The fastest way to find a deceased person's unclaimed property is to search MissingMoney.com and each state's official unclaimed property database for every state where they ever lived or worked. The searches are free, take minutes, and you can claim what you find as an executor or heir with a death certificate and proof of your authority.

States are currently holding more than $70 billion in unclaimed property — forgotten bank accounts, uncashed checks, insurance proceeds, utility deposits, and stock dividends that companies couldn't deliver to their owners. When someone passes away, their property is especially likely to end up in this system, because the one person who knew about the account is no longer here to claim it.

This guide walks through exactly where to search, how to claim what you find, and the mistakes that cost families money.

What is unclaimed property?

When a financial account sits untouched for a set period — usually three to five years, called the dormancy period — the institution holding it is legally required to turn it over to the state. This process is called escheatment. The state then holds the money indefinitely (in most states, forever) until the rightful owner or their heirs claim it.

After a death, escheatment happens constantly. The family closes the accounts they know about, but the forgotten ones — an old savings account from a previous town, a final paycheck, a refund check mailed to an old address — quietly age into state custody a few years later.

Common types of unclaimed property:

• Bank accounts and CDs the family never knew existed
• Uncashed checks — final paychecks, refunds, dividends
• Life insurance proceeds the insurer couldn't deliver
• Utility and rental deposits from decades ago
• Stocks, bonds, and brokerage balances
• Safe deposit box contents (states auction these but hold the proceeds)
• Insurance demutualization shares — millions of people received stock when insurers like MetLife and Prudential went public, and many never knew

Where to search (all free)

1. MissingMoney.com — the multi-state database

MissingMoney.com is the official search portal endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA). One search covers most U.S. states at once. Search the deceased's first and last name, then narrow by city and state.

2. Each state's own database

Not every state participates fully in MissingMoney — California, among others, must be searched directly. Search the official state site for every state where the deceased ever lived, worked, or did business. NAUPA maintains the directory of official state programs at unclaimed.org. Skip any site that isn't linked from there — official searches are always free.

3. Search name variations

Search maiden names, middle initials in and out, common misspellings, and reversed first/last names. Records are only as clean as the company that reported them. "Bob" and "Robert" are different records. So are "Mary Smith-Jones" and "Mary Jones."

4. Federal databases states don't cover

State databases miss several big categories. Also check:

• U.S. savings bonds: TreasuryHunt.gov — billions in matured, unredeemed bonds
• Tax refunds: the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool for a final refund that never arrived
• Pension benefits: the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's unclaimed pension search
• Bank or credit union failures: FDIC and NCUA unclaimed funds databases
• HUD/FHA mortgage insurance refunds if they ever had an FHA loan

How to claim as an executor or heir

Finding the money is the easy half. Each state has its own claim process, but the documents are similar everywhere:

• Certified death certificate — nearly every claim requires one
• Proof of your authority — Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration if the estate went through probate, or a small estate affidavit in many states if it didn't
• Proof of the deceased's connection to the property — an old address matching the record is often enough
• Your ID and, for heirs claiming directly, proof of relationship

Most states let you file the claim online and upload documents. Simple claims pay out in a few weeks; claims requiring heirship review can take a few months.

If the estate is small, many states accept a small estate affidavit in place of probate paperwork — which means you may be able to recover unclaimed property without ever opening a court case.

Watch out for "heir finders"

If a letter arrives offering to recover money you didn't know about for a 10–35% fee, that's an heir finder — a business that scrapes the same public databases you can search yourself. Their letters are often the first clue a family gets that unclaimed property exists, but before signing anything, spend ten minutes running the searches above. The money they found is almost always sitting in a free public database.

The bigger picture: unclaimed property is one search of many

State databases only hold money that has already escheated — accounts forgotten long enough to age out of the bank. Money in active accounts at banks, brokerages, and insurers won't appear there, and those searches are harder: there's no public database of living accounts.

That's the gap Sunset closes. Sunset searches across financial institutions to find a deceased person's accounts — bank accounts, retirement plans, life insurance, and more — then handles the probate paperwork, provides an FDIC-insured estate account for the proceeds, and manages the transfers. More than 10,000 families have used Sunset to settle estates, and the service is free for families.

If you're settling an estate, run both searches: the state unclaimed property databases for money that already escheated, and a comprehensive account search for everything that hasn't.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find unclaimed money for a deceased relative for free?

Search MissingMoney.com plus the official unclaimed property site for every state where they lived (directory at unclaimed.org), then check federal sources like TreasuryHunt.gov for savings bonds. Official searches are always free — you never need to pay to look.

How long does a state hold unclaimed property?

Most states hold it indefinitely — there's no deadline to claim, and the rightful owner's heirs can claim decades later. A small number of states eventually absorb very old property, so it's still wise to search sooner rather than later.

Can I claim unclaimed property without going through probate?

Often, yes. Most states accept a small estate affidavit for amounts under their threshold, letting heirs claim directly with a death certificate and proof of relationship. Larger amounts typically require Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the probate court.

Is there one national database for all unclaimed money?

No single database covers everything. MissingMoney.com covers most states in one search, but some states (including California) must be searched separately, and federal property — savings bonds, pensions, tax refunds — lives in separate federal databases.

What happens to unclaimed property if no one ever claims it?

The state keeps custody of the funds and uses them, but in most states the owner's right to claim never expires. Heirs can still claim a grandparent's forgotten account from the 1980s.

Settling an estate? Sunset finds the accounts you don't know about, prepares the probate paperwork for your county, and handles the transfers — free for families.