I would like to find some money owed to my wife. We received a letter
from a lawyer saying that $1,124.19, last name Goldberg, is owed to us
by a state agency
but they charge 25% for giving us the money. If we can find it
ourselves with Google that would be great.

Gareth86 --

All of the U.S. states have a procedure for unclaimed funds; stock
certificates; and even property (often from safe deposit boxes).  When
people can't be located, the funds go back to the state and an effort
is made to find the owners for periods of up to 15 years.  Usually
these are managed by the Treasurer of the state.

Luckily, the property administrators in the different states set up a
website that's a good starting point -- though you'll have to apply to
each state in writing to actually receive the funds.  The organization
is the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators
(NAUPA), a non-profit organization affiliated with the National
Association of State Treasurers. Members represent all states and the
District of Columbia.  This page will link to your state:
NAUPA
http://www.unclaimed.org/mainframe.asp?VisitorType=owner

---

I've done this process several times over the 5 years that NAUPA has
had the website in existence.  The first time I found small utility
refunds due by sister and my sister-in-law.  It was surprising that
the electric company couldn't find either -- my sister hadn't moved in
40+ years and, of course, was still a customer of Tampa Electric.  The
last time that I checked -- about 18 months ago -- I was amazed to
find a 10-year old $120 refund from Dell Computer waiting there for me
(we'd moved out-of-state).

However, it's often small errors in spelling of names or addresses
that makes the difference.  As you go through the state pages, pay
attention to the following:
?	all forms of your name (Goldberg Gareth as well as Goldberg G -- or
Goldberg Nancy, if the claim might be in your spouse's name).
?	check misspellings of names.  Some states allow a search with "names
beginning in" -- so you could catch a misspelling of 'Goldburg' by
just starting with 'Gold'
?	listing city can be helpful if the database is large, but an error
can be a reason the money hasn't found you.

---

Once you've found the money, the state will have a form for you to
complete -- and will probably send you a confirmation note.  The
process of verifying a claim and getting it paid often takes 6 months.



You may also find the comments on the following Google Answer helpful.
 They pertain to 2 specific states but Googlenut's comments illustrate
typical advice on using a service to locate your assets:
"Locating Unclaimed Property," (Dec. 20, 2003)
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=289091

Note too, that unclaimed savings deposits may have a slightly
different procedure for claims:
Google Answers
"Unclaimed Bank Assets," (Omnivorous-GA, Oct. 20, 2002)
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=85511



Google search strategy:
NAUPA
"unclaimed funds" + states

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Funny that when you owe them money they are very able to track you
down quickly even if there are small subtleties or errors in their
information. Even if you've moved ;)

forge

The advice you have received is most excellent and right on target!! 
If you care to mention your wife's first name there are some other
unclaimed databases online that could be checked.  Be sure to not only
check in the state where you currently live, but in any other states
where she might have lived previously. One problem with checking the
state databases is that the information is fairly recent but most
times has not been updated with the most currently outstanding amounts
(that information is first sold to finder companies or perhaps not
added to the database yet because of staffing shortages), so it is
possible you could search the database and still not come up with the
exact hit on the amount you were looking for.

I agree with you wholeheartedly about their less than diligent efforts
to find people--the reason is that the state government gets to keep
the interest on the monies they retain, so there is not much of an
incentive for them to help the public get what is rightfully theirs.

SINCERELY,
4KEITH (I'm NOT a GOOGLE Researcher)
Accountant

4keith-ga,
would you mind telling us the other sources we could use to find property?

You haven't mentioned what city and state you live in.

Try missingmoney.com.

Additionally, if you know someone who lives in the same city as where
your state's unclaimed property office is, ask someone to visit the
office in person where the more current records are kept so that that
person can check the current records (which have not yet been
published online or in newspaper ad) to see if your name appears
there.

Best of luck to you, but due to the many sources of unclaimed funds,
many of which are not made public, I doubt you will find the exact
source, so go ahead and pay this firm for the convenience of claiming
your own money!!