Unclaimed Property Blog

In a collaborative effort, State and Federal governments have taken all the right steps in preserving the unclaimed and lost property. The fact that all the lost property from over the years is safe with the government is a great relief for most of the residents who are aware of the fact that they have an unclaimed fund lying somewhere. In a concerted effort with the federal government and other agencies, state governments have simplified the process of funds location and reclaim. The following improvements have been observed as part of the drive to reunite the lost funds with the actual owners…

The increasing pile of unclaimed money across all the state treasuries is a major cause for concern for the government and its associated agencies. The unclaimed money database is adding new entries to its list with every passing day. Larger states, like California and New York, have a larger problem at hand because of the size, population, and cosmopolitan workforce. Every state treasury and federal government is taking aggressive steps to unite the owners of these unclaimed monies with their lost funds.

Unclaimed money has been a subject generating more and more awareness among the state governments. It needs a high level of concerted action between the government agencies and the citizens to minimize the flow of unclaimed money. Can we really prevent it? It is a statistical fact that almost 85% of U.S. residents have left behind cash and property at some point and failed to claim it back.

The unclaimed money count continues to climb relentlessly in spite of all the great efforts of state and federal agencies. A whooping $40 billion is lying in the different state treasuries around the country and that translates to roughly 117 million accounts which are still untraced. These unclaimed money pools are lying in the various state treasuries.

As part of the reclaim drive, federal and state governments are assisting people in finding the forgotten cash or property that is legally theirs. In reality, every U.S. state, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands have unclaimed property programs that actively find owners of lost and forgotten assets.

Most of the State treasuries are at a loss as to how to handle the growing pile of unclaimed funds. This surplus of unclaimed money in the state treasuries is getting bigger with each passing day. Major states like California and New York have reported huge amounts of unclaimed funds: $5.7 Billion and $9.9 billion respectively. Although this is great news for states in this times of economic slump, the resources and logistics required to handle the increasing surplus is also required.

Almost $35 billion of unclaimed cash is lying in the state treasuries around the country. The state machinery is trying its best to disburse this unclaimed money to the rightful owners or heirs of these owners (in case they are deceased). Various programs, both in the electronic and digital media, have been initiated throughout the country to spread the awareness about the unclaimed cash and property. Print media has the deepest circulation and reaches the most remote corners of the country. Popular and most widely circulated newspapers are being utilized to advertise the unclaimed cash list.

It’s not a small amount; almost $35 billion of unclaimed cash is waiting to be claimed by American citizens across various states. While the influx of unclaimed money is unabated, the actual reimbursement of this unaccounted money is not taking place at a satisfactory pace. The turnover over of unclaimed cash is hindered by so many factors, mainly the lack of awareness in the state residents. There is widespread concern among the decision makers in the treasury departments of the various states regarding the unclaimed pile of money which is growing rapidly on a daily basis.

The large amount of unclaimed money is turing out to be a logistic nightmare for the states: trying to manage and store increasing pile of unclaimed money, while on the one hand they are fighting the economic slowdown with all their might.

It is estimated that at any point of time, State governments are storing more than $40 billion dollars in unclaimed money and assets. It can be said that about 30 million Americans are believed to have unclaimed money lying somewhere in the state coffers. Some of the most pertinent questions that are frequently asked are:

Unclaimed money has been forgotten but not lost; its lying somewhere in the coffers of the state government waiting to be claimed. Most of the state governments have taken concrete steps to ensure that their citizens are not deprived of the hard earned money which belongs rightfully to them.

The steps taken by the U.S. Government consist of:

The mound of unclaimed cash is far from depleated as personal memos, outreach programs and other methods of reaching every possible American is proving less effective. More forgotten cash is being recovered everyday than what is returned to the owners after much effort. In order to intensify the mission, various states in the U.S. are now listing unclaimed money in newspapers.

Newspapers have a very wide reach and are read by almost every American. If the campaign to return the unclaimed money rides on the intense penetration of the newspapers, then the states hope that it will result in increased awareness about the issue. Also, newspapers are helpful in reaching to the population staying in remote locations and not having internet and other publicity facilities.