(Part 1 of 2)

The California’s unclaimed property department takes in approximately three hundred million dollars every year. What’s it to you? Well, if you or anyone you know is or ever was a resident of the Golden State (or had any kind of business dealings, whether you were aware of it or not), some of that big heap of California lost assets could easily belong to you!

Under the CA unclaimed property (or escheat) law, lost money such as forgotten savings and checking accounts, cash and stock dividends, mineral deposits, uncashed checks and money orders, state of California unclaimed tax refunds, salary checks, gift certificates, and other assets are passed along to the Treasury Dept. if their owners don’t come for them within a given period. This ‘dormancy period’ varies from state to state, but in California it’s 3 years. These unclaimed monies then go to the CA unclaimed property division, where they stay in the state’s general fund until they are returned to the people they truly belong to. This is where state officials in-charge of the California unclaimed cash were criticized recently. It seems that they were all to happy to locate and collect the lost assets from the establishments holding on to them but but weren’t so keen on contacting the owners in the California unclaimed money database.

(to be continued)

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“Antiques Roadshow” checks out unclaimed property (Denver Post)
Colorado State Treasurer Cary Kennedy now has an expert assessment of some of the unclaimed property now in the hands of the state.

Save money on funeral costs: Cheap Trick Thursday – Weblogs.baltimoresun.com
More bodies are going unclaimed because families can’t afford the funeral costs , the Los Angeles Times reports. Certainly, many people are struggling financially, so it’s not surprising that the added unexpected cost of putting someone in their …

Police IA files document missing money, mishandled evidence – Colorado Springs Gazette
An envelope containing nearly $3,000 went missing. An impounded motorcycle was given to the wrong person. A vehicle that should have been kept in case a murderer appealed his conviction was auctioned off. Those instances of evidence and property …