Did you know that the state of California is holding more than $9.3 billion in unclaimed property and money? According to the California State Controller’s Office:
“California’s Unclaimed Property Law requires financial institutions, insurance companies, corporations, businesses, and certain other entities to report and submit their customers’ property to the State Controller’s Office when there has been no activity for a period of time (generally three years). Common types of unclaimed property include but are not limited to: bank accounts, stocks, uncashed checks, insurance benefits, wages, and safe deposit box contents. Property does not include real estate.”
To check if you have unclaimed property, visit https://www.sco.ca.gov/search_upd.html and click the “Search for Your Property” button. From there, you can enter search criteria for the Address and City fields. If there are too many records (e.g., if the address is an apartment complex or there are multiple occupants for the same address over time), you can further restrict your query by populating the Name field.
Read more about unclaimed property here. It is my understanding that each state has different laws related to unclaimed property, so if you do not live in California, I suspect that a quick web search will lead you to the relevant information about how to find and claim unclaimed property in each state. If you found money that belongs to you, leave a comment!
