Unclaimed Monies, Part Two

The Chronicles Of Grant County

As you research whether you have unclaimed monies, there are several techniques you may want to consider using when researching information at the website MissingMoney.Com. You can visit this site by clicking here.

One of the things to keep in mind is that the system only provides 200 items for each search. Common surnames like "Smith" and "Jones" placed by themselves in the "Name" space will likely result in far more than 200 items, but since the system only displays 200 items, you may not realize that funds are owed to you. Thus, if you have a common surname, add your first name and your middle initial/middle name in the "Name" space.

Another technique to find potential funds owed to you is to alter aspects of your surname in the "Name" space. You may find the way you spell your surname is not the way your surname is spelled by businesses that potentially owe you money. An example is the surname "O'Hara." There are listings for people with the surname "O'Hara," but different listings for the surname spelled as "OHara" and "O Hara." Another example is with the surname "McDonald." There are listings for people with the surname "McDonald," but different listings for the surname spelled as "Mc Donald."

Beyond these examples, consider common misspellings for your surname as well common misspellings for your first and/or middle names.

Consider checking on any other names you may have previously used. For example, it is very typical – even today – for women to change their surname upon marriage and/or divorce. There could be funds potentially owed to you under your maiden name or your married name.

Another item to consider is to research your surname or your full name by individually checking every city where you've lived. You may have unclaimed funds owed to you dating back years – even decades. It's possible that you may not even realize you potentially have funds owed to you from businesses you dealt with years ago.

How does money owed to you become unclaimed by you?

Sometimes this occurs because a check was mailed to you, but the business used the wrong address. The person receiving the letter addressed to you just disposed of that letter because they thought it was junk mail or they simply didn't care to put the letter back into the U S Postal Service. A letter with funds potentially owed to you may have mailed to you, but the postal service may have been misdelivered the letter to someone who trashed your mail.

You may have received the check, but instead of opening the letter, you yourself may have thrown away the letter thinking that it was junk mail. You may have chosen to open the letter, but instead of cashing the check, you may have lost it or forgotten to cash it. You may also have received the check, but filed it in your records rather than cashing the check.

When researching funds potentially owed to a business, consider inserting only part of the business name in the "Name" space. For example, instead of only placing "Acme National Bank" in the "Name" space, consider placing "Bank" or "Acme" in the "Name" space and the names of each individual city where the business operated/operates in the "City" space as well as the names of each individual state where the business operated/operates. Then check the specific mailing addresses listed to see if they match current and/or previous addresses used by your business.

Funds may also potentially be owed to your family members who have died.

With funds being held by the State of New Mexico, "You can search for anyone, but you may only file a claim for property that belongs to you or for which you are the legal heir," according to a statement from the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department. "You can search for deceased family members, but only the rightful heir can claim the property."

If you have any questions about unclaimed monies being held by the State of New Mexico, please click here.

Please note that while most states use the MissingMoney.Com website, some states have their own individual websites that you may choose to visit to determine if those states potentially have funds owed to you. These states include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington State, and Wyoming. Information on how to contact all of the states – both participating and non-participating states in MissingMoney.Com – can be seen by clicking here.

Part Three of this series of The Chronicles Of Grant County will include details on several specific governmental entities that have unclaimed monies waiting for them in Santa Fe.

Do you have questions about communities in Grant County?

A street name? A building?

Your questions may be used in a future news column.

Contact Richard McDonough at chroniclesofgrantcounty@mail.com.

If your email does not go through, please contact editor@grantcountybeat.com.