Unclaimed Property Blog

Could you possibly have an unclaimed lottery win without your knowledge? Unclaimed lottery jackpots along with unclaimed checks and utility deposits are becoming an area of concern for U.S. authorities who are already struggling to disburse the surmounting unclaimed cash and property laying with the state treasurers.

It is unbelievable that $12 million lottery jackpot can go unclaimed; but it has happened in Barstow, CA. A winner of the jackpot who bought the ticket is yet to come forward to claim his money. This Super Lotto Plus ticket was purchased from the Barstow Station Ice Cream Shoppe and the owner of the Shoppe stands to win $60,000 if the ticket is claimed. A $50 million Lotto jackpot remained unclaimed in Florida. As per the Florida Lotto, nearly $122 million in jackpot prizes went unclaimed and expired since its inception in 1988.

Should any unclaimed money go to releaving the state’s budget deficit? Most of the U.S. states are caught in a peculiar situation in which there is unmanageable budget deficit on one hand, and hoards of unclaimed cash on the other. This has set the brain-storming among the U.S. think tank. They advocate that these unclaimed funds can be effectively utilized to fill in the budgetary void.

In spite of the relentless efforts by the authorities, claimants are not coming forward in expected numbers to fetch unclaimed cash in their names; it is likely to remain dormant for long. It will make good economic sense to not let it idle till the claimants come forward.

Unclaimed cash and property have been the prime concern for U.S. state governments. Though the property and cash is safe in the government treasury, it is not supposed to be there. People have started responding and acquiring unclaimed cash and property. They are claiming what has been rightfully theirs on a more aggressive note.

Last year, Michelle Bixler of Pennsylvania received her $35,000 check that was owed to her nine years back as an insurance amount. Another St. Louis citizen got his $1.6 million back. People who have no unclaimed cash in their name can even retrieve unclaimed cash and property of their parents name by claiming as legal heirs. This example was set by Russ Johnson who could claim his parents $2,985.65 that he was completely unaware of.

New York state comptrollers’ Office of Unclaimed Funds’ official website declares that New York State is sitting on $9.9 billion in lost money. These billions of “lost,” “abandoned,” or “unclaimed” money has resulted from forgotten protection amounts, utility deposits, inactive bank accounts, insurance policies, investments and many other business-related transactions.

State law requires all concerned agencies to surrender money belonging to inactive accounts to the State. This is one of the most prominent consumer protection features enacted in the U.S. Untill the time authorized owners turn up to claim, the Office of the State Comptroller acts as custodian of this money. The office is more than willing to hand over this money to the rightful owners.

Great Colorado Payback is here to distribute huge unclaimed cash to Coloradans. State Treasurer Cary Kennedy informs that Colorado government is geared up to return about 500,000 Colorado citizens’ unclaimed cash. The rightful owners of the unclaimed cash include many businesses and individuals who have forgotten to claim their rightful dues down the line.

Every year the state distributes about $50millions of unclaimed money but still many people whose names appear on Colorado Payback list do not appear to claim the money owed to them. Till date, the program has benefitted over 220,000 Coloradans by more than $100 million and the authorized give away is still continuing.

‘Unclaimed money’ has achieved a new magnitude altogether for last couple of years. As the amount of unclaimed money started swelling in the state coffers, treasurers were out asking citizens to come forward and stake their claims.

Almost every American has one or the other type of unclaimed cash or monetary property in their name. It is a shocking fact that there are around $33 billion worth of unclaimed cash with the U.S. government and other state organizations.

California tops the chart in unclaimed money laying with the state treasurer. The state is trying its best to get the unclaimed cash to the rightful owners. To reach the owners individually, California government is sending more than 9,000 memos this week. Week after week the reminders are being sent to the businesses as well as individuals to inform them about any unclaimed cash or property in their name.

The state’s coffers are getting filled with Unclaimed Property Program that receives unclaimed checks from various banks, insurance companies, utility services, employers, etc. Any financial instrument, if unrealized for more than three years, is categorized as unclaimed money.

How much lost money does Goldman Sachs have? The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm with its headquarters in New York and offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world. The firm provides a wide range of financial services to various corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals.

Goldman Sachs hogged limelight last year for all wrong reasons. On April 16, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was prepared to sue the firm and one of its employees, Fabrice Tourre. It incurred a loss of more than $90 million owing to this unprecedented incident that shook the financial markets and Americans’ faith in the firm.

Uncashed checks remain a major contributor to the hoards of unclaimed cash safeguarded by US treasurer. Current estimates project the amount to be $33 billion. In spite of fervent efforts by the state, the cache is growing by the day and the government is finding it difficult to return the amount to its rightful owners.

Though the campaigns run by the government have shown positive results in terms of increased awareness about the unclaimed money, it is vital to initiate preventive measures to avoid such pile up in the future and stop unclaimed cash from burgeoning further.

Have you ever thought where a lost utility deposit goes? It is a common practice under which the suppliers of utility services such as gas, electric and water suppliers charge a deposit from the user while requesting the start of the service. This initial deposit is essential to ensure the service. It also works as a security for these providers in case the user defaults in paying up or damages the equipment.