Highest Monthly Amount Returned in State History
State Treasurer Riley Moore today announced his Office’s Unclaimed Property Division set a new record for the highest amount of unclaimed property returned during a month, with nearly $6.2 million worth of funds returned to individuals, businesses and other organizations during the month of September.
“This is by far the highest amount returned to our citizens on a monthly basis since this program began in 1967,” Treasurer Moore said. “Since I took office in 2021, we’ve returned nearly $92 million to the people. I’m proud to say we continue returning people’s money at the fastest pace in state history.”
The Unclaimed Property Division returned a total of $6,172,265 paid out across 4,208 claims representing 11,143 individual properties during the month of September. About $2.9 million of that was through the West Virginia Cash Now payments mailed out to 2,357 recipients during the month.
There were several other large claims as well, including more than $360,000 returned to the Putnam County Commission and more than $94,000 to New River Health Association in Fayette County.
“While we’re returning funds at the fastest pace in state history, we’re also receiving new listings all the time,” Treasurer Moore said. “We have more than $435 million available in our database to claim today, so I encourage everyone to visit www.WVUnclaimedProperty.gov to see if we’re holding anything for you.”
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.WVUnclaimedProperty.gov. In addition to finding property, the 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.