Many Use Unclaimed Funds for Charity
Unclaimed funds are being added to all the state treasuries in large volumes, and there is no respite for the authorities in charge of the state treasuries. In comparison to the volume of the incoming funds, the number of claims that are being made for the unclaimed money is very low. This is resulting in huge piles of money which have been lying unused for quite some time now. Different states are planning different action plans in order to utilize this readily available money for the good of the citizens of the state.
Some Ohio lawmakers want money left over from class action lawsuit settlements to go to charities, not back to the companies that were sued. State Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chesterland, says if a business agrees to pay $1 million to resolve a lawsuit over a product or policy, it ought to pay the million.
Legislation proposed by Grendell and Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, would turn undistributed funds over to charities, unless a court order says otherwise. Cleveland-area class-action lawyer, Patrick Perotti, says about $60 million in Ohio settlement money goes unclaimed each year because not every eligible recipient can be found.
Many state residents have also come out in support of the ‘use of unclaimed funds towards charity’. Lawmakers in various states are mulling over the idea of a legislation which will authorize the states to utilize the unclaimed money towards a charitable cause.
There are a lot of social welfare programs which are lying dormant in the absence of funds. States like Delaware and California, with the support of their Governors, have supported the use of unclaimed money towards the implementation of welfare programs and development projects. On the same lines, in order to help the economically deprived and other similar groups of people, state authorities and citizens have come out strongly for using the unclaimed money towards the charity.
On the other hand, a lot of citizens who have benefited from the unclaimed money programs, have started individual charity programs and donated all their unclaimed money for a charitable cause. These noble actions from the citizens have established a great precedent for people who receive the unclaimed money.
