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The Launch Dock
A Family Guide to Unclaimed Property, Lost Inheritance, and Reclaiming Wealth
Lyndsay LaBrier
November 01, 2025
In partnership with
A Launch Dock Special Feature — by Lyndsay LaBrier, Merchant Ship Collective
The Wealth Already Belonging to You
What if I told you that your family may already be owed money, land, physical property, or financial assets — and the government knows it, but you don’t?
Not because you failed.
Not because you didn’t work hard enough.
Not because you made bad decisions.
But because no one tells regular people how the unclaimed property system actually works — and because many government systems are designed in ways that slow families down long enough for wealth to disappear into state coffers.
Across the country, families are struggling while billions of dollars sit in state-controlled accounts growing interest for governments, not the families who earned that money in the first place (NAUPA, 2024). This is not a conspiracy; it is a system built on quiet financial incentives that most people never learn about.
This newsletter is for the families who deserve to understand the truth — and deserve to reclaim what is theirs.
The Hard Truth: How States Grow Wealth While Families Lose It
We often think of “unclaimed property” as paid phone bills or forgotten deposits. But in reality, it includes:
bank accounts
cashier’s checks
wages
dividends
stocks
pensions
insurance payouts
utility deposits
safe-deposit box contents
estate assets
lost savings bonds
Families lose access to these not because they don’t care, but because life gets hard. Addresses change. People move. Trauma disrupts memory. Illness destroys stability. Families don’t know where documents are. Mail doesn’t follow them. Wills go missing. And companies merge or close, leaving no trace.
Now here’s the part families never hear:
Once the state takes custody of your unclaimed funds, they invest that money — and the interest or investment earnings do NOT go back to families.
Only the principal does (NAUPA, n.d.).
And when safe-deposit box contents go unclaimed, items are legally auctioned. Families get the auction proceeds, not the item, and not the earnings on those proceeds.
This system quietly grows government revenue while quietly shrinking family wealth.
If the Government Wanted to Find You, They Would
A common belief is:
“If the government owed me money, they’d tell me.”
But that simply isn’t true.
Government agencies can find you with incredible speed when it benefits them — when you owe them money.
They locate people through:
IRS records
state tax databases
wage reporting systems
DMV changes
address forwarding systems
passport applications
liens and federal offset systems
When the government needs to collect, you can’t hide.
But when they owe you?
When returning money shrinks their investment pool?
Suddenly systems don’t speak to each other. Mail is sent to old addresses. Notices are inconsistent. The responsibility shifts entirely onto families — most of whom are already overwhelmed.
The truth is simple:
The government has the ability to find you.
It just doesn’t have the incentive.
How Slow Systems Keep Families from Wealth
People lose wealth through exhaustion. Through confusion. Through trauma. Through systems that demand time, resources, technology, and coordination that many families simply don’t have.
And the examples are everywhere.
The IRS: The Phone Calls No One Answers
In some years, the IRS has answered as few as 15% of calls from taxpayers (GAO, 2023).
The majority never reach a human — meaning families cannot:
correct errors
understand required documents
get status updates
clarify mismatched information
resolve identity issues
If you can’t get help on taxes, imagine the emotional toll of trying to locate missing inheritance money, safe-deposit box contents, or old accounts.
The system isn’t broken.
The system is slow — and slowness costs families money.
Every year, more than 10,000 people die waiting for disability decisions (GAO, 2020). Some wait nearly two years for hearings.
During that time, families lose:
housing
transportation
stability
documents
mail
access to bank accounts
Unclaimed property piles up during medical crises and long waits.
By the time relief arrives — if it arrives — the wealth is already lost.
Veterans, especially older adults, are now required to use:
Zoom
online portals
document uploads
multi-factor authentication
digital submission systems
And yet many:
only use a basic phone
live in rural areas without stable internet
struggle with PTSD or cognitive injuries
don’t have computer literacy
Like the systems which make it difficult to access VA benefits, unclaimed property systems are similarly difficult to navigate. Are you seeing a pattern?
Homeless Families and Impossible Requirements
To claim unclaimed property, most states require:
a valid ID
a permanent address
a phone number
email
a secure mailing location
steady internet
transportation
People experiencing homelessness — including people escaping domestic violence — are effectively shut out of reclaiming what belongs to them (U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, 2023).
These barriers are not accidents.
They are structural.
Families lose money through exhaustion and circumstance long before they ever lose it through neglect.
What Unclaimed Property Actually Is — And Why It Matters
Unclaimed property isn’t “extra money.” It is YOUR money — wages you earned, refunds owed to you, accounts you opened, property you inherited, or items you stored and paid for.
Most people don’t realize how often they lose assets that rightfully belong to them:
A job you worked in high school never mailed your last check.
A utility company owes you a deposit.
You moved, and a refund never reached the new address.
A bank merged and lost your account information.
A company in your family member’s estate went out of business.
Insurance payouts were approved but never delivered.
A safe-deposit box fell behind on rent and was drilled.
This is not a small problem.
It is a generational wealth issue.
How to Actually Claim Your Unclaimed Property
The process is simple in theory — and unexpectedly heavy in practice.
You begin on unclaimed.org, the only national hub overseen by NAUPA. This site protects families by sending you directly to each state’s real, official, free portal.
You must search every state you’ve lived in. Every state your parents lived in. Every state tied to a grandparent. College addresses. Married names. Maiden names. Hyphenated names. Business names. Nicknames. Old addresses. Misspellings. Anything you can think of.
It’s detective work, but it’s necessary.
When you find something that looks familiar, the state will ask for proof:
your ID
proof of address
your Social Security number (often the last four digits)
and if you’re filing for someone who died, documents proving your authority
Authority often means:
a death certificate
letters of administration
a small estate affidavit
court documents
Then you wait.
Two to six weeks for simple claims.
Six to twelve weeks or more for estate claims.
And then — finally — you receive a check, direct deposit, or instructions for retrieving physical property or the auction proceeds.
This is wealth coming back home, piece by piece.
Missouri as an Example: What Every Family Should Know
Missouri is straightforward, but the details matter.
The official site is ShowMeMoney.com (State of Missouri, n.d.).
Missouri requires a “dormancy period,” meaning the account must be inactive for a set number of years before it becomes unclaimed:
Most accounts: five years
Money orders: seven years
Traveler’s checks: fifteen years
Safe-deposit contents: seven years
Once the state takes custody, Missouri holds it forever. There is no expiration.
And if a safe-deposit box was auctioned?
You can still claim the auction proceeds — no matter how many years have passed.
When a Will Is Locked in a Safe-Deposit Box or Goes Missing
This is one of the most painful scenarios families run into — and one of the least understood.
A parent passes. Everyone knows the will exists. Only it’s in a safe-deposit box under the parent’s name alone.
The bank cannot legally open it for you.
You must go to probate court, file a petition, and obtain a court order allowing access. Only then can the box be opened in the presence of a bank employee. Its contents are inventoried. If the will is inside, it must be immediately filed with the court.
But what if the will is missing?
In some states, courts presume revocation — meaning the deceased may be treated as if they died without a will at all (American Bar Association [ABA], n.d.).
This can change everything:
heirs
guardians
property distribution
access to accounts
And if the safe-deposit box was abandoned?
Its contents may have already been drilled, transferred to the state, and auctioned.
Families can still claim the proceeds, but the original items are gone forever.
This is why you NEVER store the only original will in a bank box.
Store it with an attorney or in a fireproof home safe accessible to a trusted person.
When Minors Inherit: Protecting the Wealth AND the Child
Minors cannot manage inherited assets — legally or developmentally.
So if no plan exists, courts often place the inheritance into a conservatorship. That means:
annual reporting
spending restrictions
bonding requirements
court fees
public documentation
loss of autonomy
All of this reduces the inheritance.
Families have better options, including UTMA/UGMA accounts or trusts that allow responsible, purposeful control over the minor’s funds. Trusts offer flexibility: money can be used for education, housing, medical needs, future business ventures, or distributed at responsible milestones (NEFE, n.d.).
Children also need age-appropriate financial education:
Younger children learn “This is money for your future.”
Teenagers learn how the funds work.
Young adults learn why protections were put in place.
Adults learn to steward the inheritance wisely.
This is generational wealth done right.
Why Families Lose Wealth — And How to Stop It
Families lose wealth because systems are slow, confusing, or inaccessible. They lose wealth during grief, trauma, instability, job changes, moves, divorces, natural disasters, medical crises, domestic violence, foreclosure, disability, and homelessness.
These systems were not built for the people who need them most.
But now you understand how they work — and how to work around them.
Your Resource Library
Most people lose wealth simply because they don’t know where to look.
This section gives you the tools — clearly, simply, and without overwhelm.
NAUPA (unclaimed.org)
This is the national hub overseen by unclaimed property administrators across the U.S. Its purpose is to protect families from scams and point them directly to real state websites. When you search your name here, NAUPA sends you to your state’s legitimate database. It is always free. It is always safe. And it should always be your starting point.
USA.gov Unclaimed Money
This is the federal government’s consumer education portal. It explains how unclaimed property works, how federal systems interact with state systems, and provides links to trustworthy resources. Use this when you want federal-level clarity or need to double-check that a site is legitimate.
ShowMeMoney (Missouri)
Missouri’s official unclaimed property site. Here you can search, submit claims, upload documents, track progress, and learn about safe-deposit box auctions. If you have ever lived or worked in Missouri — or had a parent or grandparent who did — you should search this site at least once a year.
I-Cash (Illinois), ClaimItTexas (Texas), and Others
Every state has a portal. If your family ever lived, worked, or held accounts elsewhere, you must search those states too. Each site has slightly different rules, but all will require proof of identity and, when appropriate, proof of your relationship to the deceased.
Missouri Courts (Probate Division)
This portal provides probate forms, instructions, and rules for anyone who needs authority to claim a deceased relative’s property. If a will is in a safe-deposit box, or if you must file probate to access inheritance-related assets, this is where you start.
ABA (Wills, Trusts, and Estates)
This isn’t a source for claiming property, but it helps families understand their legal options. It provides clear, accessible explanations of wills, trusts, guardianship, conservatorship, and the probate process.
NEFE (Financial Education)
This site offers tools for teaching teens and young adults the financial literacy they need to manage inherited wealth responsibly.
CFPB
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau protects families from financial fraud. This is especially important when submitting sensitive documents to claim property — CFPB helps families recognize safe practices.
This federally authorized site helps you reconstruct your own financial history — past addresses, employers, and forgotten accounts. Many families use it to uncover clues that lead them to unclaimed property.
TreasuryDirect (Lost Savings Bonds)
Thousands of families have missing or unredeemed U.S. savings bonds. TreasuryDirect allows you to search for and claim them — one of the most overlooked forms of unclaimed wealth.
GovDeals
Many states use GovDeals to auction physical property from safe-deposit boxes. If you suspect your family’s items were auctioned, you can verify that here and then claim the auction proceeds through your state’s unclaimed property office.
Call to Action: Search Today and Reclaim What’s Yours
Search your name.
Search your children’s names.
Search your parents’ names.
Search your grandparents’.
Search every state that has ever touched your family’s life.
You are not asking for a handout.
You are reclaiming what belongs to you.
You are repairing the cracks where wealth has been lost.
You are protecting your legacy.
You are teaching the next generation to do the same.
This is how families build power — not by waiting for systems to improve, but by learning how to navigate them with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
And do not gate-keep this information.
Families lose wealth because no one teaches them where to look, what they’re owed, or how to reclaim it.
Share this with the people you care about — your family, your friends, your coworkers, your community.
What strengthens one family strengthens all of us.
In solidarity,
Lyndsay LaBrier
Merchant Ship Collective — The Launch Dock
Where tools meet purpose. Where knowledge builds wealth.
References
American Bar Association. (n.d.). Wills, trusts & estates resources. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/real_property_trust_estate/resources/
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (n.d.). Consumer tools. https://www.consumerfinance.gov
Government Accountability Office. (2020). Social Security Disability: Additional oversight and timeliness improvements needed. https://www.gao.gov
Government Accountability Office. (2023). IRS telephone service performance. https://www.gao.gov
National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. (n.d.). What is unclaimed property? https://www.unclaimed.org
National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. (2024). Annual report: $4.49 billion returned to rightful owners. https://www.unclaimed.org
National Endowment for Financial Education. (n.d.). Financial education resources. https://www.nefe.org
State of Missouri. (n.d.). Unclaimed property program. https://www.showmemoney.com
U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. (2023). Barriers to accessing benefits and identification. https://www.usich.gov
USA.gov. (n.d.). Unclaimed money. https://www.usa.gov/unclaimed-money
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