(Part 1 of 2)

The state of California’s unclaimed money program takes in about 300 million dollars annually. Why does it matter to you? Well, if you or someone 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), a chunk of that big pile of Cali lost assets might very well be yours!

Under the California unclaimed funds law, missing money like forgotten checking and savings accounts, uncashed checks and money orders, mineral deposits, salary checks, cash and stock dividends, state of California unclaimed tax refunds, gift certificates, and other financial assets are turned over to the Department of the Treasury if the rightful owners don’t come for them within a given time period. This ‘dormancy period’ varies widely from state to state, but in Cali it is 3 years. These unclaimed monies then get moved to the California unclaimed property div, where they wait in the state’s general fund until returned to the rightful owners. This is where state employees in-charge of the Cali unclaimed cash were criticized recently. Seems that they have been eager to track down and take hold of the lost funds from the establishments holding them but but weren’t so keen on locating the actual owners in the Cali unclaimed money records.

(to be continued)

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State: Nearly 800 area residents have unclaimed property – Silver City Sun News
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