Unclaimed Money South Dakota: How to Find Unclaimed Money in South Dakota

Between 2015 to 2018, the State of South Dakota returned about $62 million in unclaimed money to their legitimate owners. However, one might ask, how do such huge amounts of money go unclaimed? Below are some of the reasons why:

* The owner is late, and the holder of such funds is unable to contact the heirs or legal representatives.
* A bank suffers failures, and its customers cannot reclaim their funds. 
* A tenant fails to collect their safety deposit.
* The legitimate owner fails to leave any last will or testament. 
* A worker fails to collect their commission or last paycheck.
* A beneficiary or policyholder fails to reclaim their insurance money or refund.
* The owner moves out of their current locations and fails to update their address. 

When any of these scenarios occur, there is a likelihood that funds belonging to such owners may become unclaimed. 

The unclaimed property laws of South Dakota provide for the protection of the property rights of owners of abandoned monies and other financial items. 

These laws outline the administration of unclaimed money in the state, including the procedures for reporting and returning them. 

In addition, the laws provide that banks and other financial institutions must return unclaimed money to the account holder upon request. 

Furthermore, insurance companies are required to return unclaimed life insurance proceeds to the beneficiary or policyholder. 

However, if both agencies fail to contact the rightful owners of the unclaimed within the provided dormancy period, they must report all unclaimed money in their annual report and submit it to the Office of the South Dakota Treasure. 

The state’s treasury is tasked with compiling a list of unclaimed funds and other assets. 

The list is made publicly available to every resident of the state to find their missing or unclaimed money. 

The state treasurer holds over $100 million in unclaimed money and other properties, amounting to thousands of owners. 

This year, the treasury department has returned $18 million so far in unclaimed money and other assets. 

There is no deadline to make a claim. Unclaimed money is kept in a custodial capacity until the rightful owner or heir comes forward with a claim. 

The office of the state treasurer charges no fee for inquiring about a fund or filling a claim. 

However, payments might be attached to specific types of property, such as stocks and safe deposit boxes’ content. 

Some of the unclaimed funds in South Dakota include:

* Stocks and bonds
* Securities 
* Dividends
* Unpaid wages
* Uncashed checks
* Contents of safe deposit boxes 
* Funds held in savings and checking accounts
* Unclaimed insurance money

How to Find Unclaimed Money in South Dakota:

South Dakota unclaimed money must be reported and returned to the state treasurer’s office after the expiration of the dormancy period. 

The state treasurer has an unclaimed money database that is accessible to every member of the public. 

To recover your unclaimed money in South Dakota, simply do the following:

1. Navigate to the website of the Treasury of South Dakota
2. Select the “Get Started for Free” option
3. Type in your full legal name
4. Enter the name of your city and zip code
5. Enter the ID of your property if you have one
6. Hit “Search”
7. Once you have located your asset, click on “Claim” next to “Owner’s Name”
8. Tap on “View Claimed Properties” in the bottom right corner
9. Select the “Claimant’s Relationship” button to help establish your relationship with the money. Popular options include heir, estate representative, owner, or business representative.
10. Hit on the “File Claim” button

After submitting the claim, a claim ID will be automatically generated and provided to the claimant to use in tracking the status of the claim. 

The following supporting documents will be required for a claim to be processed: 

* Date of birth 
* Email address
* Full name
* Social Security Number (SSN)
* Other contact information

The Office of the South Dakota Treasure usually takes two to three weeks to process a claim. 

If you don’t receive any response, claimants can contact them to check on the process using the following details: 

Phone: (605) 773-3379 or 1-866-357-2547 (toll-free in South Dakota),
Email: [email protected]

You can also visit them physically at:

SD State Treasurer - UCP,
124 E Dakota Ave,
Pierre, SD 57501

Furthermore, you can also find state of South Dakota unclaimed money via the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA).

NAUPA keeps track of unclaimed properties across the United States. They have a searchable database of every unclaimed fund, which can be searched by state or province. 

Interested parties can also contact them to find South Dakota unclaimed money: 

1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW,
Suite 800, 
Washington DC, 20004

Finally, residents of the state can also access South Dakota unclaimed property and funds via federal agencies and databases, including:

* The Credit Union of Unclaimed Shares
* MissingMoney.com
* The Treasury Hunt

Conclusion 

You can now recover your unclaimed money without much stress. 

South Dakota residents searching for their abandoned or South Dakota unclaimed money can do so using any of the abovementioned processes.