Missouri has over a billion dollars in unclaimed funds. You can check if any is yours.

Andrew Sullender, Springfield News-Leader
·2 min read
The Treasurer's Office currently manages over $1.3 billion of unclaimed property. According to their office, one in ten Missourians have unclaimed property, and the average return is nearly $300.
The Treasurer's Office currently manages over $1.3 billion of unclaimed property. According to their office, one in ten Missourians have unclaimed property, and the average return is nearly $300.

It could be time to check if your money is being held among the State of Missouri's more than $1 billion of unclaimed property.

Every year financial institutions, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations turn over millions of dollars in cash and the contents of safe deposit boxes to the Missouri Treasurer’s Office. This occurs after these entities have not had contact with the owner for more than five years.

“As State Treasurer I am excited to return as much unclaimed property to rightful owners as I can..." state treasurer Vivek Malek said earlier this year shortly after being appointed by Gov. Mike Parson. “I am looking forward to being able to work with a dedicated staff to return millions more dollars to Missourians during my administration.”

The Treasurer's Office currently manages over $1.3 billion of unclaimed property. According to their office, one in ten Missourians have unclaimed property, and the average return is nearly $300.

How do I find out if I have unclaimed funds in Missouri?

Interested readers can visit showmemoney.com and search for their name to see if they have unclaimed property in possession of the state of Missouri. Unclaimed.org will direct those who may have unclaimed property in other states.

If an individual does not have unclaimed property in possession of the state, they can sign up for email alerts at the same website to notify you if unclaimed property with a name similar to yours is turned over to the Missouri State Treasurer’s office in the future.

There is no time limit for filing claims. If the property was reported to the Treasurer as an interest-bearing account, the owner will be paid up to seven years interest on the cash property.

What kind of unclaimed property would show up on the Missouri unclaimed property list?

Unclaimed money or assets can, among other things, include

  • Cash from bank accounts

  • Stocks and bonds

  • Contents of safe deposit boxes that have been abandoned

  • Uncollected insurance policy proceeds

  • Government refunds

  • Utility deposits and wages from past jobs

Contents of safe deposit boxes contain family heirlooms, jewelry and other keepsakes. Some of the most precious items recovered from safe deposit boxes are military medals and insignia. As of 2010, no military medal or honor held will be auctioned or sold. Information about the names and last known addresses of the safe deposit box owners from which the medals and insignia were found is available at Treasurer.mo.gov/Military.

Unclaimed Property does not handle real property such as land, houses, cars and boats.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri has over a billion dollars in unclaimed funds. Is any yours?