State Treasurer Riley Moore today announced his Office’s Unclaimed Property Division returned more than $724,000 in unclaimed property to citizens, businesses and organizations during the month of December, pushing the total amount returned last year to more than $15.2 million.
“This is the people’s money and we’re proud to return it to them,” Treasurer Moore said.
The Office paid out 1,544 claims during December totaling $724,303. For all of 2021, the Office returned more than $15.2 million to rightful owners.
Treasurer Moore said his Office will also be working with the Legislature in the coming months to improve the way it returns unclaimed property.
“We’re going to be working with lawmakers this session to streamline the process of claiming funds, making it easier for people to find out what they’re owed and cutting the amount of time it takes to issue them a check,” Treasurer Moore said.
Legislation to accomplish these reforms will be introduced early in the 2022 regular legislative session.
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.wvtreasury.com, then click on the large Unclaimed Property “Search” button to the right of the page under the heading, “Are We Holding Your Money?” In addition to finding property, the www.wvtreasury.com 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.FindMyFunds.com or www.MissingMoney.com.