* Wow…

OK, now please click here and then tell us if you or a loved one has any unclaimed property.

…Adding… The treasurer’s office monitored comments today…

Rich,

Thanks for posting. Every bit helps get the word out about the Unclaimed Property program. We continue to try to make it easier, such as…

We have worked with the General Assembly to change the law and the rules to make it easier to claim your money. Today, if you are claiming your money and no item is $5,000 or more, we use an automated process to review the claim. The majority of people will receive an email indicating that the claim was approved and to expect a check. Very few people need to send paperwork.

In the fiscal year that just ended, we paid more than 200,000 claims. Roughly 150,000 of those were paid with no paper from the owner, or about 75 percent of the time. The owner either simply completed the online claim form or we matched them with records and mailed them a check without requiring a claim. To put that in perspective, in FY2003 (the first year the Treasurer’s Office had computerized records) there were a total of 25,000 claims paid. In FY2015, there were roughly 60,000 claims paid.

A few folks mentioned that they don’t bother with small dollar amounts. If they have two minutes, they really should fill out the online form. About 90 percent of the items turned over to the Treasurer’s Office as unclaimed property are $100 or less. And we have been working very hard to make it much easier to claim these funds.

Now if you are claiming money as an heir, it is a bit more complicated (families can be complicated). We try to make sure we are paying the right person – after all, the only thing worse than not paying someone quickly is paying someone who is not legally entitled to the money.

But, with the help of the General Assembly, we now have a more streamlined process for heir claims under $250. Basically, you complete and mail in a notarized affidavit that you are one of the legal heirs and you list the other heirs. You agree to distribute the money to the other heirs. That’s it.

Finally, we recently added a “share” function. You can look up your friends and family. If you find something that belongs to them, there is now an integrated way to send them an email or a text with a link so that they can claim their money.

One-party claims are the easiest. Claims involving the death of a family member, unfortunately, will require additional work depending on the circumstances. At the end of the day, accuracy and efficiency always will be our focus.