West Virginia Unclaimed Money
The Mountain State has a mountain of residents’ lost money sitting in its Treasury Department. During these times of financial chaos when multitudes of Americans are hard-up for extra funds, it’s quite ironic that it’s there. But the $110 million unclaimed money in West Virginia even stands to grow for the same reason it got there in the first place- most West Virginians (and Americans for that matter) are oblivious about their missing money.
Given the recent hurricanes, mortgages, floods and ever-increasing pace in which we live our lives, losing track of our finances is quite normal. When people have to abandon their homes in a hurry or move to ‘greener pastures’, it’s easy to forget about leaving a notice of a change of address, getting that final paycheck, or closing-up a bank account. WV unclaimed property can come from many sources, but interestingly enough, it’s due to oversight. “They may have a paycheck coming to them that they didn’t realize or some stock their grandparents purchased when they were a child and it was forgotten in a safety deposit box,”‘ State Treasurer Russ Perdue says. “There are all kinds of unclaimed property examples where money was forgotten.” This oversight of assets has been happening across the US actually and the collective amount spread-out among the States already exceeds $30 billion.
In a recent report on The Charleston Gazette, an unclaimed money check for almost a million dollars was presented to local coal company from Appalachian Power. Approximately $965,000 was presented to a lawyer representing Direct Coal Sales stemming from a refund based on a business contract. The check was the largest yet for West Virginia unclaimed money says Assistant State Treasurer Paul Hill in the report.
Anybody’s name can turn-up on a list of of owners of lost assets. Doing an online search for state unclaimed money might just hook you up with much needed cash.
Kentucky Unclaimed Money
Hundreds of thousands of residents in the State of Kentucky have more money than they probably think. The State Treasury is currently holding $150 million Kentucky unclaimed money from financial assets citizens have aren’t aware, or have forgotten about. These can range from abandoned bank accounts, lost or uncashed checks and gift certificates, old stocks and bonds, even odd items like jewelry or mementos left in safe deposit boxes whose owners can’t be located anymore. If owners of lost assets aren’t located after 3 years (usually), they are turned over to the State Treasurer’s office for safekeeping. Right now, the names on the Kentucky unclaimed property list numbers around 200,000 and since public awareness about KY unclaimed money is relatively low, these numbers are certain to grow each passing year.
A large part of the Kentucky unclaimed money pile is made up of unclaimed tax refunds. 11,000 Louisville residents are still owed $3.7 million worth of these. “The people who haven’t claimed these checks are often the people who could use it the most,” says Mayor Jerry Abramson. “Thousands of people could be letting this one-time windfall pass them by, but it’s an easy process to get the money that’s been set aside for them.” The unclaimed tax refunds in Kentucky average $651 and the IRS reports that 279,000 tax refund checks worth $163 million were undelivered because of address issues.
Indeed, more Americans should really be checking for missing money in their name- specially during times like these.
The Kentucky Unclaimed Property program has returned over $100 million to owners of KY unclaimed funds, but there’s still $150 million languishing in State Treasury’s coffers. The lost money would really come to good use in the hands of Kentucky residents feeling the financial crisis plaguing the country right now. Learning how to do a thorough method of doing an unclaimed money search online is the best way of finding lost cash in your name.
1.3 Million Garden State Dwellers Owed New Jersey Unclaimed Money
Residents of the Garden State pay some of the highest property taxes in the country- as much as twice the amount paid by residents in the other states. Once can’t help but wonder then why a significant number of NJ homeowners have neglected to claim their property tax rebates. Quite puzzling specially during times like these. A WCBS news report says 200,000 Garden State dwellers have NJ unclaimed money from property tax refunds worth a whopping $200 million! You think that’s a lot? That’s only a fraction of the total New Jersey unclaimed money pile in the State Treasury owed to 1.3 million people!
Aside from tax rebates, New Jersey unclaimed money comes from comes from numerous other sources like forgotten bank accounts, uncashed salary checks, insurance benefits, stocks and bonds that have been languishing, unused gift checks, even items from abandoned safe deposit boxes. People, specially if they’ve been working numerous jobs and have had several addresses tend to lose track of mailed checks or notices from banks and financial institutions. Businesses and companies that haven’t located the owners of lost money and property after a ‘dormancy period’ have to hand them over to the State for ’safekeeping’ as stipulated in the National Unclaimed Property Law. The citizens’ lost money is kept in the State Treasury until the rightful owners come around to file a claim. The State also holds outreach programs to try to let people know about New Jersey unclaimed funds. Last year, the NJ State Treasury unclaimed property advertising campaign reunited some 36,000 residents with $85 million of their missing money.
The economic conditions in the US is a bit gloomy right now and the fact that there is an estimated $33 billion worth of State unclaimed property across the country is quite ludicrous if you think about it. Fact is, not enough people are checking for unclaimed funds because most Americans aren’t even aware they might have state unclaimed property in their name. Doing an online unclaimed money search can do wonders for Americans whose wallets have been yearning for contents during these tough economic times.
Almost $400 Million Delaware Unclaimed Money Collected
The Delaware Division of Revenue collects dormant and abandoned assets throughout the state each spring. Last year, it collected $370 million worth of these, making the Delaware unclaimed money pile even bigger. The DE unclaimed funds come from unspent gift cards, dormant bank accounts, abandoned safe deposit bank contents, stocks, insurance benefits and similar assets.
The National Unclaimed Property Law require businesses and financial institutions to report and hand these ‘lost assets’ to the state after a specified dormancy period of usually 5 years. Delaware, along with South Carolina and Louisiana have shortened this to just 3 years recently however. Bad news for owners of family heirlooms and mementos in forgotten safe deposit boxes, as these are auctioned-off by the State and the proceeds put into the DE unclaimed money fund. With the period of dormancy shortened to 3 years, it’s quite possible for some people to be going about their daily business- thinking their savings accounts and valuables are safely tucked-away, when in reality it’s been handed over the the Division of Revenue as Delaware unclaimed property.
There’s even more bad news- something that might make residents search for Delaware unclaimed money and property ASAP. A news report released early this year tells of a New Jersey woman that pleaded guilty to being part of a Delaware escheat theft ring that stole over a million dollars from the Delaware unclaimed property fund in the Department of Revenue! Chandrea Sanassie, a New Jersey native, was part of a 5-person team of swindlers led by Anthony Lofink (a state official’s son) that swindled unclaimed stocks from the government. Sanassie used her share of the money to pay for cosmetic surgery, expensive clothes and jewelry, luxury cars and and started-up capital for a tanning salon. What would you do with extra cash? Do an unclaimed money search now and see if you’ve lost money you don’t know about.
Alabama Unclaimed Money
“We’ve got money that belongs to people in every nook and cranny in Alabama,” words from State Treasurer Kay Ivey that should be music to the ears of Alabama residents. 18,000 residents of Lee County alone have almost $5 million from abandoned safe deposit box contents which have been collected by the State as Alabama unclaimed property. These, along with financial assets from dormant bank accounts, languishing stocks and bonds, uncollected salaries, uncashed checks, etc. are required by the National Unclaimed Property Law to be turned over to the State after 3-5 years of going unclaimed.
Residents of other Alabama counties have even more unclaimed funds coming to them, of course. The total Alabama unclaimed money in the Treasurer’s Office is almost $400 million right now and the pile of unclaimed funds is getting bigger each year because most people aren’t even aware that the State has their lost money from forgotten assets. “Many people are simply unaware that unclaimed property exists in their name,” says Deputy Treasurer Anthony Leigh. In the 2007 fiscal year, $55.6 million AL unclaimed funds from abandoned assets were collected and only $23 million reunited with Alabama unclaimed property owners.
Alabama, like most other states keep residents’ unclaimed money in perpetuity until the rightful owners or their next of kin show-up. “There is no time limit by which the individual must come forward to claim property. individuals claiming property for themselves must present identification and proof of address or social security number depending on the information submitted by the business that turned the property over to us,” Leigh says. That’s a comforting thought for people who have their hands too full to be searching for unclaimed property right now, but with the poor economy and high costs of living in the U.S. right now, doing an unclaimed money search right now might be a wise move.
Family Finds Lost Heirlooms In Colorado Unclaimed Property Division
A jade necklace, assorted jewelry, a diamond-encrusted Buddha figurine- these are some of the family heirlooms that Nora Wang thought she had lost forever. A short while after receiving an overseas call from her son (she’s now based in Taiwan), the 60ish Chinese immigrant joyously finds out the priceless heirlooms that have been passed-down through her grandmother still remains with her family. This according to a report in the Rocky Mountain News.
“The Great Colorado Payback” is a program run by the State Treasurer’s office aiming to reunite Colorado unclaimed money and property to its rightful owners. Residents that have lost track of their financial assets through forgetfulness, change of address, death, etc. Nora Wang lost track of her safe deposit box when her bank’s ownership changed hands and she moved to Taiwan from the U.S.
Right now, the Colorado unclaimed money pile has grown to $50 million from unclaimed property collected throughout the State. The National Unclaimed Property Law, to keep citizens from losing their financial assets altogether, requires businesses and financial institutions to hand over dormant and idle accounts, uncashed checks, insurance policies, forgotten stocks and bonds and the like to the State. Tangible unclaimed property are auctioned-off if the State can’t find the owners after a while, so Wang was very fortunate not to have had her family jewels converted to Colorado unclaimed money.
Wang’s case just shows how important it is for Americans to do an unclaimed property search in all the State Treasuries they may have property in. Knowing how to do a thorough search for unclaimed money can spell cash for Americans during lean times like this.
You Might Be Rich – Dateline NBC – MSNBC
It’s about time someone with some caliber gets the word out about unclaimed money.
By the way, unclaimed money, unclaimed property, missing money, unclaimed funds and similar terms are used interchangeably in regards to unclaimed money. essentially they are the same thing.
i digress…
Tiki Barber was featured on a Dateline special helping unsuspecting owners of unclaimed property get the money back into the rightful owners hands.
It was very entertaining and heart warming to see some of these people receive their funds.
Two lucky individuals received enormous amounts in funds they didn’t know they owned. It is enough to make anyone wonder if they too might have some money.
For a lifetime membership to find your money and anyone else you care to search for, see http://www.missingmoney.tv
These stories were truly inspiring and should give you every reason to search today. Not tomorrow, not the next day, right now? Why not?
With the $1 fifteen day challenge, you have very little to lose, and could have thousands in your pocket before the night is over. 
Find your missing money or money owed to those you love.
Over $5 billion California Unclaimed Money
Seeing as to how large the Golden State is and the large number of celebrities and busy high rollers doing business there, it’s actually not surprising that the California unclaimed money pile comes second to New York’s whopping $8 billion. What’s puzzling is the number of famous people owed cash from state unclaimed property. It’s not as if these people are difficult for the Unclaimed Property Division to locate. I mean who would have trouble trying to contact the whereabouts of ‘Brangelina’ (yes, both of them), Victoria (Posh Spice) Beckham, Keanu Reeves, J-Lo, Adam Sandler and other world-famous stars? Even State council board members are coming-up on the list of State unclaimed property. Southwestern College President Raj Chopra, county Supervisor Greg Cox, administrator of Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista Pete Mabrey, Imperial Beach Councilman Fred McLean, Coronado Councilman Al Ovrom, and several other State public figures are apparently owed CA unclaimed funds form lost assets, according to a report in the San Diego Union Tribune.
New state laws have since been adopted replacing the ones that kept the California Unclaimed Property Division to aggressively locate and contact citizens owed unclaimed money in California. The amount reunited to owners after the new laws took effect at the end of 07 amounts to $284 million- a significant improvement. But a lot of people are still missing money out there. $1.2 billion are owed to Northern California residents and a whopping $300,000 to a Sacramento non-profit organization. The Golden State currently leads the country in the highest amount of unclaimed tax refunds at $40 million belonging to 500,000 Californians unfiled.
Everyone should take the initiative and do an unclaimed money search. Who knows? With the holidays coming, everyone needs extra cash for presents and extras. It’s not just in the Golden State either- all 50 states have significant amount of cash belonging to its residents who have lost track of their assets. Check-out this rss feed for other State unclaimed property articles from an unclaimed money expert.
Nevada Unclaimed Money
The State’s Unclaimed Property Office owes citizens almost $300 million from Nevada unclaimed property and all these people have to do is to step-up and file a claim. State Treasurer Kate Marshall recently had 2,500 Western Nevadans on the State Unclaimed Property list who had at least $50 coming to them. Unclaimed property can come from abandoned bank accounts, uncollected rebate checks, payroll, etc. “It can be dozens of things,” said the Treasurer. “And people always say, ‘Oh, I know where my money is.’ But they don’t.” The odds of finding Nevada unclaimed property money are actually better than winning in Sin City’s casinos. Problem is, people there aren’t aware that the State has their missing money.
So what are you waiting for? Get in touch with your missingmoney now!
New York Unclaimed Money- Your Cash Being Stolen!
With the weak dollar and the current state of the US economy, quick extra cash would most certainly be a blessing for most Americans right now. A recent story in “The Independent” reported that a record 28 million Americans are relying on food stamps to survive. Is this The Great Depression ‘08? Not quite, but across the U.S, rising fuel, the housing slump and national credit crunch is forcing Americans to make lifestyle changes. Fact is, more and more people all over the country are working extra hours and looking for ways earn a few more bucks to make ends meet. Ironically, a lot of them might not have to look any further than their State Treasury Department. Not many people are aware that they are owed money by the government but it’s a fact. Residents of the 50 states are owed over $30 billion spread-out among the individual Treasury Departments and New York State’s unclaimed money account is one of the biggest.
State unclaimed money can come from various sources for various reasons. 17,000 Albany residents for example, have yet to cash their property tax rebate checks amounting to $5.6 million. Any unclaimed checks will get turned-over to the State Comptroller on March 2009 as NY State unclaimed money. WXXi recently reported that Monroe County has 40 uncashed checks waiting for it in the New York State Comptroller’s office. “For confidentiality reasons I can’t tell you the exact amount, but the funds on all the claims range from less than $50 to several thousand dollars.” Emily DeSantis of the Comptroller’s office said.
According to NY State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli in a Queens Gazette report in Sept. ‘08, a total of $9 billion in NY unclaimed money and property are just waiting to be claimed by their rightful owners- most of whom are unaware they’re have unclaimed funds in their name. This might include 440,000 resident retirees and disabled veterans who haven’t filed for their tax stimulus in the various counties of the Empire State. “Most people only need to file a tax return as they normally do,” Dianne Besunder, spokeswoman for the IRS says in Schenectady’s Daily Gazette. “We will calculate eligibility and payment amount. However, many retirees and veterans do not normally file a tax return because their benefits are not taxable. This year, they must file in order to receive an economic stimulus payment.”
Those that have heard about unclaimed property money usually don’t bother to check thinking it’s too much of a fuss. These are the reasons why the money is piling-up. On Monday this week, ABC’s WSYR helped dozens of Central New Yorkers find over $11,000 of their missing money. Four callers on “The Morning News” found-out they had at least $1,000 NY unclaimed money in their name.
The New York State’s Unclaimed Property Law require that lost assets in the hands of businesses and financial institutions be turned-over to the state after a ‘dormancy period’ of 2-5 years depending on the type of asset. The Empire State has one of the biggest fines (up to $50,000) for failure to ‘escheat’ or turn over abandoned assets. These can be uncashed checks and money orders, insurance policies, stock dividends, long-dormant bank accounts, safe deposit box contents and other financial assets. The state then holds on to them until the rightful owners show-up. There’s no time limit as to when owners of unclaimed money can claim their cash, but doing an unclaimed property search in New York would be the more sensible thing to do especially in light of a recent news report about a man getting arrested for stealing New York unclaimed money.
The North County Gazette reported July last year that an owner of a Brooklyn processing company was charged with defrauding over $32,000 New York unclaimed money from the state. He did this by posing as the rightful owners of the funds using personal confidential information like Social Security numbers which he had access to in his line of work. He was a licensed process server and CEO of the company. There was another case just last month in Delaware about an employee with the State government doing the same thing. Reports like this just stresses the urgency for people to do an unclaimed money search in New York and other states to check if they are owed cash that should be in their pockets and not going to those of other people’s.
