Money was distributed amongst the audience of a show of Oprah Winfrey. The money that was distributed was unclaimed money that belonged to the individuals to whom it was distributed. When Oprah checked for the unclaimed money owed to the individuals, she discovered that the total sum of money owed to the audience ran into thousands of dollars. She further stated that 8 out of 9 families in the US are owed unclaimed money.
Companies and financial institutions hold on to money owed to individuals for a period of three years. If they are unable to contact the owner after three years, the money becomes unclaimed money.
Why do companies and institutions find themselves unable to contact the owner of the money? Reasons include change in address, phone numbers or legal name.
The owner of the money never learns that he or she is owed money because the notification is sent to the old address. Due to this simple communication gap, the money never reaches its true owner.
Once three years come to an end and the owner remains beyond reach, the law requires the companies and institutions to hand over the money to the government for safe keeping. After being handed over after the period of three years, the funds are normally held by the controller’s office of each state. The funds stay there until they are claimed by its true owners.
The most common sources of unclaimed funds include old and forgotten Checking and Savings Accounts, unclaimed Tax Refunds, ignored Pay Checks, forgotten Child Support or Alimony Payments, unclaimed Stocks, Bonds, Dividends, Insurance Payments etc
The best way to determine whether one is owed unclaimed money or not is to enter one’s name in an unclaimed money database. The search results will tell you whether you are owed money by the government or not. Details of the funds will be present and you can use them to jog your memory. Once you have located all the accounts owed to you, you can submit a claim form and proceed to claim the unclaimed money.This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_226688_19.html
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