Losing a sock is very easy. Given the tendency of washers and dryers to randomly propel socks into another dimension, this is totally understandable.
What is more puzzling, however, is how millions of dollars worth of property, such as unpaid wages, bank accounts, and various financial instruments, can be inadvertently abandoned each year. Yet, it still continues to occur with alarming frequency.
The key here is organization, or the lack thereof. A gift card or money order may be shoved in a random drawer, then covered over and forgotten. Banks, investment companies, and former employers may lose track of a person who moves one too many times without providing a forwarding address. A person may simply die, leaving heirs clueless as to the deceased's many property interests.
The above forms of disorganized behavior are surefire ways to turn any type of property into unclaimed property. The preventative medicine for this situation is to get organized and stay that way.
To help prevent your money from becoming unclaimed and keeping it that way, follow these simple practices:
- Keep accurate, written, and regularly updated financial records and store them in a safe location.
- Once the above is done, notify a family member or trusted advisor of the location of your records. Otherwise, having accurate records that are never found is pointless.
- List all bank accounts, stock certificates, insurance policies, utility and other deposits, and your safe deposit box number and keep them with your other financial records.
- Cash all checks, money orders and similar financial instruments.
- Store all gift cards, certificates, checks, etc. in the same location.
- Do not let savings and other accounts remain idle. Instead, perform at least some transaction every two to three years.
- Answer your mail from the institutions (such as banks, insurance companies, investment companies, etc.) that hold your money.
- If you move, make sure to notify every institution you do business with of your new address.
- If you move or travel frequently, consider using a single mailing location, such as a post office box, to prevent correspondence from being lost in the mail.
- Prepare, file, and regularly update a will listing the disposition of your assets after death.
- Review and repeat all of the above on a regular basis.
Though the unclaimed property recovery process is relatively easy, it is always best to keep track of your property at all times. It is also prudent financial advice to have your assets work for you instead of some government unclaimed property account.