(Part 1 of 2)

Most people know Tennessee for its country music and world famous barbecue, but the state is also home to one lesser-known treasure – unclaimed property. In fact the TN Treasury Dept. adds tens of millions of dollars in Tennessee Unclaimed Money to its total every year, and just a fraction of it is ever reunited with the rightful owners. In turn, this heap of cash grows larger and larger every year.

The TN Treasury Dept. %took in% about 40 million dollars in unclaimed property in 2006 alone, and only returned $20 million to the actual owners. This means that another $20 million was added to the already swollen heap of cash that remains unclaimed. This trend of returning just a small portion of what the state gets every year is consistent across the nation because of a lack of education about these monies. The fact is, most citizens are simply not aware of the tens of billions out there waiting to be found.

States do things like annually publishing names in local newspapers of the people who are owed property and setting up tables at county fairs to help awareness, but the message still just reaches a tiny fraction of the people. Even among those who are aware of the potential to find these lost assets, only a few know where to begin their search. A lot of people fall in to the trap of believing that any old forgotten funds website will do, while others don't realize that they need to search more than once. There are quite a number of issues that uninformed searchers run in to, but those are some of the most common.

(to be continued)

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California helps owners of unclaimed property
Hundreds of folks with unclaimed money – old bank accounts, overlooked stock shares, forgotten refunds – are getting a chance to retrieve it without going through state government.

Unclaimed cash can be windfall for towns
They are the state’s financial orphans — roughly $2 billion in unclaimed assets ranging from forgotten savings accounts and uncashed checks to forlorn safety deposit boxes.

How to Find Unclaimed Money Held by Local Governments
If you have ever done business with your local government or applied for a permit or license, or that sort of thing, chances are higher that you have unclaimed money held by your city waiting for you to claim it. Check out these tips and tricks to search for unclaimed cash being held by your city or town.