States working together on unclaimed property.
Borrowing a page from the Iowa playbook, state officials in Nebraska and South Dakota are taking more measures to return forgotten property to residents.
Millions of dollars of unclaimed wages, stocks, gift certificates, telephone deposits and many other categories are the property of the people who own them. But in an increasingly mobile society, South Dakota Treasurer Vernon Larson said, people can’t be found to get back what is rightfully theirs once they’ve apparently forgotten about it.
So Larson and Nebraska Treasurer Ron Ross came to South Sioux City, IA Tuesday to train 10 northeast Nebraska merchants on requirements that businesses holding unclaimed property make reports of the assets to the state treasurer. Once the businesses advise they have the property, the treasurer’s “primary responsibility to Nebraska taxpayers is to return unclaimed property to its rightful owners,” Ross said.
“The bulk of what we do is cash and securities,” Ross said, while Larson said, “in South Dakota, the largest amount is insurance companies and banks—checking accounts, savings accounts, insurance claims, insurance premiums, if you overpay.”
Ross said Nebraska is getting better at tracking down property owners, following tips from how Iowa got better performance in recent years in returning unclaimed property. “By taking a progressive and cooperative approach with the business community, we feel we can meet the responsibilities of state law, and in the end return even more money to Nebraskans,” Ross said.
As the state seeks to educate more South Dakotans, Larson said his office sent a letter to all certified public accountants to remind them of the unclaimed property law. He’s taken by how some people can forget their final paychecks from a job or stocks they have coming to them. But once reminded they can look over state records to see if they have property coming to them, Larson said, some people quickly are surprised to learn they have assets to recover, running the gamut from small potatoes to larger amounts.
Ross said about $12 million in unclaimed property is turned over by Nebraska businesses annually, while about $5.5 million a year was returned to the owners from 2002 to 2004. Larson said South Dakota is seeking to return $20 million in unclaimed property.
Ross said it’s difficult to estimate, but he believes there are millions of unclaimed property not being reported to the treasurer’s office by retailers, banks, insurance companies and others. Eventually, such Nebraska businesses could be audited to remind them of their lawful duties.
“We are going to be strategic about it, not heavy handed,” Ross said. “The fact that you could be audited will stimulate some people … My best bet is that people are not turning it in out of ignorance.”
Help out your state controller by doing your own search for unclaimed property. CashUnclaimed.com will assist owners in easily locating and claiming their lost funds in all states. The site offers more information on unclaimed money and a free unclaimed money search.
