Thousands Of Dollars Unclaimed

Thousands Of Dollars Unclaimed
More than 1,000 area residents have forgotten money, property
Katie Landeck
News Staff Writer

GARDNER  It’s not a scam. Nor is it too good to be true.

Working with the Unclaimed Property Division of the Massa­chusetts treasurer’s office, local representatives are trying to connect residents to their unclaimed and forgotten property.

“The total is well over a million dollars (in my district),” said state Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik, D-Gardner. “There are around 1,000 people in my district who are on the list ... the top person on my list has $23,000.”

All 1,000 people on his list have at least $250 in unclaimed property.

Unclaimed property can be uncashed checks, forgotten check­ing and savings accounts, stocks, dividends, insurance policy proceeds and contents of abandoned safety deposit boxes. The majority of these accounts are considered abandoned after three years of inactivity.

There is no time limit for filing claims in Massachusetts, according to the Office of the State Treasurer.

Recently, the state — which is responsible for about $2.4 billion in unclaimed funds — has redoubled efforts to reunite residents and their money, launching a new website, starting an outreach team and running ads in various types of media. It is estimated that one in every 10 people have unclaimed property.

This year, the new state treasurer, Deb Goldberg, decided to work with the Legislature to spread the word.

“We are excited to work with the Legislature to reunite constituents with their unclaimed property,” said Ms. Goldberg in a press release. This partnership is part of our continued efforts to raise awareness about unclaimed property in local communities all across Massachusetts.”

Mr. Zlotnik, as well as state Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, D-Leom­inster, will reach out to people on their lists to help them make a claim.

“We’ll be trying to locate as many of these people as possible, or in some cases their heirs,” said Mr. Zlotnik. “We are prioritizing the higher-money figures.”

However, people don’t have to wait for a phone call from their representative to learn if there is money with their name on it.

Instead, curious residents can go to the state-run website, findmassmoney.com, to search the database. If their name is a match, the search will tell them if the total is more or less than $100 and explain how to start a claim.

To prevent scams, it does not tell people exactly how much or what kind of property it is.

“Our office is always encouraging residents to take a minute to look on the state’s site to see if they have any unclaimed property,” said Ms. Flanagan. “It is well worth the few minutes of time if there is money out there with your name on it.”

The process takes only a “little bit of effort,” according to Mr. Zlotnik. Trying out the website for himself, he said he discovered that several of his family members have unclaimed property, of which he said he’s going to remind them.

For more information, Mr. Zlotnik encourages people to call him at 978-410-9559 or contact the Unclaimed Property Division at 888-344-6277.