(Part 1 of 2)

The state of California’s unclaimed property department takes in approximately three hundred million dollars annually. 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 knew it or not), a chunk of that big pile of CA lost assets could easily belong to you!

Under the CA unclaimed property law, abandoned assets 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 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 CA it is 3 years. These lost assets then head to the California unclaimed property division, where they wait in the state’s general fund until returned to the people they truly belong to. This is where state officials in-charge of the CA unclaimed cash were recently criticized. It appears that they have been all to happy to track down and take hold of the lost assets from the establishments holding them but showed less interest in locating the owners in the CA unclaimed property records.

(to be continued)

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Federal Money to Help People on Welfare Get Jobs Goes Unclaimed – GPB
ATLANTA — Congress has set aside billions of dollars to help states find jobs for people on welfare, but most states including Georgia haven’t claimed their share. Many states don’t touch federal money intended to help welfare recipients get jobs …

Treasurer delivers unclaimed check – Topeka Capital-Journal
Overland Park resident Gail Brown got a visit from Santa Claus on Friday. Well, actually it was state Treasurer Dennis McKinney. But he came bearing a gift. Specifically, a check for $78,666. It was unclaimed property from Brown’s mother’s retirement …

Beebe concerned about tapping fund (Arkansas News Bureau)
LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Mike Beebe says he’s more concerned about taking money from a fund that finances constitutional officers than the state’s unclaimed property fund to pay for various budget needs.

Ark. lawmakers refuse to give up project money (AP via Yahoo! News)
Arkansas lawmakers on Tuesday declined to give up $2.9 million in money intended for local projects to help pay for budget needs, instead tapping the state’s unclaimed property proceeds and the fund for the state’s constitutional officers.