The States Are at Work to Return Unclaimed Money
Returning unclaimed money has been a recent concern for most U.S. State treasuries. All the state treasurer offices in U.S. are busy these days in not only doing their core tasks but also caretaking and returning of $32.877 billion of U.S. unclaimed money.
Unclaimed money has resulted from dormant savings accounts, idle stocks, uncashed dividends or payroll checks, forgotten traveler’s checks and trust distributions, unredeemed money orders or gift certificates, unclaimed insurance payments or refunds of life insurance policies, lost certificates of deposit, uncollected utility security deposits and unclaimed lottery jackpots.
Relentless Efforts by the States
Various U.S. state governments are leaving no stones unturned to reach the owners of the unclaimed property. Personal memos, advertisements, events and camps are utilized to spread awareness among the citizens and impel them to carry out a search about any unclaimed property in their name.
The Oregon Department of State Lands that governs the state’s unclaimed property are offering free, half-day seminars to help businesses learn about complying with the unclaimed property laws. California state government has re-established a unit that aggressively tracks down and reunites the owners with their property. The Great Colorado Payback is reuniting Coloradans with their lost or forgotten property. Texas returned $147 million worth of unclaimed property to its owners in 2009.
Even the smaller states are going ahead with full force to return the unclaimed property. The Connecticut State Treasurer’s Office is issuing a consumer alert to remind the public that anyone can claim their property free of charge without using a consulting service. West Virginia State Treasurer John Perdue presented a $12,000 check to Weirton resident as audiences watched it on TV. The State of Hawaii Unclaimed Property Program publishes the annual notice of names of the persons who may be the possible owners of abandoned property.
Responsible Citizens’ Initiative
All responsible and concerned American citizens are requested to extend support to the state governments in disbursing unclaimed property. Citizens are required to carry out an online search on www.cashunclaimed.com for lost or forgotten property in their name and stake their claim.
Cashunclaimed.com is one of the largest single databases for U.S. unclaimed money in the world. Our current database lists billions of dollars in unclaimed money, property, accounts and assets from all 50 states and several Federal agencies that could belong to you. There are millions of people who are owed federal and state unclaimed money and they don’t even know it!
