It’s easy for people to lose track of their financial assets in today’s fast-paced lifestyle. We might think that people would be keeping a close watch on their finances, but you’d be surprised at the size of the national unclaimed property fund currently. Experts approximate it to be over $35 billion! When people get new jobs, move to a different address, or get married, they tend to overlook getting the final paycheck, forget to leave a forwarding address or inform the IRS or other institutions about changing their last name. This results in lost mail that can contain checks from tax refunds or financial notices from banks and insurance companies. With no recipient, the lost checks stay with the establishments who hold on to them for 3-5 years after which they are deemed ‘unclaimed property‘ and are turned-over to the state.