New York unclaimed money

The New York State Abandoned Property Law requires organizations to annually review their records and transfer accounts that have reached certain dormancy periods to the State Comptroller, who serves as custodian and protector of the funds until they can be returned to their rightful owners. To ensure compliance, every organization should review the law, which can be found in McKinney's Consolidated Laws of New York, Book 2 1/2, available on the internet at: http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us (go to "Laws of New York," then "ABP Abandoned Property"). The State Comptroller has specific guidelines for reporting the New York unclaimed property so that all of the information can be consolidated into a single database. To assist organizations in the reporting process, the State Comptroller's Office of Unclaimed Funds provides an instructional handbook, issues annual reminders and updates, and conducts periodic meeting.

New York unclaimed money is held in the state treasury office. Every state has unclaimed property laws which declare money, property, and other assets to be abandoned after a period of inactivity of three to five years. According to the Unclaimed Property Act of New York, the unclaimed property is held until it could be handed over to the rightful owners. By law, banks, insurance companies, corporations and the courts are among the many organizations required to report dormant accounts to the State Comptroller.

There is an alphabetical list of people whose last known address was in New York and who are due to receive money for unclaimed property according to the provisions of statute. The Unclaimed divisions have held the accounts for more than 2 years. Please try using various combinations of your name in order to search for unclaimed money. Also bear in mind that there may be assets in your maiden name. It is important to note that accounts held less than 2 years are not available for public inspection.

New York unclaimed property or money could be in the form of funds from a dormant checking and savings accounts, un-cashed money orders, cashiers checks, mineral royalty payments, safe deposit box contents, unused gift certificates, unclaimed insurance benefits, lost cash dividends, stock, found utility deposits, unclaimed security deposits, and court deposits. New York unclaimed property, which was held by another state or a company, is kept in protective custody if they could not be paid to the rightful owner. The owners last recorded state address is always taken into consideration with reference to New York's unclaimed money. Even if your name is not on the list, you may wish to call the Unclaimed Property Division to check if any funds are being held in your name.

Make sure you check with every state in which you have ever lived (unclaimed property is generally turned over to the state of your last address as reflected in the records of the business holding your found money, stock, etc.).

You could write or call the New York state office for a complete New York unclaimed money name search in case you cannot find your name in the search option.

NEW YORK
Office of Unclaimed Funds
Alfred E. Smith Building, 9th Floor
Albany, NY 12236
Tel: 1-518-474-4038
Tel: 1-800-221-9311

Email:
NYSOUF@osc.state.ny.us

Web Site:
New York Unclaimed Money