The recent storms just before Mother's Day have made things worse for several Georgia residents already having trouble with the bad economy. Homes were destroyed and families diplaced in 6 counties- forcing the Governor to declare a state of calamity in those areas.

Any source of extra cash would be more than welcome for these people and they can actually check with the State's Unclaimed Property Department if they have GA unclaimed money in their name. Tens of thousands of residents have over $70,000 IRS unclaimed money in Georgia owed to them. The money comes from unclaimed tax refunds whose owners couldn't be located by the IRS because of a wrong address or a name-change. If you think $70 grand is a lot of money lying around, there's actually way more than that from Georgia unclaimed property- a little over $6.4 million and that amount is sure to increase in a few years because of the recent storms.

According to Greg Daugherty in a recent news report on unclaimed property in Georgia by ABC's WJBF-TV, "It could be a bank account you forgot to close. It could be a dividend check that never reached you. It could be money belonging to a relative who's died, and would have left it to you, but somehow it's been lost along the way." People also forget to leave behind a forwarding address when they move- resulting in undelivered checks or financial statements. The more times people move then, or the more relatives they have, the bigger the odds of them having unclaimed funds with the government.  A national total of over $30 billion in unclaimed property is spread-out among the 50 states and doing a claim can be as easy as entering your name and SSS number in a state database. "When I entered my own information, I didn't find anything belonging to me, but I did find some money belonging to a great aunt of mine who has since died, and would have left it to me." said Daugherty after trying-out an unclaimed money search through the state database himself.

The unclaimed money pile is growing bigger every year because according to Rep. Penny Houston (who is currently making efforts to reunite Georgians with their lost money), "Most people do not realize they have money in the Unclaimed Property Program." The amount of unclaimed property money returned to owners since 1981 is a measley $9 million.

It's quite easy for citizens to do an unclaimed money search online and get some of the lost funds in their pockets. Due to a lack of a centralized database for federal coffers holding treasury bills or government stocks and bonds however, a thorough unclaimed money search can be a bit more complicated. Some helpful people have put up sites which teaches effective methods of searching thoroughly with the least amount of time wasted, so don't fret. Do an unclaimed money search in Georgia or search for unclaimed funds through the different states to get all of the unclaimed property money in your name.

Every year, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of lost or abandoned financial assets are collected across the U.S.and at roughly $8 billion, the New York State unclaimed money pile is the biggest among the 50 states. Unclaimed property coming from lost assets like long-dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, stocks, unclaimed tax refunds and insurance benefits are turned-over to the government if not reunited with their owners after 3-5 years.

In today's increasingly fast-paced lifestyle, it's quite easy for New Yorkers to lose track of their financial assets by forgetting to leave a forwarding address when they move or get a new job. This often results in undelivered mail which are invariably sent back to banks, insurance companies, the IRS, etc.

You would think that with the economic slump the U.S. in right now, citizens would keep track of their finances more closely. But if the growing unclaimed property accounts in the Treasury Departments across the country are any indication, more and more Americans are becoming unaware of having lost assets. Here are some financial management tips from the NY State Comptroller:

• Keep your accounts active. More than half of unclaimed accounts are dormant savings accounts that have had no activity for five years. Make a small deposit or withdrawal every year.

• Cash all checks promptly for utility deposits, dividends, insurance premiums, wages and any other refunds you receive.

• Keep accurate financial records. Record all bank accounts, stock certificates, insurance policies, utility and rent deposits, and your safe deposit number.

• When you move, notify all financial institutions that you have accounts with.

• Tell a family member or trusted friend or advisor where you store your financial records.

In the meantime, it would be a good idea to check if you're already owed unclaimed funds NY unclaimed property- no one really knows who may have unclaimed money checks in their name. Madonna, Aretha Franklin, Justin Timberlake, music and clothing magnate Sean Combs, Bob Dylan, Mayor Bloomberg, even the Yankees and the Mets have turned up the on the NY unclaimed money list! Maybe these people can hold-off on not getting hold of their their unclaimed funds, but with the US economy in bad condition and the bills piling-up, can you?

Most residents of New Jersey are well-aware of the fun fact that the street names in Monopoly, the board game about money, were taken from actual streets of Atlantic City, N.J. Another fact that residents of the state would be happy to know- 200,000 people have hundreds of millions of dollars in NJ property tax rebates in their name. According to a news report by WCBS Newsradio, around $200 million in unclaimed tax refunds are owed to residents and  an even greater number of Garden State dwellers are owed hundreds of millions of dollars from other types of NJ unclaimed funds. Doing a search for New Jersey unclaimed money just might put the citizens ahead of life's real money game- something scores of Americans are losing at right now because or the sagging U.S. economy.

Unclaimed money and property can come from financial assets like dormant cash and savings accounts, uncashed checks, insurance and retirement benefits, cash and stock dividends, even unredeemed gift cards and abandoned safe-deposit box contents. The Unclaimed Property Law (or Escheat Law) require these lost assets to be handed-over to the State Treasury Department after a 'dormant period' of 3-5 years for most assets (15 years for traveler's checks). Tangible items from safe deposit boxes are auctioned-off on eBay by the Treasurer's Office if still unclaimed after 5 years in the state's hands. The proceeds from the auction go back into the Unclaimed Property Fund where their respective owners can still claim them.

According to New Jersey's Unclaimed Property Law, "Generally, the uniform act provides that unclaimed intangible property is payable to the state of the last known address of the owner, and in those instances when that information is unknown or when the state of the owner's last known address does not assert a claim to the property, it is payable to the state of the holder's domicile.The uniform act also provides that title to the unclaimed property does not vest in the state but remains in the owner."

Around $80 million are given back to owners of unclaimed money in New Jersey annually. The state holds outreach programs- setting-up unclaimed property booths in fairs, expos and state festivals to help reunite people with their money. Despite this, there still are hundreds of millions of dollars belonging to over a million names on the NJ unclaimed property list of owners. So if you or someone you know is a resident of the Garden State, do an online unclaimed money search and get back some of your lost cash to and pay-off those overdue bills.

We all know that the more crowded a place is, the busier the residents and hence the greater the chances of losing track of finances. The number of people and businesses owed unclaimed money in Alaska is surprising then in light of the fact that the population density is quite low in the Last Frontier. Over 300,000 accounts are listed in Alaska's unclaimed property list and 12,000 new accounts are added to the state list every year.

In the increasingly fast-paced lifestyle of modern-day America- working overtime and doing double-jobs, it's quite natural for people to lose track of things in their lives. Birthdays, anniversaries, doing the laundry, and yes- even financial assets. I'm not just talking about a few loose quarters and a couple of crumpled George Washingtons here. Uncollected salary checks, stocks, income tax refund checks, insurance and pension benefits, forgotten bank accounts and safe deposit box contents- these are just a few examples of financial casualties people tend to lose in their daily activities. Escheat laws require businesses and institutions to turn these unclaimed properties over to the state where they are put into an unclaimed property fund.

According Alaska's Department of Revenue, Tax Division website: "Unclaimed property is any intangible amount owed or held by an organization that remains unpaid, uncashed or has no evidence of positive owner activity for an extended period of time. Most property is considered abandoned after three years. Unclaimed property does not include overpaid contributions by employers to the unemployment compensation fund (hover over Unclaimed Property Tab at the top of the page for assistance), real estate, vehicles or most tangible property. Contents of a safe deposit box is the only tangible property that is reportable."

Residents of America's Last Frontier and relatives of residents should do a search for unclaimed money in Alaska even if they don't think they are owed money. There is no time limit to do a claim under the Alaska Unclaimed Property Act, but if you're missing money from unclaimed assets, wouldn't it be better to get all your lost money in your wallet now with the recession going on and the bills piling-up?

I'm not a huge fan of 'The Alias'. Not because the show sucks or anything like that. It might be because I haven't had the chance to really sit down and watch it due to my worksked. I admit I am a fan of Jennifer Garner though, who, alongside Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton and Golden Delicious Apples, hails from West Virginia. Another delicious fact about 'The Mountain State'? The State Treasurer's office is looking to give away over a hundred million gorgeous George Washingtons to West Virginians and a few out-of-state residents!

That's right- approximately $110 million West Virginia unclaimed money from abandoned financial assets are waiting to be reunited with owners. Most of the rightful claimants of West Virginia unclaimed funds don't even know they are owed money. Dunbar resident Mary Chester is a prime example. At 100 years old, she's the oldest recipient of WV unclaimed money according to a report by The Charleston Gazette. Chester makes it a point to read the local paper every morning, but didn't really take notice of the unclaimed property ads published twice a year by the State Treasury Department. Turns-out she had $670 from an old insurance policy she forgot to claim. "I didn't know I had anything," the most senior recipent of WV unclaimed money said.  "I couldn't imagine. I thought I probably owed them."

State Treasurer John Perdue says this is a typical misconception and that  unclaimed property can come from several sources- mostly because people just plain forgot about them. "They may have a paycheck coming to them that they didn't realize or some stock their grandparents purchased when they were a child and it was forgotten in a safety deposit box."

West Virginia is nicknamed 'The Mountain State' and 'Mountaineers are always free'- as the West Virginia saying goes. Indeed, residents are free to do a West Virginia unclaimed money search at anytime, because this can be done on-line. No getting in line in government buildings, no fussy paperwork, and no wild goose chases if an unclaimed property expert shows you the proper methods for searching for unclaimed money.

Whenever I think of California, a song by one of urban music's greatest duos- Dr. Dre and the late, great Tupac Shakur play automatically in my head. "California Love" is not what owners of unclaimed money in California are getting from some of their State's officials however. Recent reports about lawsuits and court rulings putting the Golden State's Treasury department under flak have been peppering the internet. This has prompted the current unclaimed property California Controller John Chiang to make some drastic and rapid 'adjustments' in the speed and efforts on how the owners of unclaimed funds in CA are contacted.

The Governator's wife, Maria Shriver, also visited one of the poorest counties in California recently to try to help-out residents by reuniting them with their lost money from California unclaimed property. The average person in Fresno makes less than $26,000 a year, well below the state average of about $39,000 and for them, any amount of extra cash from unclaimed funds would be a big help. "There are too many poor people here. There is 26 million dollars of unclaimed money in this city alone," said the first lady of the state.

Sacramento lawyer Bill Palmer is representing numerous cases against the state concerning California unclaimed money and says "I've received a lot of calls, and some of them are truly heartbreaking — people who are hard up for money, and they go to their savings account and discover it was looted by the state of California," Take the case of Richard Valdez, an elderly resident who tried to find his unclaimed money in the form of stocks he had forgotten about 20 years ago but found-out the state had already seized and sold his assets- putting the proceeds in the California unclaimed fund. The disgruntled 71 year-old filed a case arguing that the he had lived in the state for 50 years and it wouldn't have been difficult to locate and contact him if they really tried.

The problem here is the state's unclaimed funds division seems like it is more active in collecting California state unclaimed property from establishments who have them than in locating the owners of the lost assets and returning the money. This might explain the fact that the unclaimed money in CA has already piled-up to over $5 billion belonging to 8.7 million owners accounts! The state collected $522 million in the last fiscal year ending 2007.

Assemblywoman Louis Wolk has since introduced a bill to extend the California's extremely short 3-year dormancy period to 5 years. "This bill would give rightful owners more time to claim their lost property from the business holder, while also requiring these financial institutions to triple their efforts to locate property owners before turning dormant accounts over to the state," says Wolk in a recent report by Vallejo's The Times-Herald.

Alhough the current State Controller, Ms. Wolk and Ms. Shriver have been doing some improvements on the process in which the owners of unclaimed property are contacted, () it's not a good idea to just sit-around waiting for them to come to you. The sooner you find your unclaimed money, the better- especially with the current state of the US economy. Do an unclaimed money search now and find some much-needed money for your family or friends!

Forbes magazine currently lists Alabama cities as some of the fastest-growing metros in the US in terms of economic development. Lower costs of living and doing business there have attracted automobile companies like Daimler-Chrysler and Hyundai as well as a $3.7 billion steel plant in Mobile. This boom in the state's economy will of course, speed up the relatively slower-paced lifestyle there and inadvertently increase the amount of unclaimed money found and collected by the Treasury Department in Alabama.

The busier people are, the more likely they are bound to lose track of their finances- savings accounts, stock investments, insurance policies, pension, deposits, etc. Moving and changing addresses sometimes result in lost and undelivered checks when owners forget to leave behind a forwarding address. This is the main cause of unclaimed tax refunds. Alabama's Unclaimed Property Law requires the IRS and other financial institutions holding-on to these lost and unclaimed assets to turn them over to the state if the proper owners aren't located after 3-5 years.

The Alabama State Treasury has found money amounting to $373 million and this belongs to current and former residents of Alabama most of who don't even know they have unclaimed funds in their name. The total amount of unclaimed money found across the 50 states has amounted to roughly $35 billion! A lot of people are busting their butts looking for ways to earn extra cash. Well, here's the perfect way to make easy money during this period of recession- do an on-line unclaimed money search now and get back some of your lost money quick.