Did the past holiday deplete your bank account and left you feeling you have started January with a little hole in your budget? Then go check out if the California State Government’s database has listed some unclaimed assets that possibly belong to you! You might just find yourself ending up with some extra cash.
“How can some of my assets end up with the California State government”, you may ask?
“Businesses like banks and insurance companies are required by law to transfer property to the state controllers office if it goes unclaimed for a certain period of time, generally three years. ” (NBC Los Angeles)
What is considered “Unclaimed property”?
It is generally defined as any financial asset that has been left inactive by the owner for a period of time. Among the most common types of “Unclaimed Property” are:
- Bank accounts & Safe Deposit box contents
- Stocks, mutual funds, and the like
- Insurance benefits
- Uncashed cashier’s checks and money orders
- And more…
There is no time limit or fee for filing a claim! So it’s for sure worth a try to carve out some time to search the database provided by California State Controller’s office. You may be pleasantly surprised. At least, I know I was when I checked the database, just for fun, and found out that apparently I had some unclaimed assets of about $100. Okay, okay,… it’s not groundbreaking, but hey, who doesn’t welcome a few dollars that he didn’t know he had in the first place!
If you want to give it a try, here is the database URL to try your luck!
To find out more about how you keep your property from being turned over to the State Controller’s office, check out the California State Controller’s website here
Image: Pixabay.com – Resources: California State Controller’s Office, NBCLA