THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2022 Page 19 METRO | FROM Page 17 How to Find and Claim Your Family’s Forgotten Assets Dear Savvy Senior, A while back I read an article about some online tools that can help people search for lost or forgotten money left behind by their deceased relatives, but I’ve misplaced it. Can you help me with this? My mom, who passed away in January, was always bad about keeping up with her money, so I’m wondering if there was anything she left behind. Searching Son Dear Searching, Forgotten or lost money is actually very common in the United States. According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, there are literally billions of dollars in unclaimed funds sitting in state treasuries and other agencies just waiting to be found. These unclaimed funds are from accounts that are inactive or whose owners, or their heirs, cannot be located. Unclaimed funds can include things like lost or forgotten saving or checking accounts, stocks, utility security deposits, tax refunds, life insurance policy proceeds, un-cashed dividend checks, matured savings bonds and much more. This typically happens because of a change of address (the owner moved), a name change (the owner got married or divorced), or the owner dies, and the estate was unaware of the money or the heirs could not be located. By law, companies and fi nancial institutions that can’t find the owner or their next of kin within two to fi ve years must turn the property over to the state where it’s held indefi nitely. Where to Search About 10 percent of all Americans have some unclaimed money out there waiting to be found, so it’s very possible your mother had some too. To start your search, go to Unclaimed. org, which has links to all state programs that will let you do a state benefi ts search online for free. Or you can do a multi-state search in 39 states at MissingMoney.com. Be sure to check every state in which your mother lived, worked or did business. Also, make sure to check under your mom’s maiden name, and if she had a frequently misspelled name, search those misspellings too. Using her fi rst initial and her last name is also encouraged to make sure everything comes up. Every state can tell you immediately if your mom has some unclaimed money, as well as how to go about collecting it. Look Here Too In addition to state treasuries, here are some other resources that can help you look for unclaimed money that may have been overlooked. Forgotten retirement benefi ts: To search for lost or forgotten 401(k) funds your mom may have left behind with an old employer, use the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefi ts at UnclaimedRetirementBenefits.com. Or to search for lost pension benefi ts, use the Pension Benefi t Guaranty Corporation trusteed plan search tool at PBGC.gov/searchtrusteed-plans. Lost life insurance: To track down a lost or forgotten life insurance policy, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, an insurance regulatory support organization, off ers a free policy locator service at https://eapps.naic.org/life-policy-locator. Unredeemed savings bonds: It’s very common for people to lose track of U.S. saving bonds because they are often given to children as gifts, then forgotten before the bonds reach maturity. To fi nd out if your mom had any, the U.S. Department of the Treasury provides an online search tool at TreasuryHunt.gov for fi nding matured, uncashed savings bonds over 30 years old and no longer earning interest. Federal tax refunds: Each year thousands of refund checks totaling millions of dollars are returned to the IRS by the post offi ce. To look for lost Federal tax refund checks go to IRS.gov/refunds or call 800829-1954. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. 1. On July 15, 1948, General of the Armies of the United States John J. Pershing died; who previously had that title? 2. What vehicle is also the name of a pie? 3. In what decade was Brasilia built: 1780s, 1890s, or 1950s? 4. On July 16, 1941, what player created a record by hitting safely for the 56th consecutive baseball game? 5. What does IBM stand for? 6. What author crated Neverland? 7. July 17 is National Ice Cream Day; reportedly, in 1906 the Hot Fudge Sundae was invented at C.C. Brown’s on what famous street? 8. What author created the detective Lord Peter Wimsey? 9. What lasagna ingredient is a byproduct of making another lasagna ingredient? 10. On July 18, 1976, who scored the firstever perfect 10 at the Olympics? 11. What is the importance of ENIAC? 12. What animal is also Answers called a glutton and is a nickname for the State of Michigan? 13. What instrument does a concertmaster play? 14. On July 19, 1848, as advertised in the Seneca County Courier, the Seneca Falls Convention began “to discuss the social, civil and religious condition and rights of” what? 15. Due to a heatwave, Castenaso, Italy, imposed a fine for barbers and hairdressers doing what? 16. What is the fi rst fruit to ripen in spring? 17. On July 20, 1976, the Viking I landed on what planet that is also the name of a candy bar? 18. What word meaning pep is also the name of the offi cial soft drink of Maine? 19. The fi rst world peace park is in what two countries? 20. On July 21, 1979, Jay Silverheels became the first Native American with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; what well-known TV character did he play? Cutting service hurts all of us, but especially the communities that were most impacted by the pandemic. Furthermore, increasingly crowded trains constitute an additional safety issue that puts our residents at risk. We cannot aff ord to fail our communities again. The Metropolitan Mayors Coalition is a group of cities and towns in the urban core of Metro Boston whose leaders gather to exchange information and create solutions for common problems. The municipal offi cials in this group represent more than 1.4 million residents in the cities and towns of Arlington, Boston, Braintree, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Newton, Quincy, Revere, Somerville, and Winthrop. 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Tonto on The Lone Ranger series
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