Did you know that one in 10 Missourians has unclaimed property? Are you, or someone you know owners of unclaimed property? While the average claim is valued at about $300, the treasurer’s office currently has about $1 billion in unclaimed property in his office.
A review of the state’s unclaimed property database indicates there is currently $13,579,743.60, in money or assets belonging to approximately 118,792 account owners in the 26th Senatorial District alone. There are more than 5 million account holders in the state. More than $200 million has been returned to located account owners or their heirs. Businesses and organizations can also have unclaimed property.
Banks, businesses and insurance companies turn over property to the treasurer’s office after accounts have been inactive and the owners could not be contacted for a statutorily defined period of time based on the type of property, generally five years.
The property will be held until the owner or a proper heir is located and claims it. Account owners can file a claim online or request a paper claim be mailed to them at any time by visiting www.ShowMeMoney.com.
There are a variety of resources on the treasurer’s website that will assist you in discovering if you have unclaimed property; and submitting a claim if you do. The unclaimed property database searches Missouri’s largest lost and found and allows users the ability to start the process of making a claim and also tracking the claim once it has been processed. For more information or additional help making a claim call (573) 751-8533.
Thank you for reading this weekly column. Please contact my office at (573) 751-3678 if you have any questions.