Does California owe you money?

The state could owe you money. The holiday season is fast approaching and many are suffering from severe economic distress resulting from the COVID-19 shutdowns, so take a few minutes to see if you have some money coming to you. The state of California is sitting on almost $10 billion in unclaimed properties. Some of that money could be yours.

Under California’s Unclaimed Property Law, banks, insurance companies and other businesses are required to transfer property to the controller’s office if it goes unclaimed over a specified period of time, usually three years. Bank accounts, stocks, bonds, uncashed checks, insurance benefits, wages and the contents of safe deposit boxes are common types of unclaimed property. Funds are held for as long as it takes to reunite the property with its rightful owner, so the pot keeps growing simply because many do not search for the property they may have coming.

Checking to see if you have unclaimed funds is easy. Visit the state’s controller’s unclaimed property website, type in your name and see if you are listed. If it looks like you have some funds coming to you, you can file a claim immediately if the value is less than $5,000. Higher amounts require you to mail a form and takes longer to process. Also, please remember that there is no charge to retrieve your property from the state controller – so watch out for scams that try to charge for this free service.

Thousands of people have received their unclaimed properties over the ears, valued at over $23 million. You could have been one of them. So don’t let the state keep funds that may rightfully

belong to you., – visit the controller’s website today at http://claimit.ca.gov, or call 800-992-4647.

Assembly Republican Leader Marie Waldron, R-Escondido, represents the 75th Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes the communities of Bonsall, Escondido, Fallbrook, Hidden Meadows, Pala, Palomar Mountain, Pauma Valley, Rainbow, San Marcos, Temecula, Valley Center and Vista.