The following questions have been collected over the years from real people interested in becoming unclaimed money finders.

If you have a question that is not listed below or if you still do not understand something, please go to the bottom of the page and use the comment section to ask your question.

I have lived in Ohio greater than 5 years. How much does it cost to get certified as a finder in Ohio?

It does not cost anything to get certified in Ohio, except the cost of the fingerprints for the background check.

Ohio has an extensive background check that they use before they issue a certificate to you as a finder. I’m glad they do that and wish every state would follow the guidelines that Ohio has.

This way people that give finders a bad name by charging more than they should or an upfront fee or any other thing that they shouldn’t be doing would have a more difficult time and move on to something else.

Since you are in Ohio you would only have to be fingerprinted once, I think for the state. I am certified and because I am from out of state I had to be fingerprinted twice, once for the state and once for the federal.

After that you need two letters of reference, a color photo of yourself, and additional paperwork filled out that the state send you.

How do you get potential customers to “freely” give you their SS# BirthDate ….etc?

We try to make it easy for the claimant not to give us the information if they don’t want to.

One way to do that is to print up a claim form and send it to them with an envelope that has the address for the state that they have to send it in to.

This way they are sending it directly to the state without us having to see it.

However, you would be surprised at how much information people are willing to send us, even after sending them something that they can send in themselves.

I think it is all how you present yourself. If you present yourself in a professional manner and they can call you and reach you, that is half the battle right there.

What unclaimed property types are good to research?

I purchased your course and am finding it quite helpful. I have a question about types of property. An extract of one state listing I have shows the following property types. Which ones are good to research and which ones would be difficult for the beneficiary to liquidate to pay the finder’s fee? See list below. Is there a rule of thumb to use to separate the good from the bad and the ugly?
Thanks.

“ACCOUNTS PAYABLE”
“AGGREGATE MISCELLANEOUS PROPERTY UNDER 50.00″
“AGGREGATE UNCASHED CHECKS UNDER 50.00″
“ANY OTHER MISC OUTSTANDING CK”
“CASH FOR FRACTIONAL SHARES”
“CASH IN LIEU”
“CASHIERS CHECK”
“CD INTEREST CHECK”
“CERTIFIED CHECK”
“CHECKING ACCOUNT”
“COMMISSION”
“CREDIT BALANCE”
“CREDIT BALANCE/ACCT RECEIVABLE”
“CREDIT BALANCES”
“CREDIT CHECK OR MEMO”
“CUSTOMER OVERPAYMENT”
“DEATH BENEFITS DUE BENEFICIARY”
“DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLANS”
“DIVIDENDS”
“DRAFT”
“ESCROW ACCOUNTS”
“FNDS TO PURCH SHARES/INT FI-BO”
“FUNDS FOR LIQUID / REDEMPTION OF UNSURRENDERED STK / BNDS”
“GROUP POL BENEFITS / CLAIMS”
“INDIVIDUAL BENEFITS / CLAIMS”
“MISC INTANGIBLE PERSONAL PROP”
“MISC/UNCLASSIFIED”
“MONEY ORDER”
“NON 4-D CHILD SUPPORT”
“OTHER AMOUNTS DUE UNDER POLICY TERMS”
“OTHER COURT DEPOSITS INCLUDING CHILD SUPPORT”
“OTHER OFFICIAL CKS OR EXCH ITM”
“PAYABLE FROM PENSION / PRFT SH”
“PAYMENT FOR GOODS & SERVICES”
“PREM REFUND ON INDIV POLICY”
“PRINCIPAL PAYMENTS”
“PROCEEDS FROM MATURED POLICIES, ENDOWMENTS OR ANNUITIES”
“REBATE OR REFUND CHECK”
“REFUND DUE”
“REFUNDS OR REBATES”
“ROYALTIES”
“SAFE DEP BOX CONTENTS”
“SAVINGS ACCOUNT/MONEY MARKET ACCOUNT”
“SHARES OF STK RETND BY P.O.”
“TRUST,INV OR ESCROW ACCT DIV”
“UNDERLYING SHARES OR OTHER OUTSTANDING CERTIFICATES”
“UNEXCH STOCK OF SUCCESSOR CORP”
“UNIDENTIFIED DEPOSITS”
“UNIDENTIFIED REMITTANCE”
“UNREFUNDED OVERCHARGES”
“UTILITY DEPOSIT”
“VENDOR CHECK”
“WAGES, PAYROLL, SALARY”
“WORKERS COMPENSATION BENEFITS”

From Mark

Harry, if I’m reading your question correctly, you really don’t need to worry about that. As you can see, there are many, many ways that money/funds/property can go unclaimed.

Every list of unclaimed money (or at least every list that I have seen) shows the type of property that it is/was before it became unclaimed property.

Once it gets to the states unclaimed money division, it has already been “liquidated”. So, whether it is a $1000 in “accounts payable” or $1000 in “workers compensation benefits”, it is just $1000 in unclaimed money to the state.

Nothing additional needs to be done on the claimants behalf.

Tax Overages?

I would like to know if you know anything about the “Hooked On Overages” course?

If so please give me an insight or feedback about the course and how this is different from the training manual you have on your site.

Thank you and you did a fantastic job on such a great and informative website!

From Mark

Thanks for the comment on the site, I appreciate it.

I am a little familiar with the hooked on overages course but do not get involved with that.

I’m pretty sure that has to do with tax overages or tax liens as well as overages on foreclosures that the county clerk is holding.

We focus more on state unclaimed money being held by the state treasuries.

I did sign up for the hooked on overage site one time and received emails every day from them, but just did not have time to read them.

I do not like the fact that I have to sign up to receive information and I still do not have a clear idea what it is about.

I do know someone that works in overages like that. It can produce large amounts of refunds, but it seems there is more work involved and it takes longer, sometimes up to a year.

Also, I think you have to physically go to the county clerks office to get information.

At the time I signed up, I think the course was $1600. Now, I see other sites saying “hooked on overages” offering for around $300.

I don’t know if they are competitors or if the main site is offering them some type of affiliate plan.

That’s about as much as I can tell you.

Update
The following update is from Eric F, who has posted on here before.

Mark,

We have been doing tax sale overbid refunds, but most of the states that have a tax sale structure that has the ability to generate an overbid,(states that have deed sales, redeemable deed sales, and tax lien sales.) have recently begin to change their laws regarding the eligibility of the mortgage company or bank to collect that refund.

It use to be that if the mortgage company did not buy the property at the sale, or redeem it during the redemption period they lost out on claiming the refund.

This is changing quickly.

The mortgage companies have argued that they are the Superior lien holders on that property and should therefore be the first in line to claim the refund and everyone else concerned comes after them.

The courts have agreed with them. This makes the idea of being a tax sale overbid money-finder questionable at best because the mortgage company or bank can tie that refund up for a very long time, and there’s usually no money left if they do claim the refund.

That’s why I got your program, less hassle to go through collecting the refund. Some states have included their tax sale overbid refunds into their state unclaimed money list, New Mexico and Utah are two I can think of right a way.

If your readers want to do tax sale overbid refunds, I would go for them in the state list.

That’s what we are going to do from now on.

From Mark

Eric, thank you for that update.

State unclaimed money as been around since colonial times and will always be around.

It seems to me that tax overages and the like have been popular now because of the state of economy. When things turn around, I’m not sure how good of an opportunity it will be, and as Eric pointed out, things are starting to change now.

If anyone has any more information regarding tax overages, tax liens, mortgage overages, or anything related to those type of refunds, please feel free to comment.

As I mentioned, I’m a little familiar with them, but don’t get involved with that.

Unclaimed Money Payment from Clients?

Hey Mark! My name is Jared. I find your website very interesting as I am a beginner in this unclaimed money world. In one of your stories you posted, you mentioned of a claim you found for a family in Mississippi. You located the $11,000 for them and then sent them an invoice for 10% of the claim. How did you get them to send you a check for $1100 after the fact? From what I was taught, we as unclaimed money finders need to have the entire check sent directly to us first,then deduct our fee before sending the client their portion of the proceeds? I am interested in working in the manner in which you speak, I am just wondering just how I would get paid?

From Mark: Hey Jared, glad to hear that you are interested in finding unclaimed money as a business. Yes, in some states, such as California and New York the state will send you the check and you can take your share and send the claimant their share. Here is an example of a check sent directly to us in New York .

However, for the most part, the states send the check to the claimant directly. In that case, you have to send an invoice to the claimant. As long as you have a valid agreement in place, they are obligated to pay you.

As I have found out through the years, most people are so happy that they have actually received their money, this was actually legitimate and they were not scammed, they they are happy to send you your fee.

Getting Your Money?

Hello my name is Rebecca I am very much interesting in getting into the unclaimed fund business. A few of my concern is. Once you send the introduction letter and get a hit and they return the contract. Do you send them the information of where the money is located a long with the forms?

2nd question, how do you make sure you get your money from the customer?, they just can take that information you sent and go get the money themselves.

3rd, is it best to get a contract made from your local attorney to make sure it binding and legal for your state? or is the contract you provide is binding and legal for all states?

Thank you for your advice.

From Mark

Rebecca,
Regarding your first question on sending the introduction letter and contract, it depends on the state you are searching in. Some states require you to put in the contract everything regarding the amount of money, where it is being held, etc. In those instances, we have a specific letter that we send out that implies that there may be more money being held in other locations. If they check to see if this money is legitimate they know we are for real and think that maybe there really is more money being held. They don’t know that we are required by law to tell them where the money is.

On your second question, it is a numbers game. Some people will take the information and look for themselves (or do nothing with it), while others will send it back to you. I had one person that had to go to probate court to get his money. It was $5000 and I would get $500. I didn’t know this when I sent the original agreement. I told him he would have to get a lawyer involved and he should contact them for help. I didn’t expect to hear from him ever again, but a few months later I received a signed agreement from his lawyer for me to help them recover the money (even though they could have done it themselves).
Once you have a signed contract, people are legally obligated to pay you just as they would for any contract and any services that were performed.

We send you several agreement options. One is two pages long, while another is three sentences long. The two page one covers you in just about any way you can think of. The three sentence one says you have money being held, we’ll get it back for you, if we do it is X amount and if we don’t there is no charge.

These are legally binding agreements and I don’t think you would need to have an attorney look at them.

I hope this helps,

Mark

Unclaimed Money Finder?

Can you make decent money as an unclaimed money finder?

From Mark:

Destiny, I guess that all has to do with what you mean by “decent”.

Yes, you can make very good money as an unclaimed money finder. However, like any business, you get out of it what you put into it.

You cannot purchase the unclaimed money finder package, and then do nothing with it and expect to make money. If you follow the simple steps involved, you will do very well.

It’s really very easy. It’s just a matter of getting the lists from the states, looking the people up on something like 411.com, and then contacting them and helping them collect. We make it even easier by giving you all the necessary forms and agreements to save you time trying to figure it out yourself.

Colorado Unclaimed Money List?

How much do you charge for the List of unclaimed property in Colorado with 500,000 names and the related amount of unclaimed property?

From Mark

We do not sell the lists of unclaimed money. Colorado sells the list for $140 ($135 if you pick it up from them).

Since you can charge 20% in Colorado, all you need to do is help recover $700, which you can do with one person, and you will make that money back.

You can also deduct that list as a business expense.

Thank you for your question. I have added that information to the Colorado unclaimed money finder page.

Do Not Call List

Before calling people to see if they are the person on a state’s unclaimed money list, do we need to check first to make sure their phone number is not on the National Do Not Call Registry? Thanks.

From Mark:
Harry,
From The National Do Not Call Registry:

“The National Do Not Call Registry applies to any plan, program, or campaign to sell goods or services through interstate phone calls. This includes telemarketers who solicit consumers, often on behalf of third party sellers. It also includes sellers who provide, offer to provide, or arrange to provide goods or services to consumers in exchange for payment.”

Although we’re not really soliciting to sell anything, I do not like to take chances, so we do follow the Do Not Call registry rules.

If you were to sign up with them and subscribe to the Do Not Call list, it could get pretty expensive because they charge per area code. They do give you up to five area codes for free.

However there is a way around paying. It takes a little more time, but not much.

What you need to do is go to Verify a Registration:

Then you can enter the phone number you are checking on and your email address. You will receive an email letting you know whether the phone number is registered or not. If it is not registered, there is no problem calling them. If it is registered, I suggest just sending out a letter of introduction. If you do not get a response the first time you send out the letter, wait a couple of weeks or even a month and then send out another one. If you do get a response from them that they are interested in you recovering their unclaimed money, then it’s alright to call them.

I hope this helps.
Comments for
Do Not Call List
Click here to add your own comments

Check registration use limited
by: Harry in Texas

When you check to see if a phone number is registered in the do not call list, the web site asks for your email address so it can email you the results of its search of the database for that number.

After checking a few numbers it will send you an email saying that you have exceeded the number of phone numbers for your email address and refuses to check any more numbers for you. What do you do then?

From Mark
Harry thank you for that information. I have several email addresses all going to Microsoft Outlook, so I haven’t come across that problem in a while.

Do you know how many times it let you check before it stopped letting you continue?

Did you try to continue the next day with the same address?

I do know I made up a couple of Yahoo addresses in the past with “unclaimedmoney” in the address, such as “unclaimedmoney1313@yahoo.com”, etc.

This was allowing me to check numbers when one email became blocked.

I would suggest doing the same thing. It is a pain in the neck, but it lets you keep checking.

One more thing that I think I mentioned before, if you sign up for the Do Not Call list, you get up to five area codes to work on for free.

So, if you are only working in a limited area, it might pay to do that. Otherwise, you can go with the Yahoo or any other free address (I just don’t know how strict Google (gmail) is with that, so I haven’t used them for that).

Also, be sure to write down the email address and password associated with it. You can start to forget them after a while if you have a bunch.

Please let me know how it goes for you.

Ohio Unclaimed Funds

Followup question

I requested the finders package from the state of Ohio last year. I was unable to get started due to family medical issues. Should I request a new package or submit info from the package I still have?

Also do you have to get certified through the state if you are dealing with federal unclaimed funds.

From Mark:
Eric,
I would contact the state again and get a new package. I don’t know if they track who they’ve sent information to or if any information has changed, so this way it is better to be safe than sorry.

You won’t have to to worry about having them ask you for additional information or tell you you need to request a new package this way.

If you are dealing with federal unclaimed funds, the State wouldn’t have anything to do with that, so no, you would not have to get certified with the State.

You would have to follow the rules of whatever federal division you were working on though.

Hope this helps.

unclaimed money law in Illinois

what are the laws here in Illinois also do I ever have to leave my home to do this work?

What stops a person from Not wanting to pay me?
Do I need skip tracing experience?

Normally how long does it take to find a person, do all one needs to do and then collect them finders fee?

Thank you.

Geri

From Mark

Geri,

The finder laws in Illinois are not good. Please go to the Illinois Unclaimed Money Finder page for more information on Illinois.

Just because you live in Illinois doesn’t mean you can only search in Illinois. You can search in any other state, you just have to follow their laws.

As long as the mail person comes to your house to collect mail, you really don’t have to leave the house. You may have to leave the house to deposit your checks, unless you have one of those apps that let you scan it and deposit it. Then no, you never have to leave your house.

A signed legal agreement stops a person from not wanting to pay you.

You do not need skip tracing experience.

It could take anywhere from 60 days plus to find someone, submit their claim form and agreement, and then get paid. It all depends on the state and what is involved with the claim.

I hope this helps,

Mark

How can Unclaimed Funds Pro training program receive 50% of the claim,by assigning to them or buying the claim?

How can Unclaimed Funds Pro training program receive 50% of the claim,by assigning to them or buying the claim? When finders fee are 10%?

From Mark:

I don’t know.

Why is this post anonymous?

Is it possible that someone from Unclaimed Funds Pro is posting on here to get some publicity?

For those of you that don’t know Unclaimed Funds Pro advertises that, instead of settling for the 10% fee that most states limit you to charging for your services, they got their lawyers together and found a loophole that allows them to purchase the claim for 50% and then have the money sent to them in their name as it is now their claim.

If you want the answer to your question, you will have to pay them $97 to find out. Hopefully it is jut the $97 and that is not a teaser to purchase something else for it to work.

In my opinion, I’m happy with the 10%. I’m not greedy and there is plenty of money to be made.

Besides that, I’ve found that most people don’t want to pay more than that, regardless of the amount or what they may have coming to them.

Check out this video (middle of page) on a couple in Wisconsin that found their own money:
They did not want to pay the 20% commission that Wisconsin allows finders to charge. I am sure if they were offered a 10% fee, they wouldn’t have had a problem with it.

So, like I said, if you want to find out, spend the $97 and see what happens. If you want to come back and report on it, you are more than welcome to.

Violation of unclaimed money website agreements

The missingmoney.com website and some states(such as Idaho and Kansas) specifically bar using information from their unclaimed money websites for commercial gain. Kansas in particular has a statute providing penalties of up to $500 for misuse of public information.

Are there legal ways around these restrictions? If not, you may wish to advise your readers of them.

From Mark:
Thank you for that information. Yes, you do need to be aware of the rules for the state(s) that you are working in.

That is why I mention this on the State Laws page:
“Every state has their own unclaimed money state laws and guidelines that they follow regarding unclaimed money and unclaimed money finders. I

If you are an unclaimed money finder, you need to know the laws of the states that you are looking in.

I try to keep the site as up-to-date as possible, but it’s probably a good idea to go to the state site itself and see if their is anything new or relevant going on that we haven’t gotten to.”

I do mention on the Idaho site that they do not provide a list and the list they provide online does not give you the dollar amount. If you live in Idaho and want to be a finder you are better off searching in other states.

Regarding Kansas, you are referring to that note regarding KORA that pops up when you go to do a search.

That is similar to South Carolina which states : “Please be aware that S.C. Code of Laws §30-2-10 et. seq. of the Family Privacy Protection Act prohibits the use of personal information obtained from a state agency for commercial purposes.”

So, they are saying you can get the list but you cannot use it for commercial purposes. I spoke to South Carolina regarding this and they said if you were dealing with a company directly with many employees and these employees came to you first, then you could search for them.

I think Kansas might be the same way, I haven’t spoken with them (yet), but in states like these I always say the best thing to do is search in another state.

With unlimited calling and postage the same whether you send a letter 3 miles or 3000 miles, why bother dealing with a state that is unfriendly to finders?

Were actually in the process of updating the finder manual. When it is complete, anyone that has purchased it in the past will have it sent to them (no charge, naturally).

There is some more specific information regarding the states in the manual. When that is complete, we’ll move that over to the website as well.

Readers can also click on the specific state laws links that are on most of the individual state law pages.

Laws change often, so the best thing to do is contact the state(s) directly to make sure you follow proper procedure.

Thanks again and I will update Kansas after speaking with them,

Mark

How can I become an unclaimed money finder?

Please provide me with info for New York as to how to become an unclaimed money finder. I recently did a search for myself and I did get a check. I then started searching for relatives and friends and I found a few people I know, so I told them about it. I would like to profit from my assistance in getting them money they never even knew they were owed.

From Mark

Well, Veronica, it sounds like you already are an unclaimed money finder. You’re question should be, “how do I get paid for finding unclaimed money for people?”.

I think you need to forget about the friends and family that you already contacted. Since they already know about it, and you most likely did not have them sign an agreement, they are not legally bound to pay you any compensation.

If they end up getting a large amount, maybe they will throw you something.

Now, for the future, you want to have an agreement in place with someone before you tell them where the money is.

In certain states, you have to make the claimant aware of the details of their unclaimed money including what it is and who is holding it.

In our manual we give letter and agreements that show how to give that information and still get them to sign up with you.

You are interested in finding unclaimed money in New York. Did you go to theNew York State unclaimed money finder page?

There is a lot of information there regarding finding unclaimed money in New York.

I think if you take a look at that page you will have everything you need to know regarding the laws of New York State.

You already know how to search for unclaimed money, you just need to know what introductory letters and agreements to send and then take it from there.

I hope this helps

Unclaimed money finder laws in Delaware

Dear sir, I did not see the first state of Delaware on your list. Could you help me out here?

From Mark:

Larry, The Delaware Unclaimed Money Finder Lawp page is up now.

After you read it, you will probably see why it was one of the states I saved for last.

It is not one of the most favorable states to search for unclaimed money. There are only about 100,000 names on the list and the state does not give the dollar amounts.

There are no restrictions on finders, but there is also not much information to go on.

However, as I mention on the page, that does not mean that you only have to search in Delaware if you live in Delaware.

You can choose any other state or states to search in that have more accounts and actually show the dollar amount.

I hope this helps.

National Association for Money Finders
Is there a national or state organization for professional money finders?

From everything I am learning about this field, it sounds like this profession is in its infancy, just as credit reporting was when I started in that field 30+ years ago. There was no regulation or uniformity.

I am very much interested in finding a national organization for money finders or at least a state level organization.

From Mark

Cindy,

There are no organizations that I know of and I have been doing this for many years. You are correct when you say there is no uniformity, every state makes their own rules. However, there are regulations. You can find more information on that on the state laws page.

I hope this helps.

South Carolina unclaimed money law

Do you have information on unclaimed money law in south carolina?

From Mark
You cannot act as a finder in South Carolina and solicit people using public records.

Their unclaimed money law contradicts their Family Privacy Act.

They leave it as is though because you can contract with a large company and work with them finding unclaimed money for their employees.

I spoke with the Assistant Treasurer to get information and she seemed to have an attitude against finders.

She seemed to have the opinion that it was better for the people that had money coming to them (and nowadays could probably use it more than ever) were better off not getting their money than to pay someone 10-15% for helping them get it back.

NYS Finder Question

Am I allowed to notarize the finder agreement?

Should I enter my own name (finder) as claimant on the claim form in order to have them mail the claim check to me?

What does it mean to “disclose the nature of the property”?

From Mark:
Tamara,
You should check with the state, but I don’t think you should be notarizing the claim form yourself.

No, the claimant needs to be the name of the actual person the money is being held for. If that were the case, anyone could say they were the claimant and have checks mailed to them.

“Disclose the nature of the property” means you need to say what it is such as a savings account, checking account, withheld pay, stocks, bonds, etc.

Which states do you need to be a private investigator in to find unclaimed money?

Do you know which states you need an investigator’s licence to work as an unclaimed money finder?

From Mark
The best thing to do is call a state that you want to search in directly to confirm their laws but I can tell you Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Nevada,North Carolina, North Dakota, and Tennessee are states that you need to be a private investigator to search for unclaimed money in that state.

If you do live in one of these states and you are not a private investigator you can still search for unclaimed money in other states. The laws that you need to follow are the laws for the state that you are searching in, not the state that you live in.

Credit Card Authorization

I ordered your Finder Guide and I’m looking over the Service Agreement. I’d like to receive payment by credit card. Do you have a sample credit card authorization form? What do you think about sending an authorization form with the original agreement? The form will be used only after I have received confirmation of the claim being processed and received by claimant.

From Mark:
Tamara,
No, unfortunately, we do not have a sample credit card authorization form. You would be able to get one from any credit card processor that you used.
I do have to tell you, we used to accept credit cards, but stopped a few years ago. It just wasn’t worth the fees compared to the times we actually used it. 99% of the people either sent a check or money order.
In fact, we have a credit card machine and printer that we’re probably going to put on Ebay.
If you want to try it out, see if you can get a processor that won’t lock you into a long term contract and one that doesn’t have extra fees for terminating service.

Will i need to submit more info?

I submitted a claim form with the information required, how long will it take to receive the unclaimed Money? and what if i move? will there be a request for additional proof of identity?

From Mark
Irene,
Depending on the state, and what is involved, the time to receive you money varies. The average time is 60-90 days. However, sometimes it is much faster, for example, in Wisconsin now, if your social security number matches what the state has and the amount is less than $2000, you can have your money in as little as 10 days.

If you move, and you haven’t received your money yet, notify the state of your new address.

The state should notify you if they require additional proof of identity. All of your specific questions should be directed to the unclaimed funds department of the state that is holding your money that you put a claim in with.

unfamiliar unclaimed money terms

Where can I get explanations of some of the terms I see used in the properties descriptions, such as mutual funds, securities, “other” used to describe the contents of the claim. (in the california controllers website)are these terms a cpa would know? I’m a little out of my element. some I know, but others not.

From Mark:
Gordon,
Those terms are just describing what the asset was before it became “unclaimed”. All you really need to know now is that the asset has become unclaimed and what the dollar amount is.

A mutual fund is a type of investment, “securities” refer to stocks and bonds, “other” can be anything that does not have a category.

If you are worried about calling the claimant and not knowing what it is, all you have to do is tell them “it says mutual funds”, or “it says securities” or “it says other”.

You can be totally honest, tell them exactly what it says on the list but that is all the information you have right now.

If you really want to know what they are, you can go to dictionary.com, use a search engine, all call the state directly and they will tell you.

Before I buy the unclaimed money finder manual

Hi,
I read the entire FAQ page; good coverage of common questions. The ones I didn’t see answers for were these:

1- when I purchase do I get the most updated LISTS for ALL of the 50 states, or do you just give us ONE list?

You get one list to get you started

If so, will it later be up to me to purchase updated ones in the future or do you get a bulk deal and all us finders can form a ‘union’ to save on the cost?

You will need to go to the states directly to get copies of their lists. If we were able to purchase them and then sell them at a discount, we would be more than happy to, but that is not allowed.

Others talk about being able to download these lists into a data management software that lets you search it or ‘mine it’. Do you offer that or know of the best one to use?

You can get by with either Excel or Access depending on the list. Most states use a spreadsheet like Excel. I see you are in Ohio. Ohio has a very large database, almost five million accounts. We use Access for that.

2- to maintain control of the entire sale I believe I need a POA template so I have legal authority to ‘take care of all the details’ for the client including representing him in court and cashing the check into my business account before I cut him his portion of the funds , a Contingency Sale Agreement and a Notary Stamp (ohio). It looks like your package provides the Contingency Agreement. Do you provide a POA template?

We provide agreements as well as Power’s of Attorney, however, the POA does not allow you to have the check made out to you. That is how it used to be done. I do not know if unscrupulous people were abusing it, or if that is what the states were afraid of, but they do not accept them for the most part anymore. California will send one check to the claimant and one to you, but most of the other states send the check to the claimant and you have to invoice them.

We use POA’s more as a smokescreen. We know where the money is being held, but in order to make is seem like it could be held in a variety of places, we’ll send out several POA’s for different agencies.

I’m a notary, but is it legal for me to sign on something if I have a monetary interest ?

That is something you would need to check on with that department, but I wouldn’t think you would be able to be a notary for yourself.

3- it sounds like there are some deals out there big enough to earn 10000.00/month from, that’s what I would think any middle class American would have to bring in per month as a minimum to run a business, pay themselves 4000/mo and have enough to fund their own retirement plan and pay business and personal expenses and taxes. Do you actually do this or just sell the program?

Yes, we still help and recover unclaimed money.

If you go to the Ohio Finders List you will find us on there.

What are the biggest expenses we should expect to run into?

Computer, postage, phone, customer relationship management (CRM) software to keep track of all the follow up you need to do. You can get by with Microsoft Outlook for that.

What’s the learning curve; days? Weeks? Years?

I’m sure it varies from person to person, but finding unclaimed money is not difficult. It is just a matter of getting the lists, locating the people, getting an agreement signed, letting the state know, and waiting to get paid.

When did you ‘hit your stride’?

It’s been so long I can’t remember!

How have things changed?

Most states require you to now put the information on their contracts stating where the unclaimed money is being held now. Most people don’t care and still want you to get the money for them but I think some must take the information and go about getting it themselves.

The reason I say that is because there are some people that no matter how many times you call or send a letter, you cannot get to speak to them.

It’s a weird business though. You run into people that have had family issues like divorce and know the money is there but don’t want to get it because they don’t want their former spouse to have their share.

Where do you see them going?
I think there are going to be more and more opportunities to recover unclaimed money. The number of accounts keep going up for the most part, not down. We are trying out new ways to deal with the fact that you have to state where the money is being held. One way is to send the POA’s for the other agencies and say “listen, we know the State is holding this much money for you. It’s right here in black and white. There are dozens of other agencies where there might be more money being held. Sign this agreement and we’ll get the money that we know is being held, but also sign these POA’s so we can do a more extensive search for you to find even more money.”

Can this be a 40hr/wk career choice for me or is it just a side job?

I would say start off part time and then see where it goes. You may find recovering unclaimed money to be an exciting opportunity, especially when you can make a big difference in someone’s life. Then again, you may find out it is not for you. The only way to know is to try it, but if you start off slow and do it part time you will still have a good idea.

I do have to tell you, I don’t know of anyone working for themselves that puts in only 40 hours a week. It’s usually more like 50-60, but when you’re doing it for yourself, those 60 hours go faster than 40 hours for someone else!

What are the 3 best ‘low hanging fruit’ types of deals I should begin by looking for?

The easiest deals are the ones where you pull up a name on the list, enter there information into Google, 411.com, zabasearch.com, or any other search site and everything comes up exactly the same.

4-assuming all the stars align, I get all the papers needed to control the sale from start to finish, then begin searching and I find the funds for a person; how do I ACTUALLY track down a person that obviously CANNOT BE FOUND BY THEIR OWN STATE???

First off, the state is not trying that hard to track people down. I know most states publish a list in a newspaper once a twice a year. Besides readership declining, how many people even check that.

Also, the unclaimed money departments are staffed with people that get paid the same amount whether they find 10 people a day or 100 people a day. There is no incentive for them to rush.

With millions of accounts, and a handful of staff looking for people, it’s not likely that they cannot find people, it’s just that they are not looking for too many. They just don’t have the time. They are also handling claims from unclaimed money finders and also from the small percentage of people that actually do look for themselves.

You mentioned www.411.com ; is that free to search?

Yes

Does it ALWAYS work for ya?

half the time?

Maybe half the time, I haven’t kept track.

What’s your backup of that doesn’t pull them up?

In some cases you get a choice to get the information for a one time payment of $1.95. There are some sites that you can do unlimited searches for $19.95 and up.

I like to see what I can do without paying anything.

What’s your backup if that doesn’t work?

Move on to the next account

Is is reasonable that you pay to find a person via background search?

If it is a very large sum of money and you just cannot pull yourself away from it to move on to another account.

This seems like the most ‘dubious’ part; YOU can have the paperwork packet together, Find the biggest deal, and be left here holding the bag because you can’t find them.Can you speak more about your case studies in finding people please?

The more you do it, the more you will find yourself being led down trails that you never would have thought to search.

I found one couple that had money being held for them in probate court. The money was left to them from a friend that passed, not a relative.

The money was on the unclaimed money list, but also on the probate court list. Somehow I came across a death certificate online. It had a social security number on it.

Entering the social security number in Google brought me to the probate court page where the two names were together.

Millions of people aren’t that hard to find though. They are not hiding and they are not criminals, they just don’t know they have the money being held for them.

There are millions of accounts that have the same exact name and address on the unclaimed money list as where they are right now.

More names are being added to the lists every day than are coming off the lists. That makes it very difficult for the state unclaimed money departments to keep up, but makes it easier for us!

I hope this helps.

Unclaimed money finder law in Arizona

Hi Mark,
I recently purchase your package and I’m just doing my due diligence. I just have couple of question. Is there any way to find the dollar amount owed to the claimants in AZ? And how would you get a list of names since there is no list to get from the state?

Thanks,
Chris S

From Mark
Chris,
Arizona certainly doesn’t make things easy for you. First off, you have to be a private investigator, which I think you are.
Secondly, there is no list to work off, you have to use missingmoney.com that you can access from their site.

Normally, on missingmoney, if you enter the first few letters of a name you get a bunch of names to come up and it will tell you, more than a $100, less than $100, etc.

I just tried doing that from the Arizona site and yes, if you enter something like “har” in the last name field you will get a lot of names, but the dollar amounts come up unknown.

So, it seems like Arizona is similar to what we have here in New York, it’s a crap shoot. You don’t know if you are going to get $50 or $50,000.

That is why I always say it is best to work with the states that give you the dollar amounts on their lists.

Just because you are in Arizona doesn’t mean you can’t search in other states. As I mentioned, we’re in New York, but the only time I look for anyone here is when I’m requested to, or, when it’s for friends or family.

Also, I do have a friend that works in the loan department for a bank in New York. Every once in a while he will give me a name of someone looking for a loan and we’ll do a search. If they have money coming to them we’ll get an agreement signed and I’ll share it with the loan officer, but that’s about the extent of it in New York.

In Arizona, you’re either going to have to roll the dice and take your chances in the hopes of hitting a big one, or, you can look into other states.

Hope this helps.

Unclaimed Money Finder Forms

where do i get the forms to start to be a money finder?
From Mark:
What forms are you referring to? We give you documents in the manual regarding contacting people, and I believe you have that.
Are you referring to lists or specific agreements for a particular state? If you are referring to something specific to a state, you would need to contact them directly. You can find the information for the states on our Unclaimed State Money page.

and what forms exactly do i need for my first find?
From Mark:
Again, I’m not sure what you mean by that. You need to either send the letter of introduction, call them, or both. I prefer calling them and sending a letter.
You also need to send them an agreement to do the work for them so you are compensated. After that, you would need to send something into the state, but there are different requirements for each state, so you either need to consult the manual or call the state directly.

and if it someone deceased, what proof besides death certificate?
From Mark:
It all depends which state you are working with. For example, if you have a claimant that is deceased and you have a death certificate, you still may have to go through probate court. This also depends on the dollar amount involved. It is not a big deal, but it is one more step that needs to be taken.

do i need to prove that’s his daughter but the moms still alive, who should claim it? to keep things going smoothly?
From Mark:
These are the exact questions that the probate court tries to answer.

thank you for this site i’m very excited to begin, also how do i get people to trust me?
From Mark:
Thank you very much!
Trust is a big step in any business. I had to gain your trust for you to want to purchase the manual and get started in this business. I tried (try) to do that by giving you as much information as possible on this site to show you that this is a legitimate business that myself and others work at to make money.

Like any business you get out of it what you put into it.
If you are persistent and have a strong desire to succeed you will do well.
I mention things in the manual such as having a legal business name, registering your business, having a valid bank account for the business, having good stationary, having a professional answering system, acting professional.

All of these things will help people to trust you. It won’t be easy at the beginning, no business is. However, it is not a difficult business. You are just finding people owed money that they don’t know about, letting them know about it, and helping them get it back. Once you do it for a while, you will see how easy it can be.

Good luck!

states that don’t list the amount of unclaimed money being held

I find that most states don’t list the amount on their websites. Is there any way to get around this and find out what the unclaimed amount is?

From Mark
Tim,
It sounds like you are referring to lists that you are viewing online. Yes, you are correct in the fact that most states do not show that amount.

If you are a professional unclaimed money finder, you would be using lists purchased from the state itself.

Almost all states selling lists to finders show the amounts on them. For instance, if you look online in Ohio, you will be directed to the missingmoney.com website where you will get an approximate amount.

If you are a finder in Ohio, you will get a list and it will show the exact amount. Some states such as New York sell a list, but do not give the dollar amount.

It is in your best interest to use a list provided by the state when you are finding money for other people because most states have laws requiring the money to be held for a certain amount of time before you can go after it.

If you are only using a website, you will not have that information. Again, that information can be found on a list provided by the state.

Payment For Finding Unclaimed Money

are most people willing to pay the finder at least 5 or 10 percent?

From Mark
Pat,
Yes!

After people get their money and realize that this was for real, five to ten percent is nothing to them.

We charge 10% even if the states we are searching for allow more. An example of this would be in Alaska where you can charge 20% if the amount of money being held is under $500.

Most states set the limit you can charge as an unclaimed money finder at 10%, but some don’t have any limit at all.

Even in those states, I don’t recommend charging more than 10%. There is plenty of money out there an there is no need to get greedy.

More importantly, you have to look at it from the clients point of view. If you are only charging 10%, they are more likely to take a chance with you and let you do the work.

If you start asking for 20, 30, or even 50 percent, you are going to have less people signing up for your service.

But yes, 5 to 10 percent is no problem!

Hope this helps.

Property tax excess proceeds or tax overages

Does this material include info on property tax excess proceeds or tax overages? Like how to find the lists & people on this list?

From Mark:

Grace, no it only deals with state unclaimed money, which seems to be where tax overages will be found eventually.

Receiving Unclaimed Money From an Heir

My father had a very unusual name, and therefore I am pretty sure the search I did was his. How would I go about getting his money? He is deceased, and I was not the executor of his estate. For that matter, how do you get money from any parent or grandfather that is deceased?

From Mark:

It varies by state as to the amounts involved, but in almost all cases you will need to go through a probate court.

For example, in Ohio, anything more than $1000 that an heir would like to make a claim to requires you to go through the probate court.

It’s not just enough to say to the unclaimed money department that you are an heir and are entitled to the money, even if you are the sole heir and have a death certificate to show them.

For all they know, the deceased may have a will leaving all of their money to a charity or organization that the heir was unaware of.

The probate court will just make sure everything is distributed correctly and if you are entitled to the unclaimed money it should not be an issue.

The best thing to do is call the individual state directly and get the necessary information from them.

You can get the state contact information here.

unclaimed money finder potential income

How much money can an average locator make working full time?

From Mark
I would rather not put a dollar amount on this but I can give you some useful information.

Like any business, you get out of it what you put into it. Right now, there are millions of people owed billions of dollars in unclaimed money.

These people aren’t hiding, they aren’t criminals, they just don’t know they have money being held for them.

They could have moved without receiving a final severance check and forgot about it in the move. They could have put a deposit down with a utility company to get service and then forgot about it, moved, and the utility company didn’t know where to send it.

The list of reasons why money goes unclaimed goes on and on.

Check out this business I found selling their
California unclaimed money finder business.

In the ad you will see this sentence:

“Purchase Price Can Be Either $190,000 If Work In Progress Is Not Included, Or $255,000 If Claims Filed Are Included.”

That means the seller has $65,000 worth of claims outstanding that they are waiting on.

Why spend $190,000 on a business when I give you everything you need on this site and, if you want everything summed up, plus some additional information, you can purchase the unclaimed money finder manual for $67?

However, I hope that that asking price in the ad gives you an idea of the money you can make when you do pursue this full time and you do put in the time and effort to be successful.

Hope this helps.

unclaimed money finder website

Do we get a website also?

From Mark
Marlene,

It sounds like you are asking if you purchase the unclaimed money finder manual if you get a website like this as well.

You’re not the first person to ask that question.

I have to tell you, for $67 that would be an excellent deal!

No, you do not automatically get a website when you purchase the Guide. However, if you do want a website, we can make one similar to this, www.mymoneyfindersite.com , for $99. You just need to go to the http://mymoneyfindersite.com/header page and pick out the style you want to get started.

It’s still an excellent deal and it’s definitely helpful to have a website in a business like this because after someone receives your letter or gets a phone call from you, they are going to want to make sure you are legitimate. A website with actual refund examples on it will help.

Unclaimed Shares of Stock

I was checking the names on Iowa’s unclaimed money web page and came across a couple (both deceased now) that had 938 shares of stock in a utility company that has changed hands several times.

How is the stock valued with the last and final company to purchase the original Iowa utility company?

The current company’s stock is worth $41 a share. Also I have located well over $300,000 of property in a week and a half!

Some will pay the 5% others don’t want to pay anything. I figure just the volume of names will make up for grumpy stingy persons. I don’t want to deal in contracts.

I visited with a CEO of (name removed) Railroad, and he could not have been nicer when I informed him that I found $71,000 for his company. He said the finder’s reward was very modest.

He is so honest his attorney is going to find out exactly what company deserves the money (the company had changed hands many times since the eighties.

I found a web site that told the whole story of the original railway company and just who then bought out whom.

Sharon

From Mark:
When the unclaimed money department is holding shares of stock, they will return shares of stock to the claimant. It is up to the claimant what they want to do with it.

So, the 938 shares at $41 per share would be worth $38,458. The claimant could sell all the shares, some of the shares, or none of the shares.

If you have a contract with them for 5%, you would still be entitled to $1922.90 (the value of 5% of the shares), or, the claimant could just give you 47 shares of stock, which would be equal to 5%. That is something you would need to work out with them beforehand.

Also, just so you are aware, you can charge up to 15% in Iowa.

Great to hear about all of the money you have been finding!
Michigan unclaimed money updating State website
Is there a time requirement for the State of Michigan to add properties to its website, Unclaimed Properties?

Terri,

The dormancy period in Michigan is three years. That means any entity holding money for someone because they are unable to locate them can hold onto it for three years.

After three years, they are required by law to report it to the State.

So, if you are looking for unclaimed money that is missing for less than three years, chances are it will not be on the website yet.

For more information on specific dates you can check out the Michigan Unclaimed Money Reporting Manual

Hope this helps.

Business is Co-Owner of Unclaimed Money

How does a business prove ownership of unclaimed money? I am the co-owner as an individual and have the proof of ownership requirements, but how does the business entity as co-owner prove ownership?

From Mark

You should be able to prove co-ownership with your FEIN number. They may ask for your state ID also, but not every business has that (for example if you are a sole proprietor and are using your social security number). The best thing to do is call the state directly and ask them what they need from you.

Hope this helps.

What is the best way to aggregate an unclaimed money list

What is the best way to aggregate a list of potential clients. I am currently sending out 2-3 letters at a time. What’s the best way to acquire a huge list of potential clients so I can send more letters out?

From Mark
Mike
I’m not sure I’m understanding your question. I see that you are in California. Did you get the California unclaimed money list? You would need to be registered as a finder to get the list in Califorina, but that is not difficult. That list has millions of names on it, which should be more than enough.

Other states such as Colorado don’t require you to register and Colorado’s unclaimed money finder list has 500,000 names on it which, again, should be more than enough.

If you get a chance go through the state laws on this site and see which ones you would be interested in looking in. You can contact them directly to get specifics on purchasing the lists that are made available to unclaimed money finders.

With millions of people owed unclaimed money, having enough people too contact should not be an issue.

I hope this helps.

Indiana unclaimed money

Does the state have this unclaimed money in an account? Does everyone get the money they have listed on the indiana unclaimed website if they fill out paperwork fully and correctly?

From Mark
Brian,
If you are on the Indiana unclaimed money website and you see your name, then yes, Indiana is holding that money for you.

As long as you fill out the paperwork correctly, yes, you will get your money.

The state may ask for additional information such as identification or proof that you lived at a certain address, but they want to do what they can to give the money back to you when you contact them.

They just need to prove to themselves that you are the rightful owner before giving it back.

Hope this helps.

AZ. Private Investigator License

Can you give me the name of a PI Agency in AZ. that will sponsor me to get my PI license???

From Mark
Don,

Not sure in AZ, but you can try calling 602 223-2361, the Department of Public Safety’s PI licensing division.

They may be able to point you in the right direction.

Hope this helps,

Mark

Question About the Standard Investigator Agreement for California

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your website, it has really fantastic information! My question is in regards to the Standard Investigator agreement that California prefers their investigators to use.

Once the claimant sees that the funds are being held by the State Comptroller’s office, what is to stop them from claiming the funds themselves? Should we then send two customer service agreements? One that is to get them to agree to the 10% fee and then later we send the “standard investigator agreement” reminding them that the first agreement they signed is still valid? I just wanted to make sure I had that right… Thanks for your help!

From Mark:
Brian,
I think most of the time people don’t even put two and two together regarding where the money is being held, but yes, there are some that do.

Are you asking if it is a good idea to send two copies of something like this simple agreement that is only three sentences long that should not be a problem for anyone to sign and that you need that in order to do further investigation?

Then, are you asking when you do receive that signed agreement, should you then send them the agreement that the state requires letting the claimant know that you did some further investigation and found that their money is being held by the State of California and California requires this standard agreement or the claim won’t be processed, yet the original three sentence agreement with the same exact percentage commission is still valid?

Well, I don’t think I really can tell you to do that or not, but it sounds like you are on to something!

You can also send a letter of introduction like we do that tells them where the money is being held and that there is probably more being held for them somewhere else. We do this in states like California where you have to disclose that on the agreement.

The claimant does not know that we are required by law to disclose this. If they check, they will see that they do have money being held for them. Why would we tell them about this money if we didn’t think or know that there was more being held for them?

We’re basically playing on people’s greed and it works!

I hope this helps.

Montana Unclaimed Money Finder Laws

Hi There,
I noticed your state finder’s law list is missing Montana. It would figure that is where I am from! Does Montana just not regulate finders? Thanks for checking!

Montana page is now active. Montana does regulate finders. In Montana you can charge up to 15% as an unclaimed money finder.

Please go to Montana Unclaimed Money Finder Law for more information.

I hope this helps.

Unclaimed money in Minnesota

Good afternoon Mark;

I sent you a question quite awhile ago about handling clients that won’t pay you.

You mentioned in your response that Mn requires that you have a P.I. License to find unclaimed Mn money. I have looked at Minnesota’s unclaimed money laws,and can’t find anything about having to be a P.I. Will you kind enough to tell me the site to go to that states this law.

P.S. I love your website. It’s been very helpful for my Company. Great Job!

From Mark
Eric, thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it.

Regarding Minnesota, yes, they do not mention having to be a private investigator on their unclaimed money statutes.

It comes from their office directly. They say the statutes are just a starting point.

You can read the whole form from their office here, but here is the most important paragraph :

“At its meeting on April 28, 1988, the Board determined that persons engaged in the business of locating unclaimed or abandoned funds for a fee within the State of Minnesota are engaged in the business of a private detective as defined by Minnesota Statute § 326.338, and must be licensed as a private detective by the Board.”

I hope this helps.

Utah will not sell unclaimed money finder lists

Utah does not sell unclaimed money finder lists as you stated and there is a 24 month wait for any finder to step in so how do I find out how much each is I can look up names but no dollar amount. So when I call these people and talk to them about it does it all happen the same or should I be doing something different? And are these notices just in the legal notice part of the papers? I mostly find the auctions not any notices of property being held.

From Mark
Chante,

You are in the same situation we are in in New York. New York does not give the dollar amounts. You are better off searching in states that allow you to see the amounts.

If you want to take your chances on the amounts though, yes, you can go through the same steps. Utah has their own power of attorney that you can download from our site.

I’m not sure where they post the notices, probably the legal section only, you would need to ask the state that question (when and where).

I hope this helps.

Finding money without an Unclaimed Money Finder

Can I go directly somewhere to find if there is money in my name?

From Mark:

Sandy,
I’m not exactly sure what you are looking for, but you can go to the Free Unclaimed Money Search page for a variety of search options or go directly to the State Unclaimed Money page and go directly to a states search page.

I hope this helps.

Maryland Unclaimed Money Finder’s fees

Is there are finder’s fee cap for Maryland? Is there a time limit that you can collect before a finder’s fee kicks in? Is there a time limit before the unclaimed money is turned over?

From Mark
There is no cap on the fee you can charge in Maryland for finding unclaimed money.

You can not charge a fee for finding unclaimed money unless the money being held by the state has been in their possession for at least twenty-four months.

The unclaimed money is held indefinitely. It is never turned over to the state.

You can read more about Maryland unclaimed money at the
Maryland unclaimed money finder law page.

I hope this helps.

Unclaimed money amount

Most states do not list the exact amount that is being unclaimed. The usually have a >100 or100 or

The lists that we use come from the states unclaimed money departments themselves. With these lists, you do get the full amounts owed.

Not every state gives the dollar amount on their list. As I mention throughout the site, we are located in New York, but we do not search in New York because they do not have the dollar amounts listed (which is one of the reasons they owe the most money out of all the states, over $10.5 billion).

So, basically, in answer to your question, you want to go the state(s) directly to get the list from them. You also want to make sure they show the dollar amounts.

I hope this helps.

Outdated Unclaimed Money List?

How do I know these are not outdated list such as old hud refund mortgages insurance?

From Mark
Ray, we give you a state list to get started and it is the most up to date. You can also get other lists from the states and they will send you their most up to date lists.

That HUD thing really leaves a bad taste in peoples mouths, mine included.

I guarantee if you purchase our Ultimate Guide To Your Successful Unclaimed Money Finder Business you will have the most up to date state list. I will show you how to prove it to yourself.

Unclaimed money finders caps

Is there a finder fee cap for Alabama? Do they change after a certain period of time?

From Mark:
Lucy, there is no cap in Alabama. They just say not to charge something “unconscionable”, meaning don’t go crazy with your fees!
You have to look at it from your clients point of view and think of what they would be comfortable with.
The laws don’t change often but it is a good idea to keep up to date with them.
I hope this helps.

Offer the client 2 unclaimed money options

Can the asset finder offer his client 1. to provide the company name, dollar amount owed & forms for a 5% fee(client can do the work himself & save money) or 2. Pay 10% and the assets finder do the work for him in the state of California?

From Mark:
Leon,
California has specific rules you have to follow when you submit claims to them on the clients behalf.
If you were to do the first part of what you are referring to, I am sure you can come up with an agreement on your own which covers that, just letting the client know where the money is and having them send in the forms, and you wouldn’t have to worry about their rules.
However, if you are going to be offering it as an option, it might not pay. In California, you need to register with the state as a finder, which is not a big deal. They have certain rules to follow, and if you have taken all the steps to do that, you’re giving away half of your commission when you only have to take a few extra steps. Plus, California will send you one check and your client another.
Did you check out the Investigators Handbook on the California unclaimed money finder page?
I hope this helps.

Nevada unclaimed money finder question

I am looking for excess money created by property tax overages created by overbids does this money finder P.I. come into play for this kind of service?

From Mark:
Steve,
I do not get involved in those types of monies. You would most likely need to check with the state directly.

Collecting your fee when the claimant won’t pay you.

What legal tactic’s can be implemented when your operating out-of-state and the person you have processed a claim for doesn’t pay you? Suing them is totally cost prohibitive, and is there for not a rational solution. How do you get them to pay you.

From Mark:

Eric, I’m not sure why you say suing is cost prohibitive. You have a signed contract with them. It should fall under the laws of your state. If you sue them in your state, they are obligated to abide by the rules. Most likely, they would not show up, you would win (which you would do even if they did show up), and they would have a judgement against them. That would stick with them until settled.

You could also get a collection agency to go after them, although they would take a percentage of what they recovered.

Rest assured, this does not happen often. Most people are so happy they actually received money and were not a victim of a scam that they happily pay!

I noticed you are in Minnesota. Did you know Minnesota pays you directly if you are a unclaimed money finder? You do need to be a private investigator to look for unclaimed money in Minnesota. You can either take steps to become a PI (if you are not already one), or you can partner with a private investigator, do the work under them, and share in the commission.

I hope this helps.

Unclaimed Money Reporting Software

Hello!

I was wondering if you would be willing to add us under your references for unclaimed property?

We are the official NAUPA approved software provider for holders to report unclaimed property so owners can find their money.

Here is our website:

http://upexchange.byetm.com

and here is the

NAUPA website talking about our software.

Please let me know if you have questions and we appreciate your help!

Thank you,

Sherry Hale
Eagle Technology Management

From Mark:

Sherry, that would be my pleasure!

I have added information regarding your software at the bottom of our NAUPA information page.

You can access it here:
http://unclaimed-money-finder.net/NAUPA.html

Thank you,

Mark

will they know where the unclaimed money is

When you contact people won’t they know where the money is and collect themselves?

From Mark:
The introductory letters and script that we use are vague and don’t give specifics. We also use a “smokescreen”, giving them extra information that is not relevant, but makes them think there is more work involved that they would rather you take care of.

If the check goes straight to the person will they still pay us?
From Mark:
As long as you have an agreement, they are obligated to pay you. Most people are happy that they actually received money and it was not a scam, that they have no problem paying you.

What is the response rate?
From Mark:
I don’t have an exact percentage, but it is more than 75% (at least three out of four) are responsive. Like any business, you have to work at it, keep good notes, and follow up.

Can you make decent money at this?
From Mark:
I don’t know what you would call “decent”, but yes, you can make good money from this. There is so much money being held, and so many people that don’t know about it. Like any business, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

WHAT ARE THE LIMITS YOU CAN CHARGE FOR FINDING UNCLAIMED MONEY

Where can I find out what are the limits you can charge in every state? Right now I am interested in Alabama

From Mark:

Kat, just check out the “Finder Laws” link on the left of this page. There are links to almost every states laws (every state will be up there soon). The percentage commission you can charge is one of the first things mentioned.

Alabama has no limit to what you can charge. You can read more about that on the Alabama link, or by clicking here: http://www.unclaimed-money-finder.net/Alabama-Unclaimed-Money-Finder.html

where can get the forms i need to fill out for unclaimed money in Florida

marcella i need the froms

From Mark:

Marcella,

If this is in Florida, please go to:

http://www.fltreasurehunt.org/ControlServlet?ActionForm=GotoNewPublicSearch

Please let me know how you do.

Good luck!
Which states can you collect on behalf of the person
I know some state will not let you collect on behalf of the person owed the money. Are there any states that I can get a person under contract and send all the paperwork for them and receive the check? Is Alabama one of these states?

From Mark:

Heidi, we don’t work with every single state, so I cannot speak for all of them, but California is a state that will send you your share of the money as long as your agreement is worded that way.

This is from the California Investigators Handbook:

“In cases where the wording in the Investigator Agreement specifically assigns to the investigator/heir finder a percentage of the payment, we will mail two warrants for each claim. One warrant, made payable to the claimant, will be mailed directly to the claimant for his or her agreed-upon percentage; and a second warrant, made payable to the investigator/heir finder, will be mailed directly to the investigator/heir finder for his or her agreed-upon percentage. An example of wording in an Agreement that would allow for two warrants to be mailed is: “Claimant assigns to the Investigator a percentage not to exceed 10% of the net assets which the Claimant in fact recovers.””

So, they will send the claimant their share and send you your percentage commission.

Alabama does not pay you directly.

Montana will send a check to the finder as long as the Power of Attorney specifically calls for that.
How to find unclaimed money in more than one state
Question, my partner and I have an LLC setup for general investments, and we want to branch into this area. one question we have, do we have to get a foreign qualification in order to do business in each state that we locate for? nobody seems to be able to answer this question for us. for instance, the company is based in texas, and we are looking at doing asset location in louisiana. do we need to get a foreign qualification for our company to be able to do this?

From Mark:
Jason,
Do you plan on opening an office in Louisiana? If not, and you are finding unclaimed money from your Texas office, you shouldn’t need a foreign qualification.
Our office is based in New York. However, we do not really look for unclaimed money in New York unless requested to do so because the dollar amounts are not given on the unclaimed money list.
We look for unclaimed money in Alaska, California, Ohio, etc. but do not have a foreign qualification because we do not have offices there.
If we were opening an office in any of these states we would probably have to get it, but as far as finding in one state when you’re in another, you do not need it.

Corporate Unclaimed Property

Hi,

I’m trying to help some large corporations retrieve their unclaimed property, but I haven’t been getting a response to any of my emails, letters…etc. Do you find that getting corporations to become clients is more difficult than individuals? What would you recommend to become more appealing to corporations? Thanks.

From Mark:

Patrick,
Yes, it is definitely easier to sign up individuals than it is corporations. The main problem I have found with corporations is that nobody wants to take responsibility. Most employees are happy to do the bare minimum of whatever their job description is. That doesn’t mean that you cannot sign up corporations, it just takes more work. Corporations may have more money being held for them, so you need to determine what is worth it.

One thing you need to do is figure out who the decision maker is there. You need to know whose wallet this effects. An employee gets paid the same amount whether they help you or not, but it may have more of an impact on the owner or decision make.

One thing I have done, and again, you have to ask yourself if it is worth it, is send out information via FedEx. You don’t need to send it FedEx, you can go UPS or Priority Mail from the post office, but if you send it FedEx, you know it is going to get their attention and it will get opened.

Then you can follow up with a phone call.

I hope this helps.
Money Finder Laws
If one state has one set of money finder laws as to how much you can charge and another state has different amounts, so you are looking for a person in one state but has moved to another state what state law do you follow? Where the person lives or where the money is being held? Thanks

From Mark:
You need to follow the unclaimed money laws for the state the money is being held in. It does not matter where the person is living.

State Unclaimed Money Finder
Is this only for state unclaimed money?

Answer from Mark:

Kat, most of the information is geared towards state unclaimed money.

However, if you go through the site, especially the “free search” page, you will see that there are many federal agencies that have unclaimed money being held.

You can edit the documents to coincide with the department(s) you are working with.
Click here to post comments.
How Do I Find Out If I Have Unclaimed Money?
How do I find out if I have unclaimed money?

From Mark:

Diana, did you go to the “Free Search” page? You will find many valuable resources on that page. You should check out any states you may have lived in, with both a maiden and married name if necessary.

Also, take a look at any federal unclaimed money links including the Internal Revenue Service, and Pension Funds.

I hope this helps.
Unclaimed Pension
Hi, have you any idea where I could start finding unclaimed money in a pension? I had a pension many years ago, but I have no record of it and the company went out of business long ago.

Answer by Mark:

Sophie,
You can start with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Their web address is http://pbgc.gov

PBGC is a federal corporation created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. that protects pensions of workers and retirees.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you are successful.
UK Unclaimed Premium Bonds
Hi I had some premium bonds when I was a child – a long time ago:) I have no record of the numbers, denomination etc but I do know they were never cashed in. Since then I’ve married twice and moved several times. Is there any way I can tell if I’ve won a fortune, or even a small amount?

Hoping you can help me find an answer to this.
Thanks
Caroline

Answer from Mark:

Caroline,

Thank you for your question. Here is a link for you to check on unclaimed premium bonds:
http://www.nsandi.com/products/pb/haveYouWon

However, since you do not have any information on numbers, etc., there is a tracing service available to you. Here is the link to that:

http://www.nsandi.com/help/tracing_service

There is no time limit to claiming unclaimed premium bonds, so if you have anything there, it should still be there. Since you were a child at the time, you should look under your maiden name and the address you were at to get started.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you are successful in your search!
Do I need to purchase anything else besides the unclaimed money finder package?
Hello,
I am interested in buying the unclaimed money finder package. Is that all I will need to purchase from you, or will there be something else that is not mentioned now?

Answer from Mark:

Jeannie,

Thank you for your question. No, you do not need to purchase anything else from us. Besides the unclaimed money finder manual, we supply you with a state unclaimed money list to get you started.

If, in the future, you wanted to work with another state it’s possible you would need to purchase a list from them, but there is nothing else to buy from us.

Thank you,

Mark