State Treasurer Riley Moore today announced his Office’s Unclaimed Property Division continued its record pace of returning cash to individuals, businesses and other organizations in January with returns exceeding $2.3 million – the second month in a row to see a historic top 10 monthly return total.
“We’re returning money at the fastest pace in state history, and that’s great news for the people of West Virginia,” Treasurer Moore said.
The Unclaimed Property Division processed $2,338,723 worth of payments during January. That makes two months in a row that unclaimed property returns topped $2 million.
The totals also continue the record pace of returns for the Unclaimed Property Division this year. In the seven months since the fiscal year began last July 1, the division has already returned more than $14.1 million – far exceeding the pace of the record $18.6 million returned last fiscal year.
Treasurer Moore said the increase in returns is due to the launch of aggressive digital marketing campaigns to raise awareness of the program, along with recent reforms he championed with the Legislature to make it easier for people to claim and receive lost funds.
“While we’re returning funds in the fastest pace in state history, we still have more than $300 million in unclaimed funds sitting in our database – with more coming in every day – so I encourage everyone to visit www.wvtreasury.com and search to see if we’re holding any money for you,” Treasurer Moore said.
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.