Unless you know where to look, missing money may never be found. Knowing that there is even something to look for is often a challenge. Money typically goes missing when someone dies and their heirs are unaware of accounts held by the deceased. As a result, money, property, and other funds due to the heirs often go missing, perhaps never to be found again.

For quite some time, states have had offices, departments, and websites to help consumers find and make claims against this missing money. Now, missingmoney.com has started to pull state-based information into more of a national database. 38 states, plus Washington, D.C. are currently included in the Missing Money database. Instructions for locating records from other states can also be found at the site.

While this site seems to be a great resource for locating missing money, it also highlights a problem that we should all try to avoid. Ensure that all of your accounts, no matter the size, are disclosed in your will, to your spouse, and/or to the executor of your estate. It’s great that missingmoney.com may help to find wealth you may have a right to claim, but even better would have been if the original account holder hadn’t let their money go missing in the first place.