How Much of Texas’ 7 Billion in Unclaimed Cash Is Yours?
It's called "unclaimed property" and The State of Texas is holding on to $7 billion dollars worth right now. Seven billion dollars is the same as 7000 million. That's a lot of cash.
What is unclaimed property?
It's not real estate or abandoned houses. Unclaimed property can be money the state holds until the rightful owner can be found. It's things like abandoned bank accounts, uncashed paychecks, escrow accounts, dividends, and mineral royalties.
Every year hundreds of millions of dollars go unclaimed in Texas. No one will call you if you have unclaimed cash. There is a way to find out for free. The Texas comptroller, who holds all the unclaimed funds, operates a website. The website is Claim It Texas.
I entered my name and discovered I had $205.53 waiting on me from a Synchrony Bank Credit card I paid off in 2020. When I had paid in full, they refunded some of the interest. I thought our business was over and forgot about it.
There is no time limit to claim your cash. Currently, 66 million unique unclaimed properties are being held in Texas. The amounts range from one cent to $5.1 million. What kind of person has $5.1 million in unclaimed cash lying around?
I would like to know them. Better yet, I'd like to be married to them.
In any event, it is not hard to claim your money once you discover it on the Claim It Texas website. Usually, a copy of your driver's license and proof of Social Security number is all that is required.
The process can be a little more complicated if the unclaimed money is from a deceased family member like a parent. The office has to verify that the person is dead, check to see if the cash was left to anyone else in the will, and check with other surviving family members.
If you have moved to many different states, as I have, it is easy to check multiple states. There is a website called Missingmoney.com
It is always a good idea to avoid losing cash to "unclaimed property." in the first place. Here are some tips. Knowing where your accounts are and transacting business is always a good idea to keep them active. Make sure you designate someone to claim your safety deposit boxes should you die.
There is no reason to feel bad if you find unclaimed cash waiting for you from the state. Just jump on the unclaimed property website and check. Who knows, maybe that $5.1 million is yours
