My neighbor received a significant sum of money that was considered unclaimed property. What is unclaimed property or funds? Is this legitimate, and how do I get any unclaimed property?Yes, it is legitimate! Each year, millions of dollars are turned over to the California State Controller’s Office when businesses cannot contact property owners about their unclaimed funds.
California law requires all holders of unclaimed property to attempt to contact owners by sending a letter to the owner’s last known address informing them that the property will be transferred to the State Controller’s Office for safekeeping if the owner does not contact them to retrieve it. The State Controller’s Office also sends letters to all property owners notifying them that the holder will transfer their property to the state.
Since the letter is sent to the owner’s last known address, there is a chance that you have unclaimed property but did not receive notification. In that case, you can search the state’s database. The process is relatively simple — owners can search and claim their property for free through the state’s website.
The database will generate a list of unclaimed properties if there are results matching your search. Each property will be marked with a P, I, or N.