Let’s talk about our find yours topic for this week: the strategy of teaching just your last name when you look for unclaimed money.
This is a strategy for people who want to make sure they’ve turned over every single stone in their search for missing money.
I’ve talked about where you should search, namely every single state to be truly thorough.
Now let’s talk about how to search. Searching under JUST your last name is a great strategy. In fact, on Episode 32, I interviewed Kerry Armstrong who found her grandfather’s lost life insurance policy by searching JUST the name Armstrong.
Here’s how you do it: Go to MissingMoney.com OR to unclaimed.org or any other legitimate unclaimed money search site, but instead of using both the first and last name boxes, skip the one for first names, and just put your last name in the last name box. Yes! They allow you to do that. First name is not a required field. Once your results come up, check the states and addresses to see if they belong to you or relatives.
I myself came up with 192 listings when I searched just Leamy instead of Elisabeth Leamy. I then looked through them to see if I recognized any of the first names OR addresses. This is a great way of finding:
•Unclaimed money listed under your first initial and last name. This is common.
•Money listed under a nickname you don’t usually use for bank accounts. Like “Liz” for me. I’ve never called myself that but relatives did.
•Unclaimed money for you where the first name is misspelled in a way you didn’t imagine. I spotted one for a Rboin Leamy. Surely that was supposed to be Robin Leamy, but some clerk mis-typed it at some point.
•Missing money accidentally listed under your middle name and last name. I saw a ton of Ann Leamy’s listed and, trust me, I’m going to check those entries out.
•Money for your living relatives
•Money for deceased relatives that you have a right to claim.
I myself didn’t find any money for myself this way, but I did find money for 2 uncles and 4 cousins! Karma, people! Give this a try and report back! I’d be thrilled to interview you for the show if you find something.
