The State of South Dakota Has Been Holding My Money for 20 Years

It is one of the greatest feelings in the world.

Finding some cold, hard cash when you least expect it.

Usually, it happens when you’re rummaging through a pocket of a coat or pair of jeans, but recently it happened to me on, of all places, the internet.

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Now I know what you’re thinking, and no this wasn’t from some ‘prince’ in some far-off land trying to share his fortune with me.

This was from the state of South Dakota.

A friend alerted me that my name appeared on the State Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division website and upon further review, I discovered a ‘miscellaneous outstanding check’ in my name for the amount of $25.50.

That was a nice surprise, especially considering that it was from 2002!

The website makes it super easy to get a virtual claim started.

That’s the good news.

The bad news? It’s not going to be as easy as I thought to claim my long-lost money.

In order to get paid, I need to provide proof that I lived at the address associated with this claim. As I mentioned, this was 20 years ago, I only lived there for six months, and I have moved twice since then.

Looks like I’ll be digging through all of my files this weekend, hoping to find the needle in a haystack that will help me reunite with my money.

Wish me luck.

While on the website, I did what I’m sure most people do, start searching the names of the people closest to you to see what ‘buried treasure’ they might be missing out on.

I did pair of unclaimed payments for my wife in the amount of $54. A search for another family member uncovered 13 entries totaling around $600.

Is a finder’s fee appropriate here? (Asking for a friend)