State Treasurer Larry Pack announced today his Office’s Unclaimed Property Division returned more than $1.6 million worth of funds to individuals, businesses and other organizations during the month of December.
“As your new State Treasurer, I am proud to return these lost funds to rightful owners,” Treasurer Pack said. “This is the people’s money, and we’re committed to returning it to them.”
The Unclaimed Property Division returned a total of $1,652,465 paid out across 1,202 claims representing 3,715 individual properties during the month of December.
A monthly record $8.5 million in unclaimed property was returned in November. Since the fiscal year began on July 1, the Office’s Unclaimed Property Division has returned more than $22.2 million to rightful owners.
The Office currently has $472.5 million worth of listings in its unclaimed property database.
Treasurer Pack is encouraging West Virginia Cash Now recipients to deposit their unclaimed property checks before the checks stale-date in March. The program launched in 2022 as a new, automated system for sending unclaimed property to its rightful owners – without the need for those individuals to file paperwork with the State Treasurer’s Office.
“While we’re returning funds at the fastest pace in state history, we’re also receiving new listings all the time,” Treasurer Pack said. “I encourage everyone to keep checking our unclaimed property data base because you never know if there may be unclaimed property funds in your name.”
For more information about the unclaimed property program or to find out if the Office is holding any money for you or your family, visit www.WVUnclaimedProperty.gov.
What is Unclaimed Property?
Unclaimed property can include financial accounts or items of value in which the owner has not initiated any activity for one year or longer. Common examples include unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards. (While the title includes the word “property,” it does not however include real estate.)
West Virginia’s unclaimed property laws protect the public by ensuring money and property owed to them is returned to them, rather than remaining permanently with financial institutions, business associations, governments and other entities. The Treasurer seeks to reunite the unclaimed property, including uncashed paychecks, stocks, or safe deposit box contents, with its owner.
Nationwide, nearly 33 million people in the United States – one in every 10 – are estimated to have unclaimed property available for them to claim.
How Can I Find Unclaimed Property in My Name?
West Virginians searching for lost financial assets can go to www.WVUnclaimedProperty.gov. In addition to finding property, the website will also help you track a claim.
A demonstration of how to use the Unclaimed Property search site is available on the Treasury’s YouTube page, at: https://youtu.be/K09yQ7YNKlE.
To search for lost financial assets outside West Virginia, visit www.MissingMoney.com.