HOUSTON – Do you have cash waiting for you? It might be a good time to check.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar encouraged everyone in January to visit ClaimItTexas.gov to see if the state is holding some of their unclaimed property.
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One and 10 people in the U.S. have unclaimed property, according to officials with the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. Unclaimed property includes things such as forgotten utility deposits or other refunds, insurance proceeds, payroll checks, cashier’s checks, dividends, mineral royalties, dormant bank accounts and abandoned safe deposit box contents. Businesses generally turn the property over to the unclaimed property program after it has been considered dormant for one to five years.
The comptroller’s office said it has returned more than $4 billion in unclaimed property to its owners since Texas’ unclaimed property program began in 1962. The state is currently holding more than $7 billion in cash and other valuables through the program. The average value of an approved claim is more than $1,000.
There is generally no statute of limitations for unclaimed property the state holds, which means there’s no time limit for owners to file a claim -- they can do so at any time, the release stated.
For more information about the unclaimed property program, or to search for unclaimed property and begin the claims process, visit the Comptroller’s unclaimed property website, ClaimItTexas.gov, or call 800-321-2274. Texans are also encouraged to check MissingMoney.com or FindMyFunds.com to search for the property that may belong to them in other states.