California State Controller, Betty Yee, recently announced that Californians have over $770 million in cash from unclaimed property.
Unclaimed property is usually money that no one has claimed in a long time. Banks, insurance companies, corporations, and other organizations sometimes have customer property that has not been touched in a few years. By law, these entities must report and submit their customers’ “unclaimed property” to the State Controller’s Office. For example, this property can be refund checks, overcharges, insurance payouts, and other forms of cash that the State is required to hold for you.
You can check online see if you have unclaimed property. Just type your name in the boxes on the website and claim the property that goes with your name and address or former addresses. Then, the state will send you a check.
You have the right to obtain your unclaimed property without fees by working directly with the State Controller’s Office staff. Do not pay upfront fees for help with recovering lost property. Some companies and individuals charge fees for helping people recover their unclaimed property. However, we would not recommend it, since you can do it for free yourself or with the help of Contra Costa Senior Legal Services.
If you want help finding unclaimed property on the website, feel free to call us and we can help you. As with all of our services, this would be of no charge to you.
For more information, please visit the State Controller’s website.