(Part 2 of 2)

Even though there are many more, Illinois lists the following as the most common sources of missing money: abandoned savings and checking accounts, unpaid wages or commissions, stock, bonds, mutual funds, un-cashed dividends, customer deposits or overpayments, credit balances, refunds, money orders, travelers checks, paid-up life insurance policies, safe deposit box contents. Anyone who has had or knows someone who may have had one of these accounts at some point in the past is encouraged to search regularly.

The Illinois State Treasury has returned more than $432 million since it took control of the unclaimed property program in 1999, $84 million of which was given back in 2006 alone, but with 1.4 Billion dollars waiting to be claimed and more coming in every year, the mountain of cash will keep on growing.

Because money is constantly added to the fund, it's very important to search regularly, not just one time. Money belonging to you might be added tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or depending on the type of property in 5 years if that is the proper dormancy period. Each type of property has its own dormancy period in each state, after which state laws make the holder turn it over to the state who will then hold on to it until the true owner steps forward to claim it.

Additionally, residents of Illinois may be owed unclaimed property in other states even if they have never resided in or even set foot in them. Items like insurance overpayments when an employer uses an out of state insurance company can cause found money to wind up in other states. Also, issues often arise when corporations are incorporated in another state.

The bottom line is that the state of Illinois is currently holding a large amount of cash that belongs to its residents who simply need to learn the proper ways to search, how often to search, and where to search. Learning these search methods from locators with years of experience in this field can greatly enhance your abilities to locate your money.

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State wants to return $360 million – you could have share (KTVZ Bend)
The state of Oregon is trying to return more than $360 million in unclaimed property to more than 1 million rightful owners – and you can check if there's any for you, online.

Unclaimed lottery ticket bought in Benicia worth nearly $800,000 (The Vacaville Reporter)
Someone bought a winning California lottery ticket worth nearly $800,000 at a Benicia pharmacy but has yet to come forward to claim the cash prize, a state spokesman said late last week.

Unclaimed money is owed to a million Oregonians – Statesman Journal
The state of Oregon is in possession of more than $360 million in financial assets and some of it could be yours, according to the State Treasurer's office. The money, which really belongs to more than 1 million people, has ended up in the state's …