Unclaimed Property Blog

Steve Westlly the CA State Controller has been traveling through the state giving money away. He is the person possibly holding your share of California’s $4.8 billion worth of unclaimed property.

San Francisco residents were recently urged to check for unclaimed money as Controller Steve Westly continued a campaign urging residents to check whether the state is holding any of their money in the form of unclaimed property.

The state has $4.8 billion worth of bank balances and miscellaneous items whose owners could not be located after three years, according to the controller’s office.

Under Washington law, funds in any account dormant for three years are forwarded to the state Department of Revenue as unclaimed property.

Does this mean you no longer have this money after three years? Patti Wilson, operations manager of the Department of Revenue’s unclaimed property section, said there’s no need to panic. “They can always get their money, there are no time limits,” she said.

The law, she said, is intended to protect consumers. “People die, people move, they forget about accounts,” Wilson said. “Otherwise, those banks continue to charge fees until there is nothing left.”

You could lose money you didn’t even know you had. Your unclaimed property used to be safeguarded by the state. Now states are enacting laws that enable them to use the unclaimed property for publicly funding statewide and legislative campaigns.

This is a true good news, bad news situation. There are needed actions being taken to remove corruption regarding funding campaigns, however, it is the citizen that will still be paying.

In Connecticut such is the case. Governor M. Jodi Rell praised the passage of the landmark campaign finance reforms for which she has been fighting for months, declaring that “Connecticut is now a national model for reform� and that “Connecticut citizens can once again be proud of the way we conduct our campaigns.�

Throughout the United States there is money to be given away by the IRS. Yes, you read that right, the IRS is giving away money. Actually it is trying to return money to people that have not received their tax refund. IRS refund checks go unclaimed for many reasons. Sometimes, as in the case of hurricane victims, people face a significant change in their normal lives.

Nationally, there are 84,290 taxpayers with undeliverable refunds, totaling approximately $73 million with an average refund of $871. Here is a breakdown for some states:

Do you know when you can say no to giving out your Social Security number (SSN)? Do you know why you would not give it out to someone? Read on to find out these answers.

Put your Social Security number in a computer and poof; access to information such as your bank account, your phone number, where you work, where you live, etc.

Today, schools, phone companies, utilities, health clubs, insurance companies, video stores, just about everybody wants your Social Security number. Some of the more prevalent uses are to get your credit rating and determine whether you pay your bills, and to keep track of you through name and address changes.