(Part 1 of 2)

Of the tens of billions of dollars in unclaimed property in the United States, the state of OH is one of only a few states that house over 1 billion of it. According to the OH Dept. of Commerce's Division of Unclaimed Funds, that $1 Billion is spread out across three and a half million different accounts. Even though thousands of these accounts are given back to their rightful owners annually, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, OH takes in another 200,000 accounts annually, worth millions more.

As with the majority of states, OH has trouble handing back unclaimed property to its residents for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is disbelief. Putting it simply, the majority of people simply are not aware of missing money and those that have heard about it, generally think it is some sort of scam, unless they've heard it straight from the source. But even those that have recognized the reality of these billions of dollars in abandoned assets generally don't know the first thing about finding these funds.

The Division of Unclaimed Funds in OH holds the following as its mission statement: "To improve the quality of service to our customers by collecting unclaimed property equitably, managing the property wisely and effectively, and returning it timely to the rightful owners." The Division also lists the following as the most common types of unclaimed property in OH – unpaid insurance policies, dormant savings and checking accounts, unreturned rent and utility deposits, underlying shares of stock, credit memos, forgotten layaway deposits, credit balances, securities, unclaimed wages or commissions, intangible contents of safe deposit boxes, uncashed checks, undelivered and uncashed stock dividends.

If someone living in the state of OH is to be thorough in their search for missing money, there are a handful of things they can do to give themselves and advantage. What it all boils down to is being educated. Finding where to search and when to search is key to successful searches. Are you aware that not all unclaimed property sites are the same? Are you aware that the records are updated sporadically?

(to be continued)

–

The largest pot of

How to Find
When I found out the city of Pasadena, Calif., had more than a quarter of a million dollars-worth of people's missing

REGION: County lays claim to
RIVERSIDE —- Riverside County officials moved Tuesday to deposit $1 million in