This is your friendly reminder to check MissingMoney.com for any assets you may have forgotten about. MissingMoney.com is a website endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators and the best place to begin your search for unclaimed assets.

Also, in twenty four states, unused gift cards are considered unclaimed property after five years. Depending on the laws of your state, the value of the gift cards, minus maintenance fees, must be turned over to the state government as unclaimed property. Remember, the CARD Act prevents gift cards from expiring for five years so in the coming years you may see more of your gift cards turned over as unclaimed assets. As of late last year, Colorado had more than $13 million worth of unused gift cards, so this isn’t a negligible amount.

I check every state I’ve ever lived in, as you never know when property will be “released” to the unclaimed assets division. Finding out whether you have an unclaimed assets should take you only a few minutes, claiming the assets will take a little longer depending on the process of the state.

Jim writes about personal finance at Bargaineering.com.

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