The Unclaimed Property Myth Exposed

By Author: Nicole Anderson
Total Articles: 82
Comment this article

Is unclaimed property a myth? It was considered impractical and bizarre by even the most educated public when the concept of unclaimed money was discussed, not to mention the prospect of claiming it back. It has been established that unclaimed money in America has now reached 8 out of 9 American families, who have some form of unclaimed property waiting to be claimed. It can be statistically proven that almost every American family has at least one member who has forgotten funds.

It is not surprising that the increasing piles of unclaimed money has resulted in a financial and administrative crisis of unmanageable proportions. The Federal and State agencies have realized that the U.S. unclaimed or lost money is becoming a major issue at all levels of government. The unclaimed databases are swelling with unclaimed money as new and lost money is being added at a much faster rate.

The larger states, like California and New York, have been battling this unclaimed money menace longer and is a tougher period as compared to the smaller states. This does not mean that the smaller are having an easy time with the handling ...
... of unclaimed money; they have also been reporting unclaimed funds addition to their treasuries at a furious pace.

In addition to the state treasuries and government agencies which are reporting unprecedented influx of unclaimed property and money, many of the major banks and insurance companies are disclosing that the volume of unclaimed bank balances have been growing at a rapid pace. In a recent press release , about half a million dollars in unclaimed money from former Washington Mutual Bank customers is waiting to be claimed. Banks and other financial institutions have a very good track record regarding accuracy, which helps in dispelling any myths about the unclaimed property facts in the U.S.

As a sign of this growing problem of unclaimed property, when the American people are in real need of money, Oprah Winfrey had to distribute unclaimed money on her show, realizing that 8 out of 9 families in the U.S. are still the owners of some lost funds.

A few examples of unclaimed property across the nation will help establish the fact about unclaimed property:

• Ohio: Accounts worth more than $617,260 from more than 1,188 unclaimed funds were reported from The Hancock County itself. The advertised accounts, each valued at $50 or more were turned over within the past year for individuals whose last known address was in Hancock County. At regular intervals, State of Ohio publishes the list for unclaimed funds through widely circulated dailies in each county.
• Maryland: 60,000 identified owners of unclaimed cash worth more than $42 million were published within a 144-page insert into Maryland’s Frederick News-Post - published by the Comptroller’s office
• Colorado, Connecticut and Texas have also published official reports of unclaimed property and funds.

These examples solidify the existing problem of unclaimed money throughout all states in America. Claim your part of this large unclaimed money pool today!