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Unclaimed property: the rules, and the free way to use them
How the free official state databases work, and what a claim actually needs. Searching for unclaimed property is free at the official sources: your own state treasury's unclaimed property program, Virginia's own vaMoneySearch.gov, and MissingMoney.com, the free multi-state search NAUPA manages. Never pay a finder a percentage to do what the state does for nothing.
The free official routeSearching for unclaimed property is free at the official sources: your own state treasury's unclaimed property program, Virginia's own vaMoneySearch.gov, and MissingMoney.com, the free multi-state search NAUPA manages. Never pay a finder a percentage to do what the state does for nothing.
Frequently asked questions
Does unclaimed property cost anything to claim?
Searching for unclaimed property is free at the official sources: your own state treasury's unclaimed property program, Virginia's own vaMoneySearch.gov, and MissingMoney.com, the free multi-state search NAUPA manages. Never pay a finder a percentage to do what the state does for nothing.
Is QuicklyClaim a government service?
No. QuicklyClaim is an independent publisher. We explain the official process and link straight to it.
Every rule we rely on
| The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators describes itself as the authority that helps individuals claim unclaimed property and helps businesses meet state reporting law. | NAUPA (unclaimed.org) |
| MissingMoney.com is a free website managed by NAUPA that searches participating states' unclaimed property databases from one place. | NAUPA (unclaimed.org) |
| Searching the official unclaimed property databases is free. | NAUPA (unclaimed.org) |
| Virginia's unclaimed property program is run by the Virginia Department of the Treasury through its Division of Unclaimed Property. | Virginia Department of the Treasury |
| Virginia's official search and claim database is vaMoneySearch.gov, and the Treasury states that finding money there is easy and free. | Virginia Department of the Treasury |
| When the reported owner of Virginia unclaimed property is deceased, the person claiming an interest in it must submit evidence of the claimant's entitlement to payment together with a form prescribed by the administrator. | Va. Code § 55.1-2532 |
| Virginia lists the acceptable evidence of entitlement in order of preference: first a certificate of qualification as executor or an order of appointment as administrator or personal representative of the decedent's estate under the laws of the state of the decedent's domicile; then, if applicable, an affidavit authorizing the claimant to be the designated successor under the Virginia Small Estate Act or its equivalent in the state of the decedent's domicile; then the order of distribution or the final accounting for a closed estate that reflects payment due in whole or in part to the claimant. | Va. Code § 55.1-2532 |
| When none of that evidence exists, the Virginia administrator may allow the claimant to submit an affidavit stating the claimant's entitlement to payment in the absence of sufficient documentation, and may approve the claim at his discretion, but only where the reported owner's death occurred at least one year before the claim was filed and the amount claimed is $25,000 or less, excluding statutory interest. | Va. Code § 55.1-2532 |
| The Virginia administrator may pay or deliver all of a deceased owner's property to a claimant who submits the prescribed affidavit evidencing his agreement to receive and distribute the property to the other rightful heirs or beneficiaries and acknowledging his assumption of liability to those heirs or beneficiaries for failing to do so. | Va. Code § 55.1-2532 |
| Once Virginia pays a deceased owner's property to a claimant who is not the authorised personal representative or designated successor, the administrator is discharged and must deny any subsequent claim to the same property; a later claimant with an equal or superior right may seek redress from the claimant who was paid. | Va. Code § 55.1-2532 |
| The Virginia administrator is required to develop and make available a plain English explanation of a person's right to make a claim for property where the reported owner is deceased, and to post that document on the Department of the Treasury's website. | Va. Code § 55.1-2532 |
| The Virginia administrator is authorised to make payment without having received a claim at all, provided the property is cash property, the apparent owner is a natural person and the sole owner, the administrator has verified that owner's identity, and the amount to be paid does not exceed $5,000. | Va. Code § 55.1-2532 |
| Virginia adds interest to a claim paid to the owner at five percent, or such lesser rate as the property earned while in the holder's possession, compounded annually, but only if the property claimed was interest-bearing to the owner while the holder held it. | Va. Code § 55.1-2533 |
| In Virginia, the expiration of a period of time specified by statute or court order during which an action could have been brought to obtain payment of a claim for money or recovery of property does not prevent that money or property from being presumed abandoned, and does not affect the duty to report it or to deliver it to the administrator. | Va. Code § 55.1-2528 |
| Under the Virginia Small Estate Act a small asset is any debt owed to, or any asset belonging or presently distributable to, the decedent other than real property, having a value on the date of death of no more than $75,000, and it includes bank, savings institution, credit union and brokerage accounts, securities, deposits, tax refunds, overpayments and items of tangible personal property. | Va. Code § 64.2-600 |
| A person holding a small asset must pay or deliver it to the decedent's designated successor on being presented an affidavit made by all of the known successors stating that the decedent's entire personal probate estate, wherever located, did not exceed $75,000 on the date of death, that at least 60 days have elapsed since the death, that no application for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction, and that the decedent's will, if any, was duly probated. | Va. Code § 64.2-601 |
| The Virginia Small Estate Act affidavit must be on a form prepared by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. | Va. Code § 64.2-601 |
| The successor designated to receive a small asset under the Virginia Small Estate Act has a fiduciary duty to safeguard and promptly pay or deliver the small asset as required by the laws of the Commonwealth. | Va. Code § 64.2-601 |
| The Virginia Department of the Treasury states that it is now automatically returning unclaimed property, eliminating the need to file a claim. | Virginia Department of the Treasury |
Guides
- Nobody was ever appointed executor. Can I still claim my relative's unclaimed money in Virginia?
- My relative died and left unclaimed property in Virginia. How do I claim it?
- Does unclaimed money in Virginia expire, and does the state pay interest on it?