What to Know
- California is holding about $9 billion in unclaimed property for safekeeping after a recent $770 million transfer
- The money includes forgotten bank accounts, uncashed checks, safe deposit boxes and other items
- If you think you might have unclaimed property, visit the state controller's web site to conduct a search
California recently added $770 million to the billions of dollars being held as unclaimed property, the state's chief fiscal officer announced Tuesday.
Link: California Unclaimed Property Search
The cash transferred to the state for safekeeping includes bank accounts that might have been forgotten, uncashed checks, insurance policy money, stocks, safe deposit boxes and other unclaimed cash. The $770 million is just part of the $9 billion in unclaimed property being held by the state.
So, how do Californians find out whether they have unclaimed property? Click here to visit the state controller's unclaimed property search. Users also can download unclaimed property records, check on the status of a claim and download claim instructions and forms.
"A search of the unclaimed property database only takes a couple minutes and this is a great time to do it because more properties transfer from banks, businesses, employers, and life insurance companies each summer," Controller Betty Yee said in a statement.
Under California's Unclaimed Property Law, banks, insurance companies, corporations and other entities are required to submit customers' property to the state controller's office when no activity is reported over a certain period of time, usually three years. The property is held by the state until a rightful claim is filed.
U.S. & World
There is no time limit or cost for filing a claim with Yee's office.
About 580,000 claims were filed in the 2017-18 fiscal year totalling about $309 million. The average amount of money paid out was $534, according to the controller's office.
