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I was absolutely shocked to receive a form letter from our bank saying that if we did not make a withdrawal or deposit to one of our accounts (just a regular savings account) that they will send the funds to the state as it has not been touched in five years! As the account now holds a little over $10,l000 -- the original 10K plus interest -- this was not just a little bit of pocket money (to us, anyway).
This is the first time that we ever received such a notice because it was the first time that we had left an account lie completely dormant for that long. (We had received an inheritance and just decided to put it in a separate account until we wanted or needed to use it.)
And what was REALLY scary is that it came in an unremarkable envelope that could have just ended up in the trash as junk mail!
I have a similar account that I opened up just for the free lifetime safe deposit box in the branch. Maintain minimum balance, but I do add to it online electronically just for activity so they know I"m still alive. I live in a retirement community where the avg age must be 75+ and I'm sure it's pretty common for my bank to have accounts that are long forgotten after customers die off.
I don't know what the time frame is, but if your account goes long enough without any activity, they will need to know if you're still alive. If you don't respond, the bank can't hold on to an inactive account indefinitely, and I think legally needs to turn it over to the state.
That's been going on for a long time. I make sure to add a $1 once a year to the account that I just want to sit there doing nothing in case of an emergency, and to the account that I want to keep just because it gives me a discount. If I don't feel like adding a $1 I move the interest earned for the year to a different account and that constitutes activity too.
This reminds me I should do something with the account I set up in my new state. I normally put extra money in every month but haven't for a couple of months.
I was going to close the one in my old state but found that it was/is unnecessary as I do everything electronically. I've been with them so long and, since they are in a small town, they know me very well. The new one seems so impersonal, which is fine. They're a business, not my best friends. The town I moved from in Minnesota has only 200 people so everyone knows each other and I am very comfortable with them.
I could be wrong, but I think looking at your account electronically is enough to show activity. Banks monitor this as well. I have a savings account which I didn't do anything with for a few months. When I tried to check it on my computer, it wouldn't let me any longer because too much time had lapsed. I had to set up a new password. Now I go online and check it once a month and haven't had another issue.
It's not that scary, you can retrieve it from the state. My employer apparently cut a check for me for some dividends and sent it to my very old address. Obviously it was never cashed. I check the state website every once in a while and found a record of it there. It took several weeks and some proof that the money actually belonged to me but I got my money back. https://www.usa.gov/unclaimed-money
We received a letters from a credit union account a few years ago. Now we automatically have money going in every three months. We keep the accounts if we want a car loan as they have a history of dirt cheap rates.
I was absolutely shocked to receive a form letter from our bank saying that if we did not make a withdrawal or deposit to one of our accounts (just a regular savings account) that they will send the funds to the state as it has not been touched in five years! As the account now holds a little over $10,l000 -- the original 10K plus interest -- this was not just a little bit of pocket money (to us, anyway).
This is the first time that we ever received such a notice because it was the first time that we had left an account lie completely dormant for that long. (We had received an inheritance and just decided to put it in a separate account until we wanted or needed to use it.)
And what was REALLY scary is that it came in an unremarkable envelope that could have just ended up in the trash as junk mail!
Banks are required to do that and the time limit varies by each state.
It's sent to the state and becomes unclaimed property.
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