Web Site May Lead To Missing Money.

It's getting easier to track money that you may have forgotten about, or money a dead relative left, with you as heir.

A new Web site -- MissingMoney.com -- pools information from the unclaimed-property offices of 25 states and Washington, D.C. By the end of the summer, 40 states could be on board.

You can look yourself up, to see if any beautiful surprises await. (Women should look under both married and maiden names.) You can also check friends' and relatives' names.

If you get a hit, the site won't tell you what you're owed, or where the money is. Only that you have a claim. You then have to prove who you are and that you' re entitled.

Peter DeVries, president of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) and head of Florida's unclaimed-property division, calls the Web site a "giant step forward."

Many states have had individual Web sites, but this is they first time they've all been brought together for an easy search.

MissingMoney.com opened last November. So far, it has generated 3 million searches and some 117,000 claims, averaging $300 each, its president, Mike Meriton, says.

Prior to the launching of MissingMoney.com, states had been returning around $2 billion a year in unclaimed property, DeVries says. MissingMoney.com could raise he number of claimants by as much as 20 percent.

If you're not on the Web, write to NAUPA at P.O. Box 7156, Bismark, N.D. 58507 for the free brochure, "Unclaimed Property Information." Include a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope. The brochure includes the addresses of all the state unclaimed-property offices. They'll do a search for you.