency that is not associated with TRD.

You can search for unclaimed money in New Mexico here.

To successfully file an unclaimed property claim with us you must prove that you are the rightful owner of the property.

The required proof varies according to the property and the circumstances under which it was abandoned. The Unclaimed Property Office does not release property until it receives the required proof.

Eligibility requirements for submitting a claim depend on your status with respect to the property. Generally, proof of ownership is as listed below. In some cases we may require additional evidence supporting your ownership of the property.

If you are the original owner, please submit the following evidence to support your claim:

a signed and notarized claim form;
a clear copy of your government-issued photo identification and proof of your Social Security Number,
and proof that you lived or received mail at the address as listed;
legal documentation establishing power of attorney, guardianship, custody or trusteeship to act on behalf of the original owner;
photo identifications are required of both the original owner and the person representing the original owner.
if the original owner does not have official photo identification due to incapacitation, you must provide a notarized statement of identity from a care provider on company letterhead; and
proof that the owner lived or received mail at the address as listed. Examples of proof of address include:- auto registration;
– bank or utility statement;
– birth or marriage certificate;
– court documents;
– credit report;
– driver’s license;
– Medicare card or insurance policy;
– postmarked envelope addressed to you at the address you are proving;
– school transcripts, or
– proof of ownership.

If the owner is deceased and you are the legal representative, please submit the following evidence to support your claim:

substantive entitlement to funds under applicable heirship laws and a copy of the death certificate, and
proof that the owner lived or received mail at the address as listed. Examples of proof of address include:- auto registration;
– bank or utility statement;
– birth or marriage certificate;
– court documents;
– credit report;
– driver’s license;
– Medicare card or insurance policy;
– postmarked envelope addressed to you at the address you are proving;
– school transcripts, or proof of ownership.This instruction applies to claims for property of a decedent whose estate was not previously subject to probate or where probate was previously closed.

If you are representing a business, please submit the following evidence to support your claim:

A sole proprietorship – Provide legal documentation that you are the sole owner of the business.
A partnership – Provide legal documentation that you are an official with the company and authorized to sign.

A corporation – Provide legal documentation that you are an official with the company and authorized to sign. If the corporation is dissolved you must provide a copy of the dissolution and the shareholder information.

Also submit the following evidence to support your claim:

a clear copy of your government-issued photo identification;
a signed and notarized claim form;
proof of your business Federal Employee’s Identification Number (FEIN), and
proof that you lived or received mail at the address as listed. Examples of address proof include:- auto registration;
– bank or utility statement;
– birth or marriage certificate;
– court documents;
– credit report;
– driver’s license;
– Medicare card or insurance policy;
– postmarked envelope addressed to you at the address you are proving;
– school transcripts, or proof of ownership.

You can contact the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department at:

1100 South St. Francis Drive
Santa Fe, NM 87504
(505) 827-0700

Did you know you can make money finding unclaimed money for other people?

There is a little known business that lets you do that. Unclaimed money finders locate people that don’t know they money being held for them and help them to recover it.

In return, they charge a commission after the money is recovered.

Please click here if you would like to learn more about this business.

Unclaimed Money: 5 Ways to Find Your Share of $41 Billion

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The following article by Megan Elliott appeared on Cheatsheet.com

Stop hunting for lost cash in your car or couch cushions. You could have hundreds or even thousands of dollars in unclaimed money waiting for you and not even know it.

States are sitting on $41.7 billion in unclaimed funds, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA). Abandoned bank accounts, uncashed payroll or refund checks, unclaimed insurance payments, dividends, and security deposits for utilities are among the sources of missing funds. The IRS has nearly $1 billion in unclaimed tax refunds from 2012 alone. Forgotten pensions, old 401(k)s, and lost savings bonds are other sources of missing money.

How do people lose track of billions of dollars? It’s easier than you might think. Bank accounts are forgotten, checks are returned as undeliverable when someone moves, paperwork gets lost, and companies go out of business and their retirement plans are turned over to third-party administrators. You could have even inherited money or be the beneficiary of an insurance policy and not realize it. But unclaimed funds aren’t necessarily gone forever.

Most frequently, lost money ends up in the hands of a state’s department of unclaimed property, where it sits until someone comes forward to claim it. In other cases, the federal government or another organization hangs onto it until the rightful owner appears. Only in rare cases, such as unclaimed lottery winnings or federal tax refunds, do you run the risk of forfeiting the money if you don’t act fast.

Tracking down your missing money requires a bit of leg work, but online databases make the process much easier than it used to be. Some companies will also help you find and claim missing assets, for a fee. You might even receive a letter from a such a company indicating they’ve located lost assets, which they’ll help you claim in exchange for a part of the funds. Use caution when dealing with these companies. At best, they want a share of money you could easily find and claim yourself, and at worst, they’re scam artists.

There’s no reason to pay someone else to find your missing money. Here are seven tips for tracking down the unclaimed funds belonging to you.

1. Start your search

Fan of $100 bills | Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Every state maintains a database of unclaimed assets and other property. You can search most of them at once by visiting Missing Money, a site run by NAUPA, an organization for state departments of unclaimed property.

Not every state is part of the Missing Money database. To search for lost money in California, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Illinois, Wyoming, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, New York, Connecticut, and Delaware, visit those state’s unclaimed property websites. When looking for lost funds, search in every state you’ve lived and under any other names you’ve used (such as a maiden name).

2. Track down lost tax refunds

The IRS has $950 million it’s trying to give away to more than 1 million people. The money belongs to those who didn’t file a tax return in 2012 but are still entitled to a refund. The median refund amount is $718, but taxpayers only have three years after the missed filing deadline to complete a return and get their money. Miss the window, and the cash become the property of the U.S. government. For 2012 returns, the deadline is April 18, 2016.

The unpaid refunds may be owed to people whose incomes were so low they weren’t required to file a return. Those people may have big checks waiting for them because of the earned income tax credit. Others forget to do their taxes, and the IRS won’t chase them down unless they owe the government money.

“We especially encourage students and others who didn’t earn much money to look into this situation because they may still be entitled to a refund,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a statement, adding that there’s no penalty for late filing if you’re owed a refund.

3. Get missing retirement money

Retirement piggy bank | Source: iStock

As you switch jobs over your career, it’s easy to lose track of your retirement benefits. If you think you earned a pension with a former employer but haven’t claimed it, check out the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s database of unclaimed pensions.

Lost 401(k) money may be found by searching the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits. You can also contact your former employer (or the company’s successor, if the company has merged or been bought out) to find out what may have happened to your retirement benefits.

4. Hunt down lost Treasury bonds

Did you grandmother give you a savings bond for your birthday that’s since vanished? You can search for matured, uncashed bonds at the U.S. Treasury’s Treasury Hunt website. The site can help you find unredeemed Series E and Series EE bonds issued after 1974, as well as bonds the Treasury Department was unable to deliver. If you think you’ve lost a bond and can’t find it when searching online, you can also file a claim for lost or stolen bonds.

5. Other sources of lost money

If you had a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration, you may be owed a refund. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has a searchable database to help homeowners locate their money. The FDIC has unclaimed insurance payments for some customers of failed banks. The National Credit Union Administration has a similar list of unclaimed deposits. The Veterans Administration has unclaimed insurance funds for some servicemembers and their beneficiaries.

Numerous lottery prizes also go unclaimed every year. Depending on the game, you have 6 to 12 months to come forward with a winning ticket before forfeiting the cash. If you have tickets tucked away somewhere, double check to make sure you’re not actually a winner. Otherwise, you could miss out on a lot of money, like the winner of last summer’s $63 million Powerball jackpot who never stepped forward to claim the prize.

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