Unclaimed Money in Kentucky Explained

iEditorial Note: These blog posts represent the opinion of DoNotPay’s Writers, but each person’s situation and circumstances vary greatly. As a result, you should make sure to do your own independent research. Because everyone is unique, our self-help tools are never guaranteed to help with any specific situation. DoNotPay is not a law firm and is not licensed to practice law. DoNotPay provides a platform for legal information and self-help.

Want To Find Unclaimed Money in KY? Learn the Simplest Way To Do It!

After a certain period, all the unclaimed money becomes government responsibility. It amounts to millions of dollars every year. Some of that unclaimed money can be yours if you only took the time to find out.

There’s an easy way to check if you are owed money. Getting it is also rather simple with the help of DoNotPay.

What Constitutes Unclaimed Money in Kentucky?

Unclaimed money is any amount of money that has not been claimed in a certain period and therefore went dormant. A dormancy period is the time between the asset’s abandonment and the government taking control of it.

A company or bank has an obligation to try tracking down and informing the owners of their right to claim the money or property.

Should the attempts remain futile, the financial institution holding the unclaimed funds must report them to the Kentucky Treasury Unclaimed Property Division. If nobody appears to claim the property (the waiting period is around three years), the state takes custody.

The Kentucky State Treasury reports that the amount of unclaimed money is estimated to exceed 400 million dollars. If you are curious to figure out whether some of it is yours, you can get your answer in a few simple steps.

Lost Money in KY—How Does Money Go Unclaimed?

When you think about the amount of money that goes unclaimed across the country, it is difficult not to consider it some kind of scam. How is it possible that people don't know that they have unclaimed money or forget to claim it?

It happens quite a lot since the state of Kentucky hasn’t got enough resources to track down every person who has unclaimed money in their name.

The reasons for not claiming money are various:

  • A person moves and doesn’t update the tax authorities or their previous landlord on their address
  • A company goes bankrupt and doesn’t leave correct information regarding pension checks
  • A bank closes, and the customers don’t know who to contact to retrieve their missing funds
  • People leave their jobs and don’t claim their last paycheck
  • Some people are unaware of their deceased loved ones’ life insurance policies because of the insurance company’s inability to find the beneficiaries

How To Stay Safe From Unclaimed Money Scams?

When you are struggling to get by on just your paycheck every month, a mysterious call or email informing you that you have unclaimed money can be an answer to your prayers. That can prompt you to disclose personal information, like your name or a Social Security number, and inadvertently fall victim to a scam artist.

Unclaimed money is a real thing, so one can easily get tempted to rush after it. How to protect yourself from fraudulent activities?

  1. Don’t give out your personal information easily. It might be tempting to cave in when somebody promises you thousands of dollars, but it is better to ask for precise information or do your research first
  2. Stay informed. State unclaimed property officers do not call to inform somebody of their unclaimed assets. It is up to you to find that out
  3. Don’t pay to be able to reclaim the money. The easiest way of spotting the scam artist is if they ask you to pay them to reclaim your assets

Is There a Time Limit for Claiming Lost Money in Kentucky?

No, there isn’t a time limit for claiming lost funds in Kentucky. The State Treasury will hold on to the money until you find out about it and decide to claim it. The State Treasury Department tries to contact the owners and inform them of their missing funds in various ways— by publishing annual advertisements with lists of property owners' names and organizing outreach attempts in places like fairs, malls, and state conventions.

We suggest you take matters into your own hands since none of these ways guarantee success. If you are hesitant to do it because you feel like the process will be complicated or expensive, it is not the case. Thanks to the free access to the Kentucky state unclaimed funds database. We will explain the quickest and most effective ways of accessing the database and finding your lost funds.

What Assets Can Become Unclaimed in Kentucky?

To help you understand the possibility of millions of dollars being unclaimed, we have made a table of the most common sources of unclaimed money in Kentucky and the dormancy periods that apply:

Type Of Financial AssetDormancy Period
Bank accounts 3 years
Safe deposit boxes3 years
Life insurance policies3 years
Traveler’s checks7 years
Stocks, dividends, and distributions3 years
SalariesNo specific timeline
Property held by fiduciaries3 years
Property held by courts or public agencies3 to 5 years

How To Find Unclaimed Money in KY on Your Own

The good news is that there’s a website you can use to track down and claim your abandoned property in Kentucky— missingmoney.com.

The process is similar for every state, but make sure to acknowledge slight differences that exist and provide required documents when requesting a specific type of claim. Here is how you do it in Kentucky:

  1. Go to missingmoney.com
  2. Type in your last name
  3. If it proves to be a common last name, you will get up to 200 results. Narrow down your search by typing in your first name
  4. If you still get a lot of results, type in the city
  5. After you locate the property, you can begin the claiming process by filling out the form with the required information. Heirs of the property will have to submit legal documentation, such as a death certificate, to prove ownership
  6. If you have met all the requirements, click the Yes, I can claim button
  7. You will be taken to the State File Inquiry form. Fill out the form
  8. Click Continue
  9. The information will be mailed to Kentucky State Treasury Department

How To Find Unclaimed Money in Kentucky With DoNotPay

You can make this process a lot simpler. DoNotPay offers an effective and time-saving way of tracking down your lost resources and makes the process of retrieving your unclaimed funds a breeze. All you have to do is complete a few easy steps:

  1. Open DoNotPay on your
  2. Open the Missing Money feature
  3. Type your full name and previous addresses in the required field

DoNotPay will do all the heavy lifting. We go through all federal and state databases in search of your missing funds.

In case we find them, and you prove to be entitled to claim those funds, you can use the Claim My Property feature and file the claim on the property in no time!

What Else Can DoNotPay Do for You?

DoNotPay can facilitate cancelation and refund claims from WorldVentures. If you have ever had an unpleasant experience with Uber, you can find information on how to sue Uber in small claims court. In case you are wondering whether or not you can sue FrontierCommunications in small claims court, we will provide the answer. DoNotPay also helps with unclaimed funds in other states, such as Texas, Ohio, Kansas, and Virginia, among others.

Open DoNotPay in any and use the benefits of other services we provide:

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