Today’s blog has nothing to do with gambling. I recently profited from it, however, and surely some of you will too. (And just as surely, many of you will not profit by it.) Perhaps I’m wrong, but I see my readers as interested in more than just video poker.
This blog has to do with unclaimed property. In the United States, every state has some sort of unclaimed property division. In Nevada, it’s found at Unclaimed Property Home (nevadatreasurer.gov). It shouldn’t be too hard to find similar departments in other states and possibly countries. (I know I have at least one Swiss reader, Boris. Perhaps he can tell us if they have one of these departments there.)
There are several sources of money that get escheated to the state. Some of these come from wills and trusts where heirs can’t be found. Or maybe some sort of insurance payment, or return of rental deposit, or something else that can’t be distributed because the company can’t find the correct person who deserves it.
I’m not sure how long each state has to keep this money separate before it belongs to the state. Probably it varies by state. But after a while, surely this happens. If someone died in 1902, for example, and willed some money to a person alive then, it’s a safe bet that that person is no longer alive. (Although such person may have heirs who are possibly entitled to the money.)
Anyway, my brother-in-law reminded me about this recently. I had checked in 2014 or so, but not since. (At that time, among other things I received one item for $1.50 that was due jointly to my ex-wife Shirley and me. I kept it all!) This time there were several financial items. Mostly small, but not all.
One was from an IRA credit union account I had not used for almost 50 years, but it was still active up until the 50-year-no-usage date had arrived, and compound interest adds up over the years. That happened to be escheated to the State of California (where I haven’t lived for almost 30 years), and somehow it got forwarded to an address I lived at between 2001 and 2012 in Nevada. And from there, it went to Nevada unclaimed property. To be sure, I owe taxes on the money which is treated as an IRA distribution, but I do get to keep the majority. Plus, with it being an IRA distribution which gets reported to the Internal Revenue Service, I could have easily not reported it (because I didn’t know about it) and walked into an IRS audit — which is no fun.
In my case, I was not aware of this money because I have changed addresses a few times and my “forward mail” slips have expired. (In one case, I used a private post office box for my mailing address, and that particular business went under.) I suspect that anyone who has lived in the same place for decades will not have any such unclaimed property because getting in touch with these people should be easy. But at least one of the items I had coming to me was at my current address which somehow could not be delivered.
Does this affect you? Maybe. It’s worth checking periodically.
Never was in a fortunate situation to receive funds from an unknown individual or subject. Unfortunately. I am sure that there’s a department to take care of such matters , even here in Switzerland. However, not that I know and never was on a list of beneficiaries…..
From Switzerland
Boris
Unclaimed paychecks also get forwarded to the state as well.
Yeah, you should check this out, but be ready for disappointment. I once was sent a notification that some records say I had or should have over $2,000 waiting for me somewhere because of some past fund or insurance policy related to a past employer (this thing was not directly linked to my state’s unclaimed property department). It took me a long time to get this checked out, including playing phone tag with the employer’s office manager, and after all the time and labor spent, I wound up with nothing. So don’t even cross your fingers. Have the attitude that probably nothing is coming, and then you won’t be disappointed, but if the minority chance that you get something occurs, then you’ll be happy.
Bob Dancer,
Ques on “Offering Advice” from 01/14. Simply advising, Plz decline even when asked ! Everyone knows how to “play” very few know how to “win”. Most refuse to notice or understand the pay tables anyway! I’ve studied & carried worn out Dancer strategy cards for 20+ yrs to this day as the first thing out of my pocket before my bankroll. Leave the so called “experts” & knowledge refusers on their own. Knowing this sounds sterile & cold, the casinos make their $’s on them, not us as the pay schedules will get even tighter if everyone knows how. Be a “winner” by being a Gamer, not a Gambler.
Bob Dant
This has spawned an “industry”, beware of people contacting you offering to “help” you reclaim supposed lost riches… At my old job we kept getting contacted about what my boss considered a long ago closed bank account. He did some research himself and discovered it had about twenty bucks left in it, not at all worth the hassle. we for years kept getting faxes and letters offering to help reclaim it for a fee…
Here’s the link for Wisconsin unclaimed property: https://tap.revenue.wi.gov/UCPSearch/_/
NEVER pay for someone to find your unclaimed property. It’s free to do so as well as to receive unclaimed property.
I heard that in the U.S. there are companies that buy your future inheritance. You get paid upfront by a company that buys the right from you to get what you get later on when somebody of your family is no longer there. There may be the question wthether or not this is ok by moral aspects. Other countries let family members give parts of their
Another way of making cash is selling your home to a bank and receiving a reverse mortgage until the day you’re no longer there. Not sure if this financial vehicle exists in the country where I live. Apparently in the U.S. it does.
Receiving surprise money years later from a place/person / company that figured out to whom the funds belong is another interesting situation with positive side effects. Like the saying goes…nobody loses them all….or … any Royal Flush in the morning that comes by surprise and stikes you like a lightning is a start into a great day, isn’t it?
I have had several such positive experiences in a casino. Once I hit a royal flush at Sam’s Town by simply walking towards the elevator in the middle of the night and just testing out a 20 dollar bill on that progressive DDB Bank in the corner which used to be a 6-9 progressive game. And once I hit a Royal Flush within the first 3 minutes while still halfway asleep when I was staying at the Suncoast and was up too early. Those are the good memories.
I have never received unexpected money from a person/company that owed me the funds from some decades back in time…
From Switzerland
Boris
I was caught in a phone call while writing this sentence which is not complete….
Other countries let family members give parts of their fortune to family members so their kids may benefit of it under tax-reduced conditions and make their dreams come true while the family member has not passed away yet. I like that system because it can change a person’s future life today and not in 20 years from now when wasted time has elapsed.
Boris, “Call J G Wenworth…877 CASH NOW!”
I meant to add an LOL to that, though those companies like JGW are pretty much legit. Just that you surrender some of your annuity or settlement in exchange for getting money NOW instead of later according to the terms.
By coincidence, my sister just got a letter from a lawyer trying to track down the descendants of a great-great uncle of ours. Apparently somewhere there’s a small parcel of land of questionable ownership; and my sister and several cousins–and perhaps I, too–may have a claim to it; though I didn’t get a letter yet. I suspect that the next step is to pay the lawyer to continue researching the case, with an eye toward contesting the title.
Somebody, possibly distant relative(s), has been paying taxes on this land and maybe even farming it and/or living on it, since 1939. My initial reaction would be, “May it continue to bring them much joy.”
I also get class-action suit notifications occasionally, and IIRC haven’t seen a dime from any of them yet.
Just remembered, I recently received a letter and a check for $89 from ‘Takata’ (’cause I’m not sure it is legit yet), the company that made the defective airbag inflator part. The letter gave little explanation other than it being the result of a class action lawsuit. I’d already had the passenger side repair done. Then got a notice that the driver side part is found defective and should be repaired. When I called to book that repair of course the Ford place didn’t have the part in stock and they’d call me when it was in. I forgot about it, as they must have also since I’ve gotten no call. So now I’ll call the Ford place to schedule replacement of the part. I want to be certain that by cashing the check I don’t disqualify myself from getting the repair done at no cost to me. Anybody else received a check like this?
I always participate in “class action suits” when notified. It often takes years to get money so it is always a surprise to receive a check.
Boris, In the US, there is a concept known as Viatical settlements. Unwanted or no longer affordable permanent life insurance policies can be sold to an investment fund. When a person does this, you have a group of people waiting for you to die! But, in reality, it can be a very good, though a bit unnerving, financial tool.
Please show me how getting my own stuff back is an advantage play. To me, this post was similar to getting back a tool 10 years later that was borrowed out to a friend.
We just collected $47 on 4 different claims…they want me to jump through a bunch of hoops to try and get $1.67 on behalf of my mother who passed in 2017…not sure that would ever be worth the effort.