(Part 2 of 2)

One of the primary reasons for the inability of government give back forgotten cash to residents, they claim, is the fact that they can’t be located. The problem is, would would ever think that people like Angelina Jolie, ZsaZsa Gabor, Gerri Halliwell, Victoria Beckham, Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, Adam Sandler, Marlon Brando and Jennifer Lopez could be difficult to find? Their names and the names of several other famous people are just some of the names in the California missing money list and yet they have not heard from the officials in the California Unclaimed Funds Division. They’re all owed checks for lost assets by California amounting from hundreds to the thousands in Ms. Jolie’s case. This proves once again California state employees’ interest in keeping this money in the general fund for them to balance the budget deficit for as long as they possibly can. In fact, there was a recent ruling by a judge on CA abandoned assets, saying that the state was not doing enough to locate the rightful owners and for a while halted the ability of the state to seize it until a better policy of returning it to the actual owners has been adopted.

The total dollar amount for these funds in California averages $5 billion annually – imagine the amount of interest that accrues for the state! Sacramento attorney Bill Palmer who has fought in a number of cases involving California unclaimed property, sad that the state’s program was created to be a lost and found for residents of California. Instead, it has been turned into a profit making ‘business’ in the past few years.

The ban on the taking of property by CA has now been lifted and the new California State Controller, John Chiang, is making greater efforts in the form of sweeping reforms in improving how his office handles CA unclaimed money. There is still a dire need though for Californians and Americans in all states across the U.S. to learn about the presence of these properties and on how to perform a thorough search for them.

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Missing money could be just a click away – WRAL.com

Missing money could be just a click away WRAL.com, NC - Aug 18, 2008 But lots more money goes unclaimed every year – although most is just a free Internet search away. Almost $33 billion in unclaimed property sits in state …

Unclaimed property booth to be at Fair (Huron Plainsman)
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Citi 'Takes Issue' With Calif AG Statement On Credit Card Probe – CNNMoney.com

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Getting your unclaimed funds: The Real Deal – NewsChannel 9 WSYR

Getting your unclaimed funds: The Real Deal NewsChannel 9 WSYR, NY - Aug 20, 2008 Cherie Milazzo found out she had unclaimed funds in her name a few years back when she stopped at the State Comptroller’s booth at the State Fair. The money …