State Treasurer Riley Moore today announced his Office’s Unclaimed Property Division processed more than $2.2 million in unclaimed property returns to individuals, businesses and other organizations during the month of December – one of the top 10 monthly payouts in the program’s long history.
“With the launch of our West Virginia Cash Now program and continued strong claim payments, we’re on track to see the highest amount of unclaimed property ever returned to our citizens this fiscal year,” Treasurer Moore said. “These record payouts are a testament to our innovative efforts to reform this program – making it easier than ever for people to claim their lost funds – along with our aggressive digital marketing and public education campaigns to raise awareness of it.”
The Unclaimed Property Division processed $2,269,898 worth of payments during December. That amount pushes the total amount returned by the Office for the first six months of the current fiscal year, which began last July 1, to nearly $11.8 million – already well more than half of the record $18.6 million returned last fiscal year.
In addition to the regular claims, that total includes a large payout that will be presented Tuesday, Jan. 10, at Mannington Middle School to a charitable trust founded in honor of a prominent local doctor to benefit the school’s library. Those funds will be presented during a 1 p.m. event Tuesday afternoon at the school.
Treasurer Moore said his Office has more than $300 million in unclaimed property listings for individuals, businesses and other organizations. He encourages everyone to visit www.wvtreasury.com today to search and see if they have funds to claim.
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.MissingMoney.com.