Unclaimed Property Is Larger Than Ever

By Author: Nicole Anderson
Total Articles: 82
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The problem of unclaimed money or property is not a hyped issue but it really is a much bigger issue than we think. The state agencies are trying their best to reach out to mass audiences and motivate them to come forward and claim what is theirs. Despite their efforts, the growth of unclaimed property all over the state has been alarming.
As per the statutes across the states, known as the Unclaimed Property laws, the financial institutions managing these unclaimed funds are required to hand over unclaimed assets that have been lying idle for over a period of time to the state for safe custody until the real owner claims it. These unclaimed assets include un-cashed checks, forgotten bank accounts, unused gift certificates or cards, uncollected salaries, unredeemed insurance policies, stock dividends, safe-deposit bank contents etc.
After a specified period, if the assets remain unused, they are declared ‘unclaimed’, which normally comes up to 2 to 5 years, depending on the state. The pile of unclaimed properties in New York is said to be one of the largest in the country, which is even more than $5 billion ...
... more than California.
The pile of unclaimed properties are increasing due to several reasons such as un-notified change in the area of residence or names. Most of us after changing addresses, or even bank accounts, forget to notify the banks or institutions like IRS who manage the policies. As a result, the bonds and accounts become inactive and after a brief point of time, they stop earning interests. It becomes difficult for the agencies managing inactive accounts to manage large number of accounts at the same time. After repetitive efforts of the state, reclaims are being made but the growth of these lost funds are also rapid, which remains to be the point of tension between the agencies managing lost funds.
With increasing state initiatives, there have been reports of better results too, as Kentucky claims to have made returns worth $100 million of unclaimed funds to the rightful owners. Most of the states now manage dedicated websites that offer information related to lost properties in the form of dedicated databases for the users. Users can utilize these databases to refine and take the money search to the next level. Most of the states are now organizing public fairs and displays to educate people about the importance of unclaimed assets for improving finances. These fairs not only offer knowledge but also on the spot decisions and these fairs operate on a walk-in basis.
States, in coordination with the federal agencies, are trying to prepare a robust technique, which would be much simpler, compared to the normative approach. State agencies believe that this step will encourage people to come forward and claim their lost money. As per the state estimations, the pile of unclaimed properties with them is much higher than anyone can imagine so drastic steps need to be considered for better results.