Unclaimed Property Still on the Rise
Unclaimed property is still on the rise in the U.S. in spite of the states’ relentless efforts to return the unclaimed property to its rightful owners. Unclaimed property in the U.S. is reaching unprecedented proportions. A total of over $32 billion is currently being safeguarded by state treasurers and other agencies for 117 million accounts.
To get rid of this burden and help people in finding the forgotten cash or property that is legally theirs, every U.S. state, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have unclaimed property programs that actively find owners of lost and forgotten assets. Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta in Canada have also initiated such programs.
Receiving More Than Returning
Every year billions of unclaimed property is returned to the citizens. Still, it is far from dipping, and continues to rise. State governments are becoming successful in tracing the owners; however, more and more unclaimed and forgotten property is unearthed every passing day. In 2009, the Indiana Attorney General’s office was successful in returning $42.2 million dollars of unclaimed cash to its rightful owners, but also recovered $44.6 million of forgotten property from various businesses.
Various electronic media, especially the internet, is proving crucial in reaching large numbers of people and more effective in spreading awareness about the unclaimed property. At the same time, it is excavating more unclaimed property from various sources. As the awareness among the people is on the rise, businesses, financial institutions and individuals are coming forward to report forgotten properties.
In 2006 alone, states have returned $1.754 billion from 1.929 million accounts to the owners. But this dent was filled up in fiscal year 2008, when the Department of Revenue’s Unclaimed Property Section recovered lost property worth more than $100 million.
Vanishing Property Owners
The main reason that has been cited for accumulating unclaimed property is the shifting of people from one place to another. Whenever people change places, they forget to carry out standard processes for closing bank accounts and collecting utility deposits. They do not inform the agencies about their new address where the checks and balance amounts could be sent. Such undelivered checks and left out balance amounts contribute largely to the unclaimed property.
The federal government has pointed out that $16 billion, lying in the form of savings bonds, has never been cashed. These savings bonds, issued long ago, have matured and stopped earning interest. Now, as per the government’s regulations these bonds contribute to the unclaimed property. Many unclaimed property has resulted also from the demise of older citizens. Their legal heir remains unaware about the physical and financial property left behind them.
Come, Claim and Carry!
All the state governments are extending every type of help to its citizens to find out and claim the lost cash in their name. Citizens can visit the state treasury office and find out the details of any unclaimed property in their name.
However, online search is proving easy and effective for the people to search the unclaimed property in their name. www.cashunclaimed.com is one of the largest databases of unclaimed property in the world. Responsible Americans must log on to the site and help halting the rise in unclaimed property.
Most Americans have unclaimed property or money in their name and they don’t even know it. Cashunclaimed.com is one of the best websites to utilize while searching for unclaimed money. Log on to www.cashunclaimed.com today for a free search to find your unclaimed money!
