Community Corner

Do You Have Unclaimed Money?

State Treasurer to release list of unclaimed property in Massachusetts. Your name could be on the list.

Need more money?

The Massachusetts Treasurer's Office will soon be publishing a list of people with unclaimed property, including money, according to a press release.

In total, over $60 million in unclaimed property for individuals, businesses and charities will be listed, according to the press release. The property includes bank accounts, insurance policy benefits and other assets forfeited to the state.

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The list will be published in the Boston Globe on Sunday, Sept. 9 and in the Boston Herald on Sunday, Sept. 16, but will not include 297,000 people owed less than $100. For the complete list, visit www.findmassmoney.com.

This is the latest in the Treasurer's ongoing efforts to return unclaimed property to individuals. For fiscal 2012, approximately $93 million was returned to state residents. 

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Text of the press release:

GROSSMAN ANNOUNCES FALL RELEASE OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY LISTINGS FOR MASSACHUSETTS

$60 million in newly identified property owed to hundreds of thousands of individuals and businesses

The Massachusetts State Treasury has identified hundreds of thousands of new individuals, charities and businesses over the last six months that are entitled to over $60 million in unclaimed property. As part of an effort to return this money, the Treasury will be publishing in newspapers a list of names identified over the past six months owed more than $100.

            “This new list is just the tip of the iceberg. While it contains approximately 51,000 names, these are only a fraction of the individuals, businesses and charities that we have on record,” said Treasurer Steven Grossman, who oversees the Unclaimed Property Division. “This is not the state’s money. It belongs to the citizens of the Commonwealth. We want to take every step possible to get unclaimed property back into the hands of its rightful owners.”

            Unclaimed Property includes forgotten savings and checking accounts, un-cashed checks, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, dividends, and contents of unattended safe deposit boxes. Most accounts are considered unclaimed and turned over to the Treasury for safekeeping after three years with no activity. In addition to the $60 million that the Treasury identified over the last six months, the Commonwealth is holding over $2 billion in trust until rightful owners can be identified.

            The newly released list will include 11 accounts over $100,000, 23 accounts between $50,000 and $100,000, 434 accounts between $10,000 and $50,000 and 10,795 accounts in excess of $1,000. Due to space constraints the list will not include the names of approximately 297,000 individuals identified in the last six months who are owed less than $100, but anyone can easily check to see if they are owed money at www.findmassmoney.com or by calling 888-344-MASS (6277). One in ten people in Massachusetts has unclaimed property in their name.

            Past individuals with claims include Tom Brady, Steven Tyler, Chelsea Clinton, Governor Deval Patrick, and Senator Scott Brown. In his first term in office, Grossman has refocused efforts to reunite people with their rightfully owned property by bolstering awareness about the program, cross-referencing names on the unclaimed property list with other databases, and dramatically enhancing outreach at various public forums. The Treasury’s Unclaimed Property Division has visited 52 highly attended public of events this year and set up booths where citizens can do on-the-spot checks to see if they are owed money.

            In Fiscal Year 2012, nearly $93 million in unclaimed property was returned to Massachusetts citizens, businesses and charities including $9 million in stocks and mutual funds, a 10 percent increase over the prior fiscal year. The Treasury has also utilized eBay to hold online auctions of unclaimed jewelry, coins, and other items from safe deposit boxes, garnering over $434,000 for the Commonwealth last year. Over the past four years, the Unclaimed Property Division has returned over $228 million and over 3.3 million shares of stock and mutual funds to their rightful owners.

            The new unclaimed property list will be published in the Boston Globe on Sunday, September 9th and in the Boston Herald on Sunday, September 16th. The list of names will also be published in 37 regional newspapers between Wednesday, September 26th and Friday, September 28th.

            The Treasury releases an updated list of unclaimed assets every six months as new accounts are turned over to the Commonwealth. There is no time limit to claim this property and, in many cases, claimants will receive interest. To determine if they have unclaimed property, citizens can call or visit www.findmassmoney.com.




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