Unclaimed Money Maine 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.

Unclaimed Money Maine—Retrieve Your Funds Fast

States, federal agencies, and other government organizations are currently in possession of over $50 billion in unclaimed money.

The Maine Office of the State Treasurer holds over $270 million in unclaimed property that belongs to the Mainers, whether it’s unclaimed insurance money or inheritance from the deceased relatives.

If you are a current or former resident of Main and have a reason to think some of that money belongs to you, we came up with a perfect solution for finding it.

What Is Unclaimed Money in Maine?

Unclaimed property refers to the money people forget about, misplace, or lose due to administration mishaps.

The state considers money unclaimed if:

  • The holder of the money (insurance company, bank, fund, or organization) cannot get in touch with the rightful owner
  • There hasn’t been any activity on the account for a long time

Every state has its dormancy period—a time between the asset is reported as unclaimed and the government regards it as abandoned—but mostly, it’s five years.

The dormancy period in the state of Maine is generally three years, but it can differ from one type of property to another:

  • One year for wages, payroll, or salary
  • Three years for the contents of safety deposit boxes
  • 15 years for traveler’s checks

If you don’t claim your assets during the dormancy period, the state will take control of them until you decide to retrieve the funds.

Is There a List of Unclaimed Money in Maine?

Since there is more than $200 million worth of unclaimed money in Maine, a list containing all assets might be too extensive.

Instead of that, you might find a list of types of unclaimed properties more useful. Here is what can be considered an unclaimed property:

  • Stocks
  • Annuities
  • Refunds and compensation money
  • Uncashed checks
  • Insurance checks
  • Contents of safety deposit boxes
  • Inheritance money
  • Gift certificates
  • Funds in old bank accounts

These are the most common types of unclaimed properties, but there is so much more that can end up in the Maine Treasury Department as unclaimed.

Certain items cannot be perceived as such:

  • Vehicles
  • Vessels
  • Real estate
  • Furniture
  • Stolen property

Where Does All the Unclaimed Money in Maine Come From?

As unbelievable as it may sound, people forget about their money more often than you might think. Reasons for that are numerous:

  • Address changes—Moving to another location without notifying the previous landlord about the new address can lead to losing the deposit or rents paid in advance
  • Unclaimed refunds—If people fail to claim their refund for a purchase, companies are obliged to turn that money to the state after a certain time
  • Outdated information—When a bank or company closes, they must inform every customer beforehand and ask them to collect all unused funds. If the contact information of a customer is no longer valid, and they cannot get in touch with them, funds must be transferred to the state
  • Unknown inheritance—If an executor cannot locate the beneficiary of a will, money can end up unclaimed
  • Lost paychecks—Losing a job, either by quitting or being fired, is one of the most stressful events in a person’s life, and forgetting to collect the last paycheck occurs quite often

Unclaimed Money Maine—Free Search

The state treasurer of Maine helps citizens retrieve their lost money. In 2019 more than 5000 Mainers who are owed $1,000 or more were informed about that by mail.

That was a one-time occasion, and others don’t have the luxury of getting notices about their unclaimed property, so they have to search for it on their own. It can be a somewhat overwhelming process, but the Office of the State Treasurer of Maine created an unclaimed money database where you can look for your forgotten assets.

Here’s how to search for your lost money on the Maine Unclaimed Property website:

  1. Select Claiming Property in the upper right section of the page
  2. Chose Search Unclaimed Properties from the dropdown menu
  3. Enter your last name or the name of your business
  4. Add your first name to help the search process
  5. Narrow it down by adding the city and zip code
  6. If you know your Property ID, it will speed up the process significantly
  7. Hit the Search button

You can check out some helpful tips on the other side of the page. They help narrow down your search and make it much more successful.

The results will appear in a few seconds and if you find your property on the list, click on the Claim button next to it to file a claim.

That was the easy part! Next, you have to select the relationship you have to the property. Keep in mind that it can affect your claim results.

After that, you have to fill out a form with a lot of personal information and provide mandatory documents.

The Easier Way To Search for Unclaimed Money in Maine—DoNotPay!

After finding out what the process of claiming your money looks like, you may find yourself wondering if it’s worth the trouble.

Fortunately, DoNotPay created a product that helps you retrieve your property hassle-free! Our Missing Money feature enables the search through numerous federal and state databases without using your Social Security number and cuts down the necessary work to a bare minimum.

Get the money that is rightfully yours by opening DoNotPay in any and following the next steps:

  1. Select Missing Money feature
  2. Enter your full name, current, and previous addresses
  3. Click on Claim My Property and start the process

That is everything we need from you! We will do the heavy lifting, generate a claim, and send it on your behalf.

Protect Yourself From Unclaimed Money Scams

Any mention of money attracts numerous scammers. The fact that there are so many scams related to this topic is no surprise.

Here is an overview of the most common ones and how to spot them:

A Type of ScamWhat It Entails

Phone Call

  • You receive an email informing you that you have unclaimed property in your name
  • Scammers give you a phone number that you should call for more information
  • When you call, they advise you to wait for an operator and make it as long as possible, as they charge by the minute

Identity Theft

  • Fraudsters lead you to think they have found the unclaimed property that belongs to you
  • They ask for your personal and financial information, including your Social Security number
  • Your information is later used for fraudulent activities

Don’t Waste Time on Tedious Bureaucratic Issues—Let DoNotPay Resolve Them for Your

There’s no need to worry if you don’t live in Maine. Our Missing Money feature can locate unclaimed money in any state you want, such as Utah, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, or North Carolina.

We will show you how to claim funds from old bank accounts, services like PayPal, or banks like Western Union and Wells Fargo.

You can use DoNotPay for so much more than claiming your money. Open our app in any and get assistance with:

Want your issue solved now?