New Yorkers, Do You Know You Might Have Some Of Your Money In Unclaimed Funds?
The state of New York has a large amount of unclaimed funds that belong to its citizens. There are about $8 billion unclaimed funds available in the state currently, of which annually only 32% are claimed. Out of this large number of NY unclaimed funds, only about $168.5 million are paid yet, so the amount unpaid still remains at a very large figure. Most of the New York state unclaimed money is in the form of paltry amounts like $50 and $100, but they constitute only 58% or less of the total. At the same time, some funds are really quite high in amount. At least one person has a rightful claim to $1.7 million singly, from these unclaimed funds, and in 2005, an estate of $5.9 was given by the state of New York from the unclaimed funds it possessed to the legal heirs.
These monies are collected by the office of unclaimed funds from banks, corporations, brokers and dealers, insurance companies, state court funds and other such sources. Banks provide the largest share of these funds. If you have an account with a bank and you stop operations on it without terminating it, then after sometime, the amount enters into the unclaimed treasury of the state. Currently, the New York State unclaimed funds are available for distribution. Amounts left with the bank from the savings and checking accounts, and checks that are not cashed will all become part of this fund. Refunds that you get through mortgage payments, for example, will enter this fund if it is unclaimed. Sometimes, estates remain unclaimed for when the heirs cannot be located. If someone can prove that these unclaimed funds in New York belong to them, then the State will willingly hand over the funds to them.
There is no fee to claim any of the New York State unclaimed funds if you approach them yourself. But if it proves difficult for you to handle the paperwork that is required for proving your claim over the funds, or to locate if you have any funds that you can claim in the state's treasury, then there are several private companies that can help you. They will assist you in finding how many funds you have available to you, if any, and how you can go about securing those in your name. For their services, the private companies can take a charge of 15% of the total claimed amount, and no more. Hence, if you are hiring a private company to find out your unclaimed funds in New York, then you must keep this point in mind. If you handle the procedure yourself, then there is no fee.
There are some requirements to prove your claims to the office of unclaimed funds. According to the laws laid down by the New York State Comptroller's Office, the following things are necessary to be shown:-
- Social security number
- Proof of connection with the claimed amount
- Address of the record of the claimed amount
- Signature proof When you approach the Comptroller's Office, either directly or through a private company for claiming your NY unclaimed funds, you will not be told the dollar value of the funds until and unless you can prove your claim to them. But once you show the proof, payouts are quick. You even stand to gain due interest amounts on funds that originally attracted interest, such as savings accounts, and only for a period of five years after the funds were available to them. The approximate annual interest rate is 6%. In case of any queries, the NY office of unclaimed funds is open from 7:00 am EST to 5:00 pm EST from Mondays to Fridays. They can be contacted at the number 1-800-221-9311 or 518-270-2200. The procedure for New York state unclaimed property is slightly different and is a separate topic in itself.
|
