(Part 2 of 2)

Even though there are quite a few more, IL names the following as the most common types of forgotten funds: credit balances, customer deposits or overpayments, safe deposit box contents, money orders, refunds, paid-up life insurance policies, travelers checks, unpaid wages or commissions, abandoned savings and checking accounts, bonds, stock, un-cashed dividends, mutual funds. People who have had or know someone who may have had one of these types of accounts at some point in the past is encouraged to search regularly.

The IL State Treasury has returned over $432 million since it took control of the unclaimed money program in 1999, 84 million dollars of which was returned in 2006 alone, but with 1.4 Billion dollars waiting to be claimed and more coming in every year, the mountain of cash will continue to grow.

Due to the fact that money is always being added to the fund, it is important to search regularly, not just one time. Money belonging to you could be added tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or depending on the type of asset 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 require the holder to hand it over to the state who will then hold it until the true owner steps forward to claim it.

Additionally, residents of IL may be owed unclaimed money in other states even if they've 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 come up corporations are incorporated in another state.

The bottom line is that the state of IL is currently home to a large amount of money that is owed to its residents who simply need to learn the correct ways to search, where to search, and how often to search. Learning these search tips from locators with years of experience in this field can greatly enhance your abilities to find your money.

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Federal health care tax credits going unclaimed (News-Medical-Net)
"Federal healthcare benefits are going unclaimed by an estimated 17,000 Californians whose jobs were moved overseas or retirees whose pensions are being paid by the government after their former employers terminated their retirement plans," the Los Angeles Times reports."

Where Money (Maybe Yours) Goes Begging (New York Times)
The existence of a state Office of Unclaimed Funds raises a fundamental question: How do people, even collectively, lose track of $9.9 billion?

$2.5M Hoosier lotto jackpot still unclaimed – KABC
INDIANAPOLIS — It's enough money to pay off a mortgage. A dozen mortgages, actually. Or invest, retire and live comfortably. You could even throw a crazy Hollywood-style party in the heartland with that kind of cash. But the $2.5 million Hoosier …