Posted on 10/27/2005 10:09:42 AM PDT by calcowgirl
Millions of Californians have made hefty contributions of cash, stocks, even antique jewelry, to state coffers without knowing it. That's because lawmakers have been raiding the state's unclaimed-property cache and using the proceeds to help balance the budget.
About $896 million in unclaimed property was turned over to the state for safekeeping last year under a 46-year-old program designed to protect forgotten or abandoned assets. Less than $239 million of that was eventually claimed; most of the rest was dumped into the state's general fund.
State officials have been increasingly aggressive about taking control of the property. When the program began, property could go unclaimed for more than 15 years before it had to be turned over to California. Now, the state takes it after as little as a year.
Most unclaimed property is cash and securities; it comes from bank accounts, paychecks, utility company refunds and other sources. There are also valuables such as antique jewelry left in safe-deposit boxes.
Utilities, banks and other businesses are bound by law to give the state unclaimed property after a period that varies by type of property; they face stiff penalties if they fail to do so. Employers must surrender unclaimed employee paychecks after a year. Banks have three years to relinquish accounts and the contents of safe-deposit boxes that have been abandoned.
Many of the owners of unclaimed property would be relatively easy to find. For example...Red Cross ... David Geffen ... Michael Ovitz... Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ...
They are among 7.6 million California businesses and individuals whose unclaimed property has totaled roughly $4.8 billion since the program started. The state spends $15,000 a year tracking them down. Last year, it used $630 million of their money to plug a hole in the budget.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
http://www.searchthevault.com
Soviet-style confiscation.
Can someone tell me how this makes sense? If the employee doesn't claim the check it should be folded back into income for the company. How can the state say that it must go to it? I don't get it.
Apparently the law was passed under the guise of "consumer protection."
http://www.sco.ca.gov/col/ucp/faq/faq.shtml#geninfo03
How does the State acquire Unclaimed Property?
California's Unclaimed Property Law requires corporations, business associations, financial institutions, and insurance companies (commonly referred to as "holders") to annually report and deliver property to the Controller's Office after there has been no customer activity on the account for over three years. Often the owner forgets that the account exists, or moves and does not leave a forwarding address or the forwarding order expires. In some cases, the owner dies and the heirs have no knowledge of the property. All holders of Unclaimed Property are required by law to make attempts to contact the owners before reporting the property to the State.
Why does California have an Unclaimed Property law?
The law was enacted to prevent holders of Unclaimed Property from using your money and taking it into their business income. This law gives the State an opportunity to return your money and provides California citizens with a single source, the State Controller's Office, to check for unclaimed property that may be reported by holders from around the nation.
How very kind of them.
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