Found an uncashed 5 yr old certified check I forgot about. How do I get my money now?

Take it to your bank and ask for help sorting this out.

Most states have treasury departments, they list people owed money from "abandoned" accounts. Look for a web site from your state. Otherwise go to the bank that bought the bank that the check was drawn on. May take a little perseverance, but you will get it. Let us know when you hit pay dirt so we can celebrate with you.
Good luck

Go to website missingmoney. It is a site for almost each states treasury department. It takes about 5 years for something which is not cashed to be returned to the state treasury. On the site there is an area for participating states which shows a map. if your state is not included in the participating states, you have to go into your particular states treasury site. You will be prompted to put in your information. first name/last name and the state.This site is particularly useful for when people move and forget about deposits, returns etc. Also when people marry, look up both maiden and married name. I would think if this money or interest on CD you found was not claimed on taxes you will need an accountant to file an ammended tax return for that year, or face penalties. LOL obviously you were not after the money or it would have been gone by now!

Congratulations, I think. But, didn't you get income tax info. about it, when you filed your taxes?

I am sorry I sounded so crazy when I asked the question about the check. It feels at times like I am running around stomping out fires, once one is out another one pops up.

What I wound up doing was going on Avvo.com and asking attorneys what I should do. One of them says, to go to the State Controllers office website and type in my info and see what pops up and it will lead me to the office that is holding the money. I did what he told me to do and it popped up that the money was still being held by the bank and had not been sent to the state yet.

I called the phone number and a woman came on to help me that was so kind and basically she told me to go to the bank and tell them that I had called her and ask them to cut me a new check. It was just that simple. I told her about the company who contacted me and wanted me to pay them $5,000 to help me get my money back. She said what they had done was illegal as they are not permitted to contact anyone until after the money has gone to the state and mine had not.

I have to say Thank You to that company who did something illegal, because they alerted me to the fact that there was money in a check hiding somewhere in the house! I was also educated that Certified Checks are only good for 6 months, and money left untouched for 3 years will be sent to the state.

I am just shocked that this got past me. As I thought back on it not only did we lose 3 family members but my ex husbands family lost 3 family members as well all at the same time from various illnesses so it was a crazy time for us all.

Thank you for your help and input, as always I greatly appreciate you all!

Good for you. I love to hear about things that work out well without a lot of hassle.

Sorry about all of your losses. You've been through the mill.

Enjoy!

Yes! The AVVO site is great! So many losses so close together can throw you for a loop. Thanks for sharing!