States Auction Unclaimed Property

By Author: Nicole Anderson
Total Articles: 82
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Every state has been facing the unmanageable influx of unclaimed property and funds. In comparison, the number of claims being made for return of these lost funds has been very low in volume. It is a fact that unclaimed property has created a logistic and bureaucratic roadblock for most of the state treasuries.

Not surprisingly, this has overstretched the financial and administrative fabric of the state governments in order to maintain and safeguard the unclaimed funds. With such large budget deficits, most of the state governments find these overhead resources and money as a burden which is unavoidable at the moment. The center on Budget and Policy Priorities has been questioning states regarding the budget deficit and what their plans are to minimize it. It 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.
More unclaimed property is being added relentlessly every quarter, and the trend continues to speed up with no signs of claim volume ...
... increasing. In order to tackle this unclaimed property menace, the states are forced to adopt new and out-of-the-box strategies in order to create a healthier and stable environment for its residents. There are many welfare programs which are waiting to be implemented for the lack of funds, while the unclaimed property vault continues grow. Every adversity presents a great opportunity for innovation and practical solutions for success. States like California and Delaware have taken the first proactive steps and have proposed the utilization of unclaimed funds effectively to fill in the budgetary deficits.
It is extremely necessary that the welfare programs and other development projects are executed without any delay in all the states. The policy makers have realized that one of the least perilous routes to tapping a resource is the unclaimed money pile lying with the state treasuries. It is increasingly seen that the decision makers are actively supporting the idea of an unclaimed property auction. Apart from a few pockets of resistance, this idea is getting a lot of support from everybody, including the citizens of the state.
In one of the recent surveys covering all the major states, it has been revealed that almost 70% of the unclaimed property is still waiting to be claimed. In all probability, these unclaimed properties will remain dormant for long before individuals and business owners come forward to claim it. In many cases, the unclaimed property will never be claimed. There is a consensus among the economic think-tanks of the state that an investment into the state welfare programs will help to infuse more energy into the economy. The auction money coming from these unclaimed property and funds is one of the best resources to utilize for the dormant state economic and welfare programs.
States like Delaware and California have already benefited greatly by the auction scheme of the unclaimed property which has contributed immensely towards the boosting of state economies, resulting in the increase of state revenues by more than10%. In 2008, the state’s unclaimed property added over $325 million to the state coffers and estimates that unclaimed funds will provide approximately $374 million in revenues for the fiscal 2010. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Alabama’s democratic candidate for Treasurer Jeremy Sherer has offered to tap unclaimed funds until the economy of the states improves. It is time that a practical and viable plan is created towards the utilization of unclaimed property and funds.