(Part 1 of 2)

Montana is often referred to as "Big Sky Country" and has been nicknamed the "Treasure State", but perhaps the state should consider combining the two to form a new nickname – "Big Treasure Country", because at last check, the state's Department of Revenue is currently holding in excess of $21 million in Montana unclaimed money. Across the country, states are taking in more cash annually than they are able to return to the rightful owners, and Montana is not an exception.

The main problem people have in tracking down missing money is a lack of education in this area that prevents them from utilizing the most important search tactics, but it's even harder in Montana because the state doesn't maintain any online search capabilities through their own state site. For a number of reasons the state's own records can often be unreliable, but the issue is greater when the only place to check these records is a third party website which the state must tell about any and all updates.

Montana unclaimed property can come from a number of sources, the most common of which are: uncashed checks, drafts, state warrants, uncashed payroll checks, utility deposits, interest dividends or income, savings and checking accounts, safe deposit box contents, credit balances, customer overpayments, gift certificates, unidentified remittances, stocks, bonds and uncashed coupons. Each of those types of properties has its own individual dormancy period in each state. The dormancy period is the amount of time that must go by before a piece of abandoned money is considered "unclaimed" and handed over to the state. The dormancy periods for most types of assets range from 1 to 5 years, but are longer in certain cases.

(to be continued)

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Millions in
More than $400 million belonging to Nevada residents remain

I don't understand how someone can spend their hard earned

Nearly $6M in Idaho lottery prizes
Workman says in fiscal year 2010, nearly $3.7 million worth of prizes went

(Part 2 of 2)

Montana unclaimed property can come from a variety of sources, the most common of which are: drafts, uncashed checks, uncashed payroll checks, state warrants, interest dividends or income, utility deposits, safe deposit box contents, savings and checking accounts, customer overpayments, credit balances, unidentified remittances, gift certificates, bonds and uncashed coupons, stocks. Each of those types of assets has its own individual dormancy period in each state. The dormancy period is the time that must pass before a piece of abandoned money is classified as "unclaimed" and passed along to the state. The dormancy periods for the majority of types of assets range from 1 to 5 years, and occassionally longer in certain cases.

Due to the widely varying dormancy periods, Montana unclaimed property are constantly being turned over, and state workers aren't able to update the abandoned assets records each time an asset comes in. Beyond all of that, third party websites that actually make this data searchable can only be as reliable as the information the state gives them. It's for this reason that anyone seeking lost money should search not just one time, but repeatedly, and search regularly. It would be incredibly disappointing to search on one day, find nothing, and give up, when searching again in another day, week, month, or year would uncover a heap of cash waiting to get up close and personal with your wallet.

Beyond just searching frequently, Montana residents ought to search the records of other states to find out if they are owed a a chunk of the tens of billions of dollars in abandoned assets across the country. There are a number of reasons that a state other than the home state could owe someone a claim, but they are most commonly items like money owed by an insurance company that is headquartered out of state, or money owed from former employer who is based in a different state Even for a person that has never been out of their home state, it's possible for other states to be holding claims in the person's name.

There are a whole host of issues that pester beginners in unclaimed property searches, but all of these can be overcome simply by learning search tactics from experienced searchers before starting the quest.

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Excellus: $1.25M in
Banks, utilities, investment companies and some other business also turn over

Millions in unclaimed money, property unclaimed in Nevada
More than $400 million belonging to Nevada residents remain unclaimed, according to State Treasurer Kate Marshall.

Unclaimed money totals $2 billion
One out of 10 Massachusetts residents has some money that they haven't claimed in years.

(Part 1 of 2)

Montana is often known as "Big Sky Country" and is nicknamed the "Treasure State", but perhaps the state should think about combining the two to form a new nickname – "Big Treasure Country", because as it stands, the state's Department of Revenue is currently holding more than $21 million in Montana unclaimed money. Across the country, states are taking in more cash every year than they are able to give back to the actual owners, and Montana is no exception.

The number one issue people have in locating abandoned assets is a lack of knowledge on the matter that keeps them from utilizing the most important search tactics, but it's even harder in Montana because the state does not maintain any online search capabilities through their own state web site. For a number of reasons the state's own records can often be unreliable, but the issue is larger when the only way to check these records is a third party website which the state must tell about any and all updates.

(to be continued)

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Excellus Reports $1.25 Million In
Rochester, N.Y. – Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield is looking for subscribers who have about $1.25 million in

Pop singer Jason Mraz has unclaimed money in W.Va.
West Virginia's treasurer wants Jason Mraz to come pick up his money.

Loose change: $1M cost for $400K donation
Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) that seeks to take about $400,000 annually in

(Part 2 of 2)

Beyond just searching often, Montana residents ought to check the databases of other states to find out if they are owed a portion of the tens of billions of dollars in missing money across the country. There are a handful of reasons that a state that is not the home state might owe someone a claim, but they're most commonly items like money owed by an insurance company that is headquartered out of state, or cash owed by a former employer who's headquarters is in a different state Even for a person that has never left their home state, it's possible for other states to be holding money in the person's name.

There are dozens of issues that plague beginners in unclaimed property searches, but all of these can be overcome simply by learning search tactics from experienced searchers before starting the quest.

–

Peter Franchot's Indiana Jones fantasy: Fulfilled
But, to Peter Franchot

Jackson Hewitt® Reminds Taxpayers About More Than $1 Billion in
States with the highest number of

APNewsBreak: AmEx pulls gift cards from NJ
It saw unused gift cards, travelers' checks and

(Part 1 of 2)

Montana is often referred to as "Big Sky Country" and has been nicknamed the "Treasure State", but perhaps the state should consider combining the two for a new nickname – "Big Treasure Country", because as it stands, the state's Dept. of Revenue is currently holding in excess of $21 million in Montana unclaimed money. Across the nation, states are taking in more cash each year than they are able to return to the actual owners, and Montana is no exception.

The primary issue people have in finding missing money is a lack of knowledge on the matter that keeps them from utilizing the most important search tactics, but it's even harder in Montana because the state does not keep any online search capabilities through their own state web site. For a number of reasons the state's own records can often be unreliable, but the issue is larger when the only place to consult these records is a third party site which the state must notify of any and all updates.

Montana unclaimed property can come from a variety of sources, the most common of which are: uncashed checks, drafts, state warrants, uncashed payroll checks, utility deposits, interest dividends or income, savings and checking accounts, safe deposit box contents, credit balances, customer overpayments, gift certificates, unidentified remittances, stocks, bonds and uncashed coupons. Each of those types of assets has its own individual dormancy period and even those vary widely within each state. The dormancy period is the time that must go by before a piece of missing cash is classified as "unclaimed" and passed along to the state. The dormancy periods for most types of assets range from 1 to 5 years, but are longer in certain cases.

Due to the wide range of dormancy periods, Montana unclaimed property are constantly being handed over, and state employees are not able to update the missing money records each time a property comes in. Beyond all of that, third party web sites that actually make these listings searchable can only be as reliable as the data the state provides them. It's for this reason that anyone looking for lost cash should search not once, but repeatedly, and search regularly. It would be very disappointing to search on one day, find nothing, and give up, when checking back in another day, week, month, or year might uncover a pile of cash with your name on it.

(to be continued)

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Veterans’ remains go unclaimed, unburied, sometimes for years
A Senate bill would instruct the Department of Veterans Affairs to work with veterans organizations to find and identify the unclaimed remains of former service members and, if theyre eligible, Click to Continue »

Suburban residents leave $300 million in tax credits
University of Chicago economics professor Saurabh Bhargava has studied why some of these financial benefits go

$1M cost for $400K donation
A bill to send unclaimed money at airports to the USO would come at a price.

(Part 2 of 2)

Due to the widely varying dormancy periods, Montana unclaimed property are constantly being handed over, and state employees are not able to update the missing money database each time an asset comes in. On top of that, third party websites that actually make this data searchable are only as reliable as the data the state provides them. It's for this reason that anyone seeking lost cash ought to search not just one time, but many times, and check back often. It would be incredibly disappointing to search on a given day, find nothing, and just give up, when searching again in another day, week, month, or year could uncover a heap of cash waiting to get up close and personal with your wallet.

In addition to searching often, Montana residents ought to search the records of other states to find out if they are due a portion of the tens of billions of dollars in missing money across the country. There are a handful of reasons that a state other than the home state could owe someone money, but they are most commonly things like money owed by an insurance company that is headquartered out of state, or money owed from former employer who's headquarters is in another state. Even for a person that has never been out of their home state, it is possible for other states to be holding money in the person's name.

There are a whole host of issues that plague beginners in unclaimed property searches, but they can all be overcome simply by learning search strategies from experienced searchers before starting the quest.

–

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