Insights

Why So Much Money Ends Up as Unclaimed Property and What That Means for You

This February 1, states across America observe National Unclaimed Property Day, chosen to remind you about a surprisingly widespread financial problem: billions of dollars in forgotten assets currently held by state governments, waiting for their rightful owners to claim them.

This observance exists for one practical reason: to help you reclaim money and assets that already belong to you and to prevent future losses before they happen. Understanding what unclaimed property is, how assets become lost, and what you can do to protect yourself could mean recovering funds that could be put to good use, and ensuring your family never loses track of what you've worked hard to build.

What Unclaimed Property Actually Is

When most people hear the term "unclaimed property," they might imagine abandoned real estate or forgotten treasures hidden in old storage units. The reality is far more ordinary, and it affects millions of Americans every year.

Unclaimed property refers to financial assets that have gone dormant because there's been no activity or contact between the owner and the institution holding the funds for a certain period, typically between one and five years depending on state law. When a company can't reach the owner after this legally required time, it must turn the asset over to the state through a process called escheatment. The state doesn't own the property permanently but becomes the caretaker until someone claims it.

The types of assets that become unclaimed are surprisingly common and include forgotten bank or credit union accounts, often opened years ago with minimal balances that seemed too small to worry about. Uncashed checks or refunds frequently go missing after someone moves without updating their address.
Other examples include stocks, dividends, or mutual funds purchased decades ago and forgotten, life insurance payouts that beneficiaries never knew existed, contents of abandoned safe-deposit boxes, and even payroll checks from former employers. When someone changes jobs and moves without leaving a forwarding address, that final paycheck can easily become unclaimed property.

How Assets Disappear and Why It Can Happen to Anyone

People lose track of assets for remarkably ordinary reasons that have nothing to do with irresponsibility or carelessness. Changing jobs means potentially losing track of old retirement accounts amid the chaos of starting a new position. Name changes through marriage or divorce can disconnect you from accounts registered under a previous name, especially if you don't notify every institution about the change.

When a loved one dies, family members often don't know about every account or policy the deceased held. Without a comprehensive list of assets or a system for tracking financial information, important accounts simply get overlooked. This may account for significant sums that the deceased wanted their loved ones to have, and which could have made a difference in their lives.

The scope of this problem is staggering. Across all 50 states, governments collectively hold an estimated $70 billion in unclaimed property. According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, states return billions annually to rightful owners, yet the total amount held continues to grow each year. This means that despite ongoing awareness efforts, more property becomes unclaimed faster than it gets reunited with owners.

These statistics represent real people who worked hard for their money, saved diligently, or were entitled to benefits they never received. The problem isn't going away on its own because modern financial life has become increasingly fragmented. Most people maintain relationships with multiple banks, investment companies, insurance providers, and employers throughout their lives, creating numerous opportunities for assets to fall through the cracks. Accounts are managed online, without paper statements, and unless loved ones have knowledge of the accounts, plus the passwords to access them, assets will get lost.

The Purpose Behind the February 1st Observance

National Unclaimed Property Day was established with three clear goals. First, it encourages people to search state databases and reclaim lost assets that belong to them. Second, it educates the public about how easily property becomes unclaimed, helping people understand the problem isn't just about irresponsibility. Third, it aims to prevent future losses through better financial organization and planning.

February 1 was chosen intentionally as an early-year date, serving as a "clean-up and reset" moment before tax season begins and before another year passes with assets sitting idle in state custody. States, consumer advocates, and financial professionals use the day to push a simple message: "Check. Claim. Prevent."

Taking Action: What You Can Do Right Now

The most immediate action you can take right now is to search (or, “check”) for unclaimed property in your name. Every state maintains a free, searchable database of unclaimed property. Visit your state treasurer or comptroller's website and look for the unclaimed property section. The search takes just a few minutes and requires only your name and the state where you've lived.

There is no one database to search for property, so if you've moved during your life, search in every state where you've resided or worked. The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators maintains a website at unclaimed.org with links to all state databases, making it easy to search multiple states quickly.

When searching, try variations of your name including your maiden name if applicable, nicknames you may have used professionally, and names with and without middle initials. Companies may have listed your property under any of these variations. If you find property that belongs to you, the claiming process is free. States don’t charge fees to return property to rightful owners, though you may need to provide identification and documentation proving ownership. If you’re claiming property for a loved one’s estate, you’ll also need to provide a death certificate, proof of your identity and other identifying documents the state requires.

The claiming process is arduous and time consuming - and states can deny claims. Therefore, the more important work involves preventing future losses. The right estate planning can help. When you work with me, I’ll support you to create a comprehensive list of all your financial accounts, including banks, investment firms, retirement accounts, life insurance policies, beneficiary designations, and any other assets you own. You’ll include account numbers, contact information for each institution, and approximate values. I can even help you update this inventory annually.

I also recommend that you store your inventory in a secure but accessible location, and make sure at least one trusted person knows where to find it and how to access it if you become incapacitated and when you die.

Finally, it’s a good rule of thumb to update your address and contact information with every financial institution whenever you move. Consider consolidating accounts where it makes sense, as fewer accounts mean fewer opportunities for something to slip through the cracks.

The Bigger Picture

National Unclaimed Property Day shines a light on a quiet but costly truth: if no one knows what you have, where it is, or how to access it, your assets can disappear into bureaucracy. The goal isn't just to reclaim forgotten assets. The real goal is to make sure nothing you worked for ever becomes "lost" in the first place.

This February 1, take a few minutes to search for unclaimed property. Then take the more important step of organizing your financial life so your assets stay with the people you intend to benefit from them. Your future self and your loved ones will thank you.

How I Help You Protect Your Assets and All the People You Love

National Unclaimed Property Day reminds us that even the most diligent people can lose track of assets in our increasingly complex financial world. But you don't have to leave this to chance or rely on a once-a-year reminder to protect what you've worked so hard to build.

As a Personal Family Lawyer® Firm, we help you create a comprehensive Life & Legacy Plan that ensures your assets reach the people you love instead of becoming another state statistic. Once you've created your plan, you can rest easy knowing your wishes will be honored, your loved ones cared for, and your property protected. I also have systems in place to review and update your plan regularly as your life changes, taking the burden off your shoulders while ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

This February 1, do more than just search for unclaimed property. Take the step that truly protects your family's future.

Schedule your free consultation call today to get started.

Why It Matters to Your Loved Ones That You Work With the Right Lawyer

If you don’t work with the right lawyer, your loved ones could face years of stress, conflict and unnecessary expense. But you can avoid putting them through this. Here’s how to find the right legal support. Read more...

When someone you love dies, grief hits hard enough. But imagine adding legal chaos, confusing paperwork, and no one to guide you through it all. That's the reality for thousands of people every year who are left to navigate a confusing, messy, and expensive legal and financial process without support.
In this article, you'll read real stories of families who struggled through the legal and financial process alone, the challenges they faced, and why having the right lawyer, as a trusted advisor to you and your loved ones, makes all the difference for the people you love when they need it most. Let's start by looking at what actually happens when families are left to navigate the process on their own.

Real Stories of Legal Chaos
The best way to understand why your loved ones need guidance when something happens to you is to see what happens when people don't have good guidance. These are real stories about real people. They aren't hypothetical scenarios:

Molly's Seven Handwritten Wills
Molly thought writing down her wishes would be enough to pass on her assets the way she wanted. After her death, her family found seven different handwritten documents she wrote on her own. By the time an attorney was hired to sort out the mess these handwritten notes created, fourteen heirs were claiming rights to the estate. Twelve estranged family members suddenly appeared, and one intended beneficiary was ready to give up and split everything with relatives Molly barely knew. Perhaps Molly thought her situation was simple, and yet it turned out to be anything but that. We find that’s often the case. Many people say “oh, my situation is simple” and, yet, for the people you love, it can be anything but simple once you are gone.

The Blended Family Betrayal
Nancy and Jack created "mirror image wills" leaving everything to each other, then equally to their five children from previous marriages. When Nancy died suddenly, all her assets went to Jack - who quickly executed a new will naming only his three biological children as beneficiaries of all the assets. Nancy's two children were forced to leave their mother's home and received nothing from their mother. Think it won’t happen in your family? If you are on a second or third marriage (or more) with children from a prior, your kids are at risk without great pre-planning and a post-death trusted advisor.

If you want to dive even deeper on this one, get the book Rest In Peace. Robbed In Probate.: The Story Behind a Widow’s $2 Billion Jury Verdict Against JPMorgan Chase Bank by Jo Hopper. Yes, stories like this happen everyday. If you have a blended family, let’s get your estate planning updated or handled so nothing like this happens to the people you love.

Frank's 21 Heirs
Frank built a successful family business with two nephews who were like sons to him. They were the only family members at his funeral. But because Frank died without a will, the law required that his estate be divided equally among all 21 of his nieces and nephews - including 19 people he hadn't seen in over 20 years. The two nephews who helped build his business and who were close to him got the same small fraction as relatives who'd been strangers to Frank.

If you are building a family business, don’t leave the future to chance. Create it now by calling us and schedule a Life & Legacy PlanningⓇ Session so we can review your family dynamics and your assets, then create the right plan.

Stories like these highlight a simple truth: without the right lawyer who knows you, can anticipate conflict, and provide guidance to those you love, the process of transitioning assets after your death can be slow, expensive, and often heartbreaking. To truly understand how to protect your loved ones, let’s dig deeper into exactly why the process is so daunting.

How People Struggle Without Legal Guidance
Without the right lawyer who already knows you and your family, your loved ones are left to figure everything out on their own. Here's what happens:

Nobody knows what to do. When you have no estate plan or an estate plan that fails when your loved ones need it because it’s just a set of documents in a drawer or on a shelf with little guidance or direction, the people you care about the most could be forced to go to court for a process called probate (after your death) or guardianship/conservatorship (during your life), even if you have a will or power of attorney in place.

Court requires navigating forms, deadlines, and formal hearings in front of a judge, which is confusing, complicated and has means following rules that may be obscure. People end up in a legal system they don't understand while experiencing the weight of grieving. It's like being dropped into a foreign country where you don't speak the language.

It costs more than you think. Probate fees, court costs, and attorneys' bills add up quickly. In many states lawyers can charge a percentage of the estate's gross value. For example, a $600,000 home - and no other assets - means potentially tens of thousands in legal fees. Even a modest estate can lose a fortune to the process. This is much more expensive than working with the right lawyer in the first place.

In addition, when you don’t already have a lawyer to turn to, your loved ones will need to find a lawyer who’s a stranger to you, and doesn’t know what was important to you. Your loved ones will have to pay that lawyer to review all relevant documents and talk to people who knew you. It’s like starting all over but also without first-hand knowledge.

The process drags on and accounts are inaccessible. Even simple matters can take months. Complicated ones take years. While you’re waiting for the process to unfold, your assets will be frozen, leaving your loved ones in financial limbo. During that time, they can't access the money they need or move forward with their lives.

And it’s not just their inheritance they won’t be able to access. If you have a mortgage on your home, loved ones will have to pay out of their own pockets (often with a mortgage of their own) to pay your mortgage to keep the bank from foreclosing.

Conflict explodes. Grief and stress magnify small disagreements, turning them into costly battles that can destroy relationships. One heir might want to sell the family home immediately, while another wants to keep it. Without clear guidance, minor differences turn into major rifts. It happens all the time, even in families where conflict didn’t exist before.

Assets get lost. Think about this: Would your loved ones know how to find and access all your assets? Do they know where you bank and how many accounts you have? Would they know about your insurance policies or retirement accounts? If you receive benefits through an employer, would they know how to access that information? Do they know where your passwords are kept or how to unlock your phone or laptop?

Most people haven’t considered these questions before, and what happens is an asset gets missed. And once assets are missed, they are turned over to the state’s Department of Unclaimed Property to sit there, unavailable for the people you love.

Predators move in. Probate files are public, which means scammers can target vulnerable heirs with fake claims or schemes. Without a lawyer protecting the family's interests, these threats can devastate what's left of the estate.

It's easy to think, "My family will figure it out," but the truth is most families are blindsided by just how much is involved. Even tasks as simple as locating accounts, paying final bills, and filing court paperwork can feel impossible without someone to guide the way.

The good news is there's a better way. One that provides your family with the support, guidance, and protection they need.

Our Personal Family LawyerⓇ Difference
As a Personal Family Lawyer, I don't just draft documents and disappear. I get to know you, your family, your assets, and your wishes. When you die, your loved ones won't be left scrambling for answers or searching for a lawyer who doesn't know you. They'll have someone who already understands what matters to you.

Here’s what this means for those you love most:
- Clear, enforceable instructions so they aren’t left guessing what you wanted or how to make it happen.
- Step-by-step guidance through the process so they can focus on healing, not paperwork and legal complexity.
- Decreasing conflict by making sure everyone understands your wishes before disputes erupt.
- Support when it matters most, from someone they already know and trust.

Think about the difference between showing up to a hospital emergency room where no one knows your history, versus seeing a doctor who has been with you for years. The first experience is stressful and full of uncertainty. The second is calmer, because someone who already knows your background can act quickly and confidently. That's what working with me is like for your loved ones after you're gone.

This relationship is what makes life so much easier for all the people you love.

A Plan That Works With a Relationship to Support It
My Life & Legacy Planning process is what makes all this possible. Unlike traditional estate planning that focuses only on documents, Life & Legacy Planning is a comprehensive approach that only Personal Family Lawyers like me offer. It’s an entire system that ensures your plan actually works when your family needs it.

When you work with a traditional lawyer, you get documents, you sign them, and that's the end of the relationship. But documents alone don't prevent court, family disputes, or lost assets.

When you work with me, on the other hand, you’ll create a Life & Legacy Plan that goes further. It includes:
- A complete inventory of your assets, so nothing is overlooked or lost when you're gone.
- Regular reviews to update your plan as your life and laws change over time.
- Clear guidance for your loved ones on what to do first and how to handle everything step by step.
- A trusted lawyer who will be there for them when you can't be.

When you work with the right lawyer, planning isn't about paperwork. It's about creating a roadmap for your loved ones and giving them a guide they already know and trust. It's about keeping them out of court and conflict while preserving not just your assets but your values and wishes for the next generation. It’s about making things as easy as possible for them so they have space to grieve. And it’s about peace of mind for you, knowing you’ve done all you can for everyone you love.
Which future do you want for the people you love? Sailing through the legal and financial process with confidence or drowning in confusion while they're trying to grieve?

Here’s Your Next Step
The greatest gift you can leave behind isn't money, it's peace of mind. With a traditional lawyer, your family could face years of confusion, conflict, and court. With me as a Personal Family Lawyer, they'll have guidance, support, and protection when they need it most.

As your Personal Family Lawyer Firm, I don't just create plans; I build relationships that last. Let's work together to create a Life & Legacy Plan that ensures you’ve made life as easy on your loved ones as possible when you’re no longer here.

Schedule your free consultation call today to get started.

This article is a service of Bierbrauer Law, a Personal Family Lawyer Firm. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That's why we offer a Life & Legacy Planning Session, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love. You can begin by calling our office today to schedule a Life & Legacy Planning Session.

The content is sourced from Personal Family Lawyer® for use by Personal Family Lawyer firms, a source believed to be providing accurate information. This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal, or investment advice. If you are seeking legal advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be obtained on your own separate from this educational material.