Unclaimed Property Blog

There are many different views on this. Here is some useful data on how to determine for yourself whether credit counseling is good or bad for your credit score.

Craig Watts, Public Affairs Manager at Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO), has stated that it is not their goal to have consumers consider credit counseling to be detrimental to their FICO scores.

This is good news; however, if the credit counselor negotiates a lesser contractual obligation, it is the lender who decides how to report that new obligation to the credit reporting agencies.

Iowa Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald is surprising Iowans with money they did not know they had.

Ogden Olson was surprised to learn that he was the rightful owner of approximately $2,800.00. He did not remember purchasing any stocks or bonds, but the state was holding common stock in his name.

Fitzgerald remarked that his office has payroll checks and other checks which have exceeded their expiration date. The largest cash amount listed is $613,000 for Brammer Manufacturing Co., a business no longer in operation. He also stated that a claim is expected to be filed.

There are several states looking for people that have unclaimed money. You could also be one of the fortunate ones.

Both Mississippi’s and Louisiana’s state treasuries hold unclaimed funds, stocks and money residents own but do not necessarily know they have.

Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter has more than $300 million to give away to rightful owners.

The money, which private businesses turn over to the state, could be anything from an overpaid utility bill to stocks a great-grandparent had. The amounts also vary. Unclaimed property also passes down from one generation to another.

Some states have money that doesn’t belong to them, so they are looking for rightful owners. Every state has a method of returning unclaimed money.

OK, if you are wondering how a state can have your money, here are some ways:

 * Dormant bank accounts including savings, checking, safe-deposit box
*  Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and dividends
*  Wages or child support payments
*  Utility deposit
*  Estates
* Uncashed cashier's checks or money orders

The property listed above is sent to the state after the parties holding onto the property cannot find the rightful owner. Then the state is charged with the duty of finding the rightful owner to return the property. Each state has their own laws on how the property is turned over to the state and manners in which to claim the property.

Unclaimed money is not just something that Americans have. Our neighbor to the North also has the dilemma of returning money to rightful owners.

In this case we are looking at one bank, the Bank of Canada. It was reported that as of January 1, 2006 the bank was holding 854,000 dormant bank accounts totalling $270 million. The largest single account has a balance of $423,598.58.

With amounts of money like that you may wonder how someone would forget about it. There are sudden deaths where the relatives have no knowledge of this account. The bank does not have a current address and therefore cannot contact the rightful heir. The most common reason for an abandoned account is the owner relocates and does not inform the bank of the move.

You read the headlines about states having millions of dollars to give to rightful owners. Tempting? Here is a story about someone that got caught cheating.

Florida has found Michael Bronstein, 37 guilty of stealing almost one million dollars from the state’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property. Bronstein plead guilty and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.

Bronstein was sentenced May 25 for his participation in an elaborate scheme to file fraudulent claims for unclaimed property.

The Florida Bureau of Unclaimed Property has more than $1 billion in cash and unclaimed property from dormant bank accounts, uncashed payroll checks and abandoned safe deposit boxes.

Unclaimed property is the topic for some of England’s largest charities. Money is sitting idle and charities are in need of funds. What to do? Read on to find out what they are planning.

Some of England’s largest charities have formed an independent body which is set to announce plans for a “social investment bank” . The purpose of this group is to take over hundreds of millions of pounds lying in dormant bank accounts.

The exact plan will be unveiled on July 12, 2006 as part of an interim report by the Commission on Unclaimed Assets. The Commission is reviewing how dormant funds could be distributed to charities if the assets are not reclaimed by their owners.

Tobacco farmers were once given a settlement to no longer raise tobacco. If you thought that all the money was given out, think again.

In the fall of 2005 the Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division received payment under the Master Settlement agreement (MSA) between the major domestic cigarette manufacturers and 46 states. This is money that had gone unclaimed for several years.

Further looking into this uncovered that there are about 1,300 farmers in Kentucky who have not claimed all they were due from the tobacco settlements.

There are many stories of how people have claimed their unclaimed cash or property. They are the stories that put a smile on your face and may make you wonder if it can happen to you. Here is a story that may make you laugh out loud. This is how not to claim unclaimed money.

A Jordanian salesman was arrested for forgery and attempted embezzlement in Dubai this week after using a doctored identification card. The doctoring of an ID card is not new; however, this salesman used a photo of Brad Pitt.

Indiana is once again making more attempts to contact people that have unclaimed property. The state does want to give this money back to the rightful owner.

For various reasons money does get turned over to the state. The laws on unclaimed property vary from state to state as to what is to be turned over to the state and the time limits to turn in unclaimed assets.

In Indiana financial institutions and other holders are required to turn over assets of accounts that have had five or seven (depending on the type of account) years of inactivity. After 25 years, unclaimed funds become subject to the general fund.