 Finding
a childhood bank account
|
 Dear
Dr. Don,
How do I find my savings account, opened through
the school when I was a child? It is basically unclaimed and has
been since 1960-something.
-- Linda Lost
 Dear
Linda,
The good news is that finding the money that
was in your childhood savings account should be fairly straightforward.
Banks turn those balances over to the state, and the state holds
on to the money until its owner contacts them to claim the funds.
You won't need to contract with a property locator or heir finder
to locate this account.
The length of time before the account was considered
abandoned varies by state. Whether the account continues to earn
interest for the owner, at what interest rate and for how long,
also depends on state law. The Bankrate feature, "How
to find unclaimed money and property," helps you search
by state and another Bankrate feature, "States
hold treasure trove of unclaimed property," explains unclaimed
property issues in greater depth.
The states, for the most part, have done a great
job of making this as consumer friendly as possible. It's easy to
get hooked on looking through the different states you've lived
in to see if you or your relatives have any money lying about. I
found an abandoned bank account for my cousin the last time I played
this game. Happy hunting!
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