"I've heard about websites that help you find unclaimed money in your name. Is there such a thing?"
- Carla Topaz, Gendale, Wisconsin

Most people dream that there's a little pot of gold out there with their name on it. (Maybe a savings account their mother had or some lost dividend checks.) And we found about 20 websites that would love to help them locate it. But be aware that these recovery services take a cut ranging from 10% to 50% of what they recover. That's especially pricey when you consider that you shouldn't have to pay a fee at all. In all 50 states, the state treasurer is obliged to protect unclaimed property, acting as custodian until the rightful owners can be found.

For more information about Wisconsin's policy on unclaimed assets, go to the website of Wisconsin's Office of the Treasurer. If you haven't always been a resident of Wisconsin, try the State Offices of Unclaimed Funds, which has links to all the states' unclaimed property sites. Most will let you search for yourself, and once you locate your name, you can download a claim form and send it in.

If you really don't want to do the search yourself, just be sure that you never sign an agreement with a locator that asks for money up front. And if a locator contacts you about possible unclaimed property, check with your state's controller's office to see if the money is really there.
--reported by Andrea Bennett