Claim Abandoned Property

By Henry Pan

Are you interested in getting free money? Have you lived in Virginia for a substantial period of time? If your answers are “yes,” then this article is for you. My name is Henry Pan, and I am a high school student who has lived in Lakeport my entire life.

Right now, there is a possibility that you have abandoned property in Virginia, which could be claimed from the Unclaimed Property Act. Now, it’s not likely that you forgot your house or anything—most unclaimed properties are checks made out to you that went uncashed. They can be from utilities, banks, insurance companies, etc. This summer, my family recovered over $400!

Here's how it works:

1. Go to the VA Unclaimed Property Site: https://www.vamoneysearch.gov
2. Enter your personal details into the search boxes:
3. 
   Once you have identified your unclaimed property/properties, click the “Claim” button on the left-most column, then select “Continue to File Claim”:
   
4. From there you will select the proper claimant relationship from the dropdown menu and fill out all relevant information so that your identity can be verified:
   
   
   
5. After all of that, you will have to provide documentation (listed in the given form), as well as fill out a claim form, and submit both to the state.
6. Once you have completed this process, you are good to go! You may track your claim’s progress through the Status page on the unclaimed property site. The transaction will not be immediate (it took us six months to receive everything), but who’s going to turn down free money just because it takes a little while?

Please consider donating 10% of your total claimed property value to the Reston Scholarship Fund. Happy Hunting!

 For any inquiries, contact henrybpan@gmail.com.