Well, maybe. This afternoon, my friend Tracy Abbott sent me this link to a website put up by the State Controller of California. It's a database of unclaimed property listings…meaning that they have money or other assets for people but don't know where to send it. They have nothing for me but there's some money for a deceased uncle of mine, and I think I qualify to receive it.
I got hooked and spent several hours plugging in the names of every friend I could think of. I probably found about $35,000 worth of unclaimed property for people I know, and I duly alerted them…and now I'm alerting you. I think this pretty much applies to folks who live in California…though I did notice $800 due to a friend of my mother's who moved to New York twenty years ago. The website tells you what you have to do to collect if you think a given listing is you. Happy hunting.