Michigan Unclaimed Money

Detroit, MI- otherwise known as Motor City or ‘Motown’ has long been known as the automobile capital of the US. It might be for this very same reason that the state of Michigan is currently the country’s ‘Epicenter of Unemployment’. Numerous SUV and truck factories have been shut-down due to a drop in demand brought about by rising fuel costs. Unknown to most residents however, there is a (legal) way to get quick, crucial cash while in between jobs- Michigan Treasury unclaimed money.

Across the state, the Michigan Treasury Department’s Unclaimed Property Division is collecting unclaimed property from lost assets like abandoned bank accounts, uncashed checks, unclaimed tax refunds, insurance policies, stocks certificates, retirement benefits and other lost funds that residents have lost track of. As required by Michigan’s Unclaimed Property Law, the financial institutions holding on to these abandoned assets are required to turn them over to the state if they go unclaimed for 5 years. According to the State Treasury’s Unclaimed Property Department, “Michigan’s Uniform Unclaimed Property Act protects unclaimed property and returns it to its rightful owners or their heirs. The State Treasurer takes custody of the property so the owner may claim it, even if the original holder (like a financial institution) is no longer in business. The law also centralizes the search for lost property. Michigan citizens trying to locate forgotten bank accounts and other property need to look in only one place: the Unclaimed Property Division of the Michigan Department of Treasury .“

The reason the Michigan gov unclaimed money fund piled-up to hundreds of millions is because most unclaimed property owners aren’t even aware they’re missing money. Gonzalo Llano, head of the Michigan Unclaimed Property Division in a WZZM report says “Checks get misplaced people die and leave assets where their family members are unaware of those assets,” adding “We received about $195 million and paid out about $35 million.”

Those that are aware about unclaimed funds in their name don’t even bother to check, thinking it’s too much of a hassle. Truth is, doing an unclaimed money search can be as simple as entering a person’s name and SSS# in a state unclaimed database. The tricky part is doing an on-line unclaimed money search in several state databases as quite a lot of people have unclaimed assets in different states. This happens when an out-of-state bank or insurance company closes-up. They turn-over the unclaimed funds to their home state and not where their clients reside. Also, most Americans these days hardy stay in one place for long and these “nomadic” citizens are bound to leave behind a trail of unclaimed financial assets.

To date, there is no centralized database for national unclaimed money. However, there are unclaimed property experts that have developed quick and thorough methods in doing unclaimed money searches and are willing to share these techniques with you. The cost of living has really gone-up and any amount of extra cash would be a huge help- specially for factory workers who got caught in the automobile factory shutdowns- do a search for state of Michigan unclaimed money now!