Unclaimed Property Owner List Published in Texas
On Feb 7, 2011, a listing of nearly 44,000 people with unclaimed money or other property will be published in newspapers across north Texas. The office of the State Comptroller has reported that this time the traditional statewide list of unclaimed property owners has been replaced with six regional lists. The Comptroller will publish six regional unclaimed property lists in more than 30 Texas newspapers from December 2010 through April 2011.
State Comptroller, Susan Combs says that, “Five regional unclaimed property lists published so far have produced 20 percent more claims than last year’s statewide list.” She also mentioned that Texas has so far returned $21.2 million to owners. This list will have names of people with at least $250 in unclaimed property reported to the state within the last year. So, if you have an unclaimed property less than this amount, you might not find your name on this published list.
According to confirmed sources, 25% of Texans have unclaimed property or money that is waiting to be claimed. Various measures that include the use of different types of media, have been adopted by the state treasury to reach out to the remotest corners of the state. As part of this new strategy, the use of print media is also playing a big role in the drive to reunite the owners of unclaimed property with their lost funds or assets.
Susan Combs announced today that the city of Texarkana has reclaimed $6,441 in unclaimed property. Bowie County also appears on the state’s Unclaimed Property List, with $13,066 waiting to be claimed.
“Cities, counties and school districts face challenges in this tough economy,” Combs said. “Our office has expanded its efforts to quickly contact local government entities that have money on the state’s unclaimed property list and help them reclaim it, and I applaud the taxing entities in this community for taking the initiative to get this money back and put it to work for the taxpayers.”
As of the last reliable estimate, the state of Texas is holding more than $12.9 million dollars in unclaimed property for Bowie County residents only, including $2.1 million that belongs to people in Texarkana. The Comptroller’s office has returned more than $343,000 to Bowie County owners in the last two years.
The North Texas Regional Unclaimed Property List will be published Sunday, Feb. 7. The list will contain the names of 43,900 unclaimed property owners from 50 North Texas counties who have had at least $250 in forgotten funds reported to the state within the last year.
Traditionally, this list is published statewide in October. The statewide list has been broken up into 6 regional lists and the results have been pretty encouraging: 20% more claims as compared to last year’s statewide list. The comptroller’s office has so far returned $21.2 million. “By focusing on one region at a time, we can provide better customer service and reunite people with their money faster, because claims are spread out over several months, rather than a single peak period,” Combs said.
It is advisable that the residents of Texas do not wait for the published list to appear for inquiring about their unclaimed property. The unclaimed property Web site at www.ClaimItTexas.org is available year-round and contains the complete list of all owners of any amount of unclaimed property, from any year. You may also inquire about unclaimed property by phone at (800) 654-FIND (3463).
