Make yourself comfy for your online sleuthing adventure.
Prepare a list of names that might net you some cash. You’ll want to start with your own moniker, including any variations you may have used in the past. Most of these databases require only a surname for a thorough search, but be sure to include common misspellings of your name. This could be how the money got lost in the first place.
Be sure to check under your mother’s birth name. After that, searching for funds belonging to your friends and family could make you a very popular person.
Be very wary if you receive unsolicited news that forgotten money exists in your name. This is an area which is subject to fraud.
Some financial institutions now charge “dormant account fees” when there have been no transactions for two years. These fees will gobble up all the funds in the account without being forwarded to authorities for possible recovery by its proper owners.
SaveMoney.ca did not find any banks charging these fees. However, VanCity Credit Union charges $1 monthly on inactive accounts, and Coast Capital charges $50 annually.
If the money is in your name, it is relatively easy to collect by supplying proper identification. Things get more complicated if you are trying to collect funds under someone else’s name. In this case, you must produce extensive, certified documentation to prove you are the “right-holder” of the funds.
Tidbit: Certified copies, usually prepared by a Notary Public or lawyer, can cost $30 and up. However, the constituency office of your Member of the Legislated Assembly (MLA) will certify copies for free. Please phone ahead.
Link for MLA locations: https://www.leg.bc.ca/Pages/BCLASS-Search-Community.aspx?PlaceFirstLetter=V&
There are only six provinces in Canada that have enacted unclaimed property legislation: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, and New Brunswick. We will begin with these provinces and then move to federal and other databases.
The British Columbia Unclaimed Property Society, often referred to as “B-Cups,” is currently holding more than $210 million that British Columbians have forgotten about, and we are hoping that some of it will end up in your pocket.
Government bodies, financial organizations and private businesses must try to locate the rightful owners of forgotten funds. When they cannot, the funds are transferred to B-Cups for safekeeping.
Most accounts hold less than $100, but one is worth $1.9 million. The easily searchable database dates back to 1850.
Search Here: https://www.bcunclaimed.ca/search
It would be sweet to get money back from the Insurance Corporation of B.C. instead of handing it over to them for a change.
ICBC maintains a database, created in July 2000, from the proceeds of cheques (above $50), which they have issued but remain uncashed.
Search Here: https://www.icbc.com/unclaimed-funds
Alberta’s Unclaimed Property Registry (established in 2008) holds an estimated $142 million that Albertans have forgotten about. Of the 334,000 accounts, one holds almost $900,000 in uncashed dividends.
Businesses and government agencies with more than $250 in unpaid wages, interest or dividends, scholarships, utility refunds or insurance proceeds must make all efforts to contact the owners. When they cannot, the funds are transferred to the Tax and Revenue Administration for safekeeping.
There are time limits on collecting your money in Alberta. For example, unpaid wages must be claimed within a year, but you have 15 years to collect for traveller’s cheques. After that, the money goes into the government’s general revenue.
Search Here: https://unclaimedproperty.alberta.ca/publicTracs/searchUnclaimedProperty.do?event=init
Saskatchewan’s Forgotten Funds database contains only the proceeds from inactive credit union accounts and is administered by the Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation.
The balances are transferred to the Corporation when accounts have remained dormant for two years. The credit unions snatch up all account funds worth less than $50, but if an account holds between $50 and $5,000, it is kept in a “special reserve fund.” Amounts worth more than $5,000 are transferred to the Corporation for safekeeping.
A ton of forgotten funds have been doing a disappearing act in Ontario, as that government has no unclaimed legislation, database or office. However, The Law Society of Ontario holds money under the “Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act.” Monies remaining after a lawyer or paralegal has completed a case are transferred to the Society when the proper owners cannot be located.
There is no database, but people can file an application form online to check for funds.
Revenu Québec treats unclaimed assets, currently more than $450 million, much differently than other provinces and has received a barrage of criticism from advocates.
Québec’s Register of Unclaimed Property holds forgotten money related to bank accounts, pensions and insurance policies, as well as the proceeds from the sale of land or other property.
But unlike any other forgotten fund database that SaveMoney.ca has encountered, Québec charges people to recover their own money.
Reclaimed funds are first subject to a fee of ten percent of the property value. Additional amounts are deducted for the “cost of the services rendered.” And all amounts are subject to the Goods and Service Tax and Québec sales tax.
If an account lacks the price of government fees and taxes, it is simply unreported. If the amount is worth less than $500, claimants have 10 years from the date the account was transferred to officials to collect. If you fail to grab your money in time, it is deposited with the Generations Fund “for the benefit of all,” and it is used to pay down provincial debt. There is no time limit for collecting on accounts containing more than $500.
Québec’s Register of Unclaimed Property also faces criticism from advocates who say that the government’s efforts to locate property owners are seriously lacking.
SaveMoney.ca encountered problems with this office. They steadfastly refused to answer any questions regarding their operations. Further, email inquiries written in English received responses in French. Good luck with them!
Search here: https://www5.services.mrq.gouv.qc.ca/MrqAnonyme/BR/BR01/BR01A1_01A_ConsulterBNR_PC/P_Consultation.aspx?CLNG=A
New Brunswick is the latest province to add a searchable forgotten fund database initiated by the Financial and Consumer Services Commission in 2023. , but the unclaimed amounts go back three years, and the fund already holds millions of dollars.
The money includes forgotten funds from inheritances, credit union accounts, damage and security deposits, and uncashed cheques. Anyone in this province holding more than $50 in unclaimed property must exert all efforts to locate the proper owners. After that, the money goes to the Commission for safekeeping. Information is updated annually.
Search hers: https://www.fundsfinder-mesfondsnb.ca/en-US/
The Bank of Canada’s Unclaimed Property Office safeguards the proceeds from forgotten bank accounts. Their repository currently has $1,267,904,983.02. in Canadian funds, with the most lucrative account holding $917,365.
Of the more than 2.5 million accounts, one dates back to 1859. Accounts containing less than $1,000 are held for 30 years. Accounts with more than $1,000 are held for 100 years before being transferred to the Receiver General of Canada.
https://www.unclaimedproperties.bankofcanada.ca/app/claim-search
The Bank of Canada also keeps track of unclaimed savings bonds. There is no database to check, but you can call 1 833 876-2267, toll-free, to check for any uncashed Canadian savings bonds which could be yours. It is helpful if you have information about any bonds in question, like the serial numbers.
The CRA is trying to reunite $1.4 billion with the proper owners. Since 1998, the CRA has issued more than 1.9 million refund cheques that remain uncashed. The average amount is about $160, and the funds never expire.
The best way to check for money in your name is by opening your own My Account with the CRA. Ensure that your contact and banking information and any name change information are up-to-date so you don’t lose any more money.
Once in the CRA portal, click on Related Services, and then on Uncashed Cheques. As always, if the money is in your name, it is quick and easy to collect. Finding and collecting the money is more complicated if the funds are in someone else’s name because you must produce extensive official documentation.
Locating forgotten insurance policy funds is challenging as these companies frequently change names and transfer policies to other companies. You are best off dealing with the proper authorities to find and claim lost insurance proceeds. The process is more efficient if you can locate proof of a policy.
The OmbudService for Life and Health Insurance (OLHI), comprised of 99 percent of insurance companies as members, charges no fees. They can assist you in finding your loved ones’ insurance proceeds, but doing your research ahead of time will be helpful. The OLHI provides detailed information to help you locate life and health insurance policies.
They also provide an alternative dispute resolution service if you have any issues with insurance providers.
https://olhi.ca/how-to-find-if-a-life-insurance-policy-exists-for-a-deceased-person/
The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), based in Washington, D.C., holds more than $14 billion U.S. in unclaimed property. Residents of California alone are missing $2.9 billion in U.S. funds.
This money was amassed from uncashed corporate and government cheques, financial institutions, insurance companies, uncashed savings bonds, and more.
NAUPA says that one in seven U.S. residents have unclaimed funds waiting for them, and the average claim is $2,080.
Their easily searchable database averages four million hits per month, and they returned more than $3 billion last year.
This website can lead you to many other U.S. unclaimed databases, such as federal departments. Links are even unclaimed assets in foreign countries.
We are having an issue with this site, however. Although Alberta uses this site for their unclaimed database, NAUPA asserts to have unclaimed records for 11 Canadian provinces and territories. Yet, despite our extensive research, only five provinces provide searchable unclaimed databases. We will update you if our queries to this organization are ever answered.
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