Unclaimed Property Blog

Every now and then even a state wants to do some “spring cleaning”. In Maryland it was a bit early, but definitely beneficial to the state.

State Comptroller William Donald Schaefer announced that auction sales from 423 unclaimed property items, from abandoned safe deposit boxes, generated $86,500 on Saturday, February 4th.

The total appraised value of all items in the auction was $52,131. The single most valuable item purchased was a $3,400 diamond ring.

Proceeds from the auction go directly to the state’s general fund, which last year generated $24,232.03.

New law has banks and other institutions giving money to the state as unclaimed property

Passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reporting law and other changes in corporate governance have caused a large increase in the amount of “unclaimed property� money being collected by all 50 states, state treasurers said.

That means a growing number of Americans could collect large piles of money, if they only knew where to look. A Baton Rouge man recently learned that the state of Louisiana owes him about $750,000 in stocks and dividends from an investment account he had lost track of years ago.

Often you will see pop-ups on your screen regarding credit scores. You click on and you see FICO score, not credit score. What is this FICO? Is it a disease? Do I have it? Do I want to know if I have it?

It is not a disease. FICO is what the financial people refer to as your credit score. Guess they thought we would not figure that one out. FICO comes from a company that was started back in 1956 called Fair, Isaac Corporation. Fair Isaac was the creator of the credit scoring system. This system simply puts a number as your credit (FICO) score based on how good (or bad) you are at managing your debt.

CA State Controller, Steve Westly, in recent months has been going to different areas of the state announcing money to be given away. This is money that people have not claimed and was then turned over to the state as unclaimed property.

There have been stories on the internet and in newspapers of how difficult it is to find some of these people as they have not left any forwarding address. Hence, Mr. Westly traveling to different areas of the state looking for the owners.

A Miami news team is getting involved in giving away big money. If you are wondering if you may be one of the big money recipients, read on.

There is more than $1 billion in the state’s unclaimed property office. Some of it might be yours.

NBC 6’s Joel Connable reported that he has an entire list of people owed “big money,” from $10,000 to more than $100,000.

With a few clicks on a computer, NBC 6 found some owners. Alstene McKinney is one of those found owners. Her $43,000 was from an old employer, the Miami-Dade County School District. It was money from her pension that she never received.

Just like the Steelers, you could be a winner. Well actually you would be claiming what was turned over to the state as unclaimed property.

Each year the treasury department receives hundreds of millions of dollars in unclaimed property. It is responsible for finding the proper owners.

The bureau employs 121 full-time employees and six temporary workers, nearly a quarter of the 520 employees in the department.

The treasury department is custodian of unclaimed property — such as abandoned bank accounts, forgotten stocks, uncashed checks, certificates of deposit, life insurance policies, unredeemed gift cards and safe deposit boxes.

The department is obligated to carry the unclaimed property forever.