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State encourages Delawareans to claim missing money

Delaware’s Office of Unclaimed Property is encouraging First State residents to check and see if they have missing assets waiting to be claimed.

Delaware is participating in a country-wide campaign called National Unclaimed Property Day.

With so many companies incorporated in the First State, Delaware has returned more than $500 million to people across the country over the last three years.

The state Office of Unclaimed Property reports it returned $205 million last fiscal year alone, with about $11 million going to Delaware residents.

Director Brenda Mayrack said unclaimed money can be from old savings accounts, overpaid utility bills, forgotten retirement accounts or even uncashed checks.

“It can also happen when a relative passes away and that relative either had an insurance policy that is now owed or maybe that relative wasn’t very good at keeping records and it's hard for the family members to figure out exactly what assets that relative had.”

In fiscal year 2021, around 24,000 claims were paid to Delawareans alone.

Mayrack encourages people to check for unclaimed property at least once a year by going to unclaimedproperty.delaware.gov or missingmoney.com.

In the last fiscal year, the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators reports it has returned more than $4 billion in unclaimed assets.

Mark Arehart is an award-winning reporter/producer. Before returning to Delaware, Arehart was a reporter for WKSU and Ideastream Public Media in Northeast Ohio. He previously hosted Morning Edition and covered the arts scene for Delaware Public Media. He has worked for KNKX in Seattle, Kansas Public Radio, and KYUK in Bethel, Alaska.