Unclaimed Property Blog

There’s almost $33 billion in unclaimed money from old payroll checks, utility refunds, trust distributions, stocks, banking or checking accounts, certificates of deposit and the contents of safe deposit boxes waiting to be reclaimed, according to NAUPA (National Associate of Unclaimed Property Administrators). A property is considered abandoned if it has been dormant for more than three years. This type of property is turned over to the state of the last known address and the state hold this money until you or your heirs claim it. The good part is that the unclaimed money can be claimed anytime.

Unclaimed Bank Money

Unclaimed money has been forgotten but not lost; its lying somewhere in the coffers of the state government waiting to be claimed. Most of the state governments have taken concrete steps to ensure that their citizens are not deprived of the hard earned money which belongs rightfully to them.

The steps taken by the U.S. Government consist of:

Most of us think that claiming lost property is not for the majority. The reality betrays the common notion about the process of claim. Almost 80% of us have left behind cash and property at some point and failed to claim it. As the time goes by, the desire to claim our lost property fades and slowly it goes down in our list of priorities. But, who doesn’t need their hard earned cash or property?

The mound of unclaimed cash is far from depleated as personal memos, outreach programs and other methods of reaching every possible American is proving less effective. More forgotten cash is being recovered everyday than what is returned to the owners after much effort. In order to intensify the mission, various states in the U.S. are now listing unclaimed money in newspapers.

Newspapers have a very wide reach and are read by almost every American. If the campaign to return the unclaimed money rides on the intense penetration of the newspapers, then the states hope that it will result in increased awareness about the issue. Also, newspapers are helpful in reaching to the population staying in remote locations and not having internet and other publicity facilities.

Unclaimed property is still on the rise in the U.S. in spite of the states’ relentless efforts to return the unclaimed property to its rightful owners. Unclaimed property in the U.S. is reaching unprecedented proportions. A total of over $32 billion is currently being safeguarded by state treasurers and other agencies for 117 million accounts.

To get rid of this burden and help people in finding the forgotten cash or property that is legally theirs, every U.S. state, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have unclaimed property programs that actively find owners of lost and forgotten assets. Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta in Canada have also initiated such programs.

New York is sitting on billions all in unclaimed cash. If the fact sheet provided by the Office of Unclaimed Funds of New York State Comptroller is to be believed, then there is no doubt that the New York State has taken the unclaimed funds seriously and is pursuing all efforts in reaching out to citizens and asking them to collect their unclaimed cash.

Inactive bank accounts are one of the major contributors to the unclaimed cash with which U.S. state treasury is overflowing. States neither can use this huge unclaimed cash nor can dispose it off. States can only wait for the rightful owners of the unclaimed cash to come forward, stake claim and take away what is theirs.

Bank accounts and banking activities are contributing to the rising mound of unclaimed property. Savings accounts that are not properly closed or left inactive are turning out to be the major cause of concern. Banks in the U.S. are holding many accounts that are dormant. The number of checks that are not redeemed and forgotten are moreso a concern for the banks.

Most of the U.S. states are eyeing the unclaimed money lying in their coffers to fix their budget deficits. States are always on the lookout for the sources of additional revenue generation, and unclaimed property is quickly becoming one of the few sources of filling the void in the budget.

The center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that the combined state budget deficit over the next two and a half years is likely to be about $350 billion. This will account for about 20% of the state budget.

Lost escrow amounts are another main contribution to the large amount of unclaimed money lying with the state treasure. Escrow amounts are the cash deposited with a third party during any deed between the two parties. Securing the amount separately assures both the parties involved in the agreement that the other party will not default either on the payment or the project. The escrow amount remains unpaid till all the conditions of the contract between the parties are met or it is paid partially after completion of every step of the project.

Forgotten or lost utility deposits are one of the major contributors to the billions of unclaimed cash and property lying in U.S. state coffers. While moving places and changing residences from one state to another, most of the citizens neglect to follow proper procedure to get back the utility deposits. These small amounts have burdened U.S. states with huge unclaimed cash.

Why are Utility Deposits Required?

Utility deposits acts as a security to the agencies providing gas, electric or water supply to the citizens. Incase citizens default on paying the bills, these security deposits act as a recovery amount for the agencies. These also act as a cover up cost incase the user damages the equipment or installations.