FOX44NOW.COM - Burlington/Plattsburgh News, Weather and SportsMore People Looking For Unclaimed Money In Bad Economy
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Vermont has millions of dollars it would like to give away; it justs need the owners to come forward to claim it.
The economy seems to be getting more people to make claims.
"We're seeing a lot more people coming in and claiming the smaller sums and I think money is tight right now and obviously means a lot to people," Vermont State Treasurer, Jeb Spaulding said.
The number of people making claims increased by 80% last year, but the state still has $44 million that belongs to 262,000 organizations and people.
The money comes from old security deposits, un-cashed checks, old stocks, or insurance policies that people have forgotten about. When the banks, insurance companies or other organizations don't hear from the owner for awhile they have to report it to the state.
"When I saw it I was like, oh yeah, I remember having that transaction with an insurance company and it must be that I never cashed the check," John Booth said
Booth said almost anyone can have unclaimed property. Booth is the Director of Treasury Operations in Vermont, he found his $23 in unclaimed money about eight years ago, and found some for his parents last year.
"People never lose their right to reclaim their property and if it's another generation or two generations down and you can show that you're the rightful owner then you can claim that property," Spaulding said.
To see if you have unclaimed property you can log onto:
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/ouf/
