Daily Archives: August 19, 2007

A few days ago, a friend pointed me to the New York State Comptroller’s Unclaimed Funds Web Page. This web site exists because banks, utility companies, insurance companies, investment firms and employers are among the entities required by law to surrender inactive accounts to New York State. As such, if a NY state resident has a savings account, investments or a refund due that he or she may simply not be aware of, or may have forgotten about, there’s a good chance it will end up at the NYS Comptroller’s office.

I went to the website and did a search of my last name which came up with no results. However, I did a search on several family members and found that one relative did have some money waiting for her. Apparently, this was reported by an insurance company which owed her a refund. She’s now in the process of filing a claim and I’m her hero.

To reclaim money, the claimant must provide proof of identity and ownership but best of all, there’s no fee involved. You can go directly to the New York State Unclaimed Funds Website and initiate your own search. And, if you happen to find that you’re entitled to a small fortune, lucky for you … just don’t forget the person that pointed you in that direction