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Anyone Owe you Money?
David A. Stiefel, MBA, CPA/PFS
Principal and Director, Family and Closely Held Business Services
May 4, 2009
You might be surprised! More than three million current or former Washington State residents can truthfully answer Yes.
According to the Washington State Department of Revenue, they have what is generally referred to as unclaimed property―most often in the form of money, uncashed checks or other amounts owed, intangible property such as securities, or tangible property in safe deposit boxes.
Washington State law requires that businesses review their records annually to identify unclaimed property and, after an abandonment period, remit it to the State where the property is held until claimed by its rightful owners. Last fall alone, Washington businesses turned in over $83 million of such property owed to 300,000 people. The total amount of unclaimed property managed by our Department of Revenue has grown each year since the 1950s, and now approaches $600 million.
As a free service to the public, Washington State provides a searchable database of this unclaimed property and, in the event that you find your name in the database, an electronic claim system. Revenue Director Cindy Holmstrom estimates your chance of finding unclaimed property at 50 – 50. She asks that you "please take the time to claim your cash."
To search the Washington State Department of Revenue database for your unclaimed property, click here.
There is also an online nationwide free search sponsored by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.
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Note: If you're a business, you can learn more about your responsibilities with regard to unclaimed property by reading my previous article entitled Are You Holding Unclaimed Property?.
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