Most States Are Holding Millions in Unclaimed Funds
State governments are having a huge reserve of unclaimed public money, despite the efforts to bolster its economy in this era of one of the largest economic slump. Most of the states have expressed their conerns with this influx of unclaimed funds into their treasuries. The ratio of incoming funds to the funds which are being claimed is still very high. Millions of dollars of unaccounted money is held in state treasuries with no possible outlet in sight.
At the moment, more than $40 billion dollars of unclaimed money and assets are waiting to be returned to their rightful owners. Statistically, more than 30 million American are missing out on their hard earned money which is still lying with the state treasuries.
If you are any of your relatives have worked in different states, have travelled overseas for employment, or have retired without any funds coming your way, then it is time to check the different databases of state and federal government for unaccounted money. It is highly likely that you have some of your funds lying in the way of utility deposits, store refunds, cashier’s checks, Bonds and mutual funds certificates, abandoned savings and checking account, unredeemed gift certificates, royalty, or court payments.
States like California, New York and Texas are in a greater fix compared to the other states because of the volume of unclaimed funds lying in the state coffers and also because of the rate at which new funds are being added to this vault on a daily basis. Most of these states have taken very aggressive measures to identify the owners of these unclaimed funds, but the success ratio has not been very encouraging.
State governments have no other choice at the end of a few stipulated years to use these funds for the development programs in the state. To fasten the process of reclaim and to make the search process easier for the state residents, most of the state governments have launched a website which provides a clear set of instructions for locating your missing money and for expediting the reclaim procedure.
While the state of New York is holding on to more than $11 billion of the unclaimed money, California is home to almost $6 billion of unclaimed funds belonging to almost 12 million residents. Texas is also witnessing a very steep climb in its unclaimed money pile with millions added every month to the $2 billion vault. Within the federal government regulations, every state has its own set of rules for the escheatment fund – the claim and recovery process for the unclaimed funds.
By law, the states have to wait for a certain reasonable period of time before the money can be considered as abandoned or unclaimed. Many states have started utilizing the interests accrued from these unclaimed funds and this money is supporting so many development programs in the state. It is time that the U.S. residents get proactive and take personal initiative to search for their missing money.
