Earlier this week there was a brief item on Los Angeles radio station KNX; the reporter mentioned that in California the State is holding over $2B in unclaimed property. She had checked the state’s web site, and was surprised to find that she was listed.
So I checked my name: I/we aren’t listed (I didn’t expect to be).
But as a curious person, I am checking the names of some of our friends, relatives, acquaintances, neighbors (current and ex-), and notifying them (or the heirs of those who have died) of their being listed. I checked (per Hint 4, below) and found listed an aunt who died in 2013; I’ve notified my cousin.
I am dismayed at the ‘hit ratio’ – I’m guessing that about 20-25% of my queries have positive hits. For some of the hits, I have looked deeper to see what amounts are being held. ‘Property’ turns out to be money, primarily. Some people have multiple lines of entries. The amounts vary from a few cents, to $s, to $10s, to $100s; the largest two were for over $1000, and over $2500!
You may wish to look into this matter, not only for yourself but also for those to whom you would like to be ‘a good neighbor’.
Remember to check for relatives’ surnames too.
Also remember to check the state(s) where you used to live.
California: https://ucpi.sco.ca.gov/ucp/Default.aspx
Oregon: https://oregonup.us/upweb/up/up_search.asp
other: Do an internet Search for [ “unclaimed property” your-state-name ]
other links (derived from above):
– https://www.usa.gov/unclaimed-money
– https://www.unclaimed.org/
– https://www.missingmoney.com/Main/StateSites.cfm
Search Hints (works in California; your location may differ):
– case is immaterial
– spelling must be exact
– entering of the first portion of a word, whether name or city, is a generic search of that field
– if a surname is at all unusual, try the whole name, and page through the results lists for relatives
— but if a surname is common, you’ll have to qualify it by first name, initial, and/or city
Have you found ‘hits’ of over $1000, or what you consider to be a significant amount?
Does your non-USA Country/State/Province/Territory/Canton/political-division have this type of holding, is it well-indexed, and how easy is it to Search the data?
