What is Unclaimed Money in Vermont?
Per Vermont abandoned property law, unclaimed money refers to cash and financial assets that have been deemed abandoned following a period of dormancy. Unclaimed property include, but is not restricted to, inactive checking accounts, uncashed paychecks, contents of safe deposit box items, mutual funds, and other current accounts. Other forms of unclaimed money include unpaid invoices, unused gift certificates, unused deposits, rejected dividend checks, uncashed payroll checks, uncashed interest checks, and unpaid invoices.
When the specified dormancy period elapses, the unclaimed money or property is transferred to the state’s possession. The process of transferring possession of abandoned assets or accounts to government authority is known as escheatment. The Vermont State Treasurer's Office's Unclaimed Property Division reunites Vermont people with assets that have been lost or abandoned. To prevent escheatment, account holders must maintain up-to-date records on bank accounts, insurance policies, stock certificates, utility and rent deposits, and safe deposit box locations.
The Vermont state treasurer's office is in charge of receiving and safeguarding all forms of unclaimed money and assets until they can be returned to the rightful owner. The Vermont Statutes Title 27: Property, Chapter 18: Unclaimed Property law governs the procedures for reporting and disbursing unclaimed assets. It prevents holders of unclaimed funds from adding it to their business income and gives a single source for retrieving unclaimed money.
How to Find Unclaimed Money in Vermont
The Vermont state treasurer's unclaimed property database is the state’s official resource for unclaimed money claimants. It features 760,000 properties worth more than $99 million. Interested members of the public may perform an unclaimed property search by the name of the claimant, or the name of a business or by city. Whatever the case, the requesting party will be required to provide information required to facilitate the search such as the name of the claimant, other relevant information (like a birth date or business registration number). Alternatively, the requesting party may query the office for unclaimed money information by sending a mail to:
Office of the State Treasurer
109 State Street Montpelier,
VT 05609
Email: unclaimed.property@vermont.gov
How Do I Find Vermont Unclaimed Money for Free?
The Vermont unclaimed property database is completely free to use. There are also federal agencies that are tasked to receive and process unclaimed funds and properties related to a particular sector of the country through the escheatment process; some of these agencies work directly with the Vermont treasurer's office; others require claimants to visit their sites. Examples of some of the federal agencies are:
US Department Of Veteran Affairs (Unclaimed Veteran Funds/Benefits and Insurance)
The US Department of Veteran Affairs hosts the Veteran Funds Database that claimants can use to track down insurance reimbursements, dividend checks, and premium refunds delivered to policyholders but returned by the USPS. These payments are kept by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The policies in question are/were part of the following programs:
- United States government life
- National service life insurance
- Veterans' special life insurance
- Veterans disabled insurance
- Service-disabled insurance
Interested individuals can search for unclaimed funds using the veteran's last name or first name as keywords. After a quick search, claimants are required to download a claims form along with proof of identification. The department of veteran affairs does not pay out claims whose only proof of ownership is confirmation of name. Claim forms are to be submitted to any of the VA centers across the country.
US Department Of Housing and Urban Development (FHA Insured Mortgage Refunds)
Several thousand homeowners who have or had FHA-insured mortgages are entitled to unclaimed HUD refunds. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) guarantees mortgages issued by local lenders and forecasts the number of defaults it will see each year. It calculates the insurance premiums that home buyers must pay throughout the year based on this prediction. Borrowers share in the remaining money via HUD Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) Refunds and Distributive Shares, a percentage of the excess revenues from the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, if fewer defaults occur than expected.
Homeowners can search the HUD unclaimed property database to search and process claims. The average refund is between $800 and $1500 per homeowner after successful claims.
Claims can also be made in person by visiting the office:
451 7th Street, S.W.,
Washington, DC 20410
Phone: (202) 708-1112
US Department Of Labor (Unclaimed Fund From Unpaid Wages)
The department of labor frequently obtains unpaid wages on behalf of workers. These unpaid wages are a result of worker pay violations. Former employees who have moved on without providing a forwarding address have overdue pay collected on their behalf. If the department is unable to locate the owners of these monies after 3 years the funds are sent to the treasury and can be claimed at any time by a rightful owner. Workers who have money owed to them by the office can search through the official department's database to get funds released to them.
Inquires and claims can be made at the department office located at:
200 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20210
National Credit Union Association (Unclaimed Deposits)
When the owner of a credit union account fails to make a deposit or withdrawal for a prolonged period, or when a statement or other formal correspondence is returned undelivered by the post office, the account is deemed dormant and unclaimed. Even if an account passbook is lost or destroyed, unclaimed money can be recovered after years of inactivity, but owners must act quickly to protect their interest, as some claims have time limits. The national credit union association keeps a list of unclaimed money that is accessible on the union's official website.
Pension Benefits Guarantee Corporation (Unclaimed Pension)
If a pension plan no longer exists because it was closed or taken over by the pension agency, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. provides a searchable database to allow affected persons search for an obtain unclaimed funds and benefits.
How to Claim Unclaimed Money in Vermont
To file a claim, individuals must first use the database tool on the Vermont treasury website to check if they have any missing money on the site's database. Claimants can search with one of the three search options; “search by city”, “search by name”, and” search by business”.
A quick search will reveal all the unclaimed properties attached to the queried keyword along with the financial value of the unclaimed property. Users can then add claims to the claims cart; it is possible to make multiple claims using this method.
The next step is to select the claimant's relationship with the unclaimed money. A claimant may be the owner, heir, legal representative, executor, or family member. Requestors must then create an account and fill in personal details like social security number and address, this will be used to confirm the claimant's identity. Claims are initiated online by clicking the make claim button.
For claims made by the original owner and for properties below $200, the claim can be made completely online and documentation is not requested by the office to be mailed in. However, documentation is requested by the office for claims above $200 and where the claimant is not the original owner of the property, it is also possible to print the claim form online and mail it to the office. Claimants can call the treasury office to request the claim form to be sent by mail to them. Claims can then be monitored by creating an account on the website, logging in and providing the claim ID to show the status of the claim.
Documents required to process an unclaimed money claim include:
- Social security number
- Proof of business establishment
- Power of attorney
- Proof of next of kin, or relationship with the claim's original owner, depending on the type of claims made.
How Long Does It Take to Get Unclaimed Money in Vermont?
The time taken to process claims in Vermont is relatively quick when compared to unclaimed property claims made in other states. For claims below $200, the payment is sent within two business days after approval to the original owner. Payments of more than $200 take anywhere from two weeks to several months to be approved and sent to the owner, especially if it involves a lot of document verification.
Who Can Claim Unclaimed Money From Deceased Relatives in Vermont?
In Vermont, the original owner's heir is eligible to claim unclaimed property for the deceased. If the estate is open, a personal representative, beneficiary, or co-owner is indicated, the spouse of the deceased can lay claim to the unclaimed money. However, the claimant must be able to prove their identity or relationship with the original owner. As evidence to support the claim, the claimant must produce a document showing the power of attorney, valid will, or any court document that transfers the authority of the deceased estate to the claimant.
What Happens to Vermont Unclaimed Money if No One Claims It?
Vermont state law stipulates that the office of the treasurer can hold funds indefinitely until claimed by the rightful owner. There is no statute of limitations to make claims in the state of Vermont and individuals can make claims at any time.
