Seen At 11: Where To Find Your Forgotten Money
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Forgotten friends can be found on Facebook. Forgotten clothes can be found in the back of your closet. But what about forgotten money?
Experts say all you need is access to the internet and a couple of minutes.
"This is far more lucrative than checking cushions in the couch," said finance expert Jordan Goodman.
As CBS2's Alice Gainer reported Monday night, there are $14 billion in unclaimed funds sitting around in New York State alone.
So where's all this money coming from?
According to Fitech chief executive officer Ian Marlow, the money could be from something as small as utility deposits that were paid years ago but never claimed, eventually becoming inactive and turning into bonds.
Old 401k plans are another possible source, with people moving from one job to another without telling their old job where they moved.
Still, experts say the number one source of unclaimed funds are insurance policies.
Problems can arise when people die without their beneficiaries knowing they had an insurance policy.
Without a correct address of the beneficiary, insurance companies are unable to pay out sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars in death benefits.
Experts say that when searching for unclaimed funds, it's important to be wary of third party services pitching themselves as claim recovery services. These services can charge unsuspecting fortune hunters to search for their unclaimed funds.
To do so yourself, for free, check out the links below:
Unclaimed Property, New Jersey
