Yesterday was National Unclaimed Property Day -- and the state’s Office of Unclaimed Property advises residents to “check for a check.”
National Unclaimed Property Day is a nationwide initiative to raise awareness of efforts to reunite people with their unclaimed property.
Unclaimed property includes money left in old bank accounts, uncashed paychecks, refunds, and travelers checks.
It also includes unreturned utility deposits, uncollected insurance payments, unused balances on gift cards, and forgotten stocks and dividends.
Office of Unclaimed Property Deputy Director Devashree Singh says people can check online.
"Check unclaimed property and also missingmoney.com and to watch for their mailbox because oftentimes the holders of this property will reach out to their customers,” said Singh. “They will send them a letter letting them know, giving them a deadline of 'I have those property this credit you have to claim it within a certain amount of time or I'll turn it over to the state.'"
The Office of Unclaimed Property’s website is unclaimedproperty.delaware.gov.
About one in seven people nationally have unclaimed property held by Delaware or another state, and the First State has returned over $1.5 billion in cash and securities to over 70,000 claimants over the last three fiscal years.
"Individuals can search across 49 states and depending on their property and the owners they can submit a claim and it's processed through the unclaimed property website or missingmoney.com. They're both linked. Our website links to missing money," said Singh.
Delawareans are encouraged to search for unclaimed property as new properties are added daily.
