Connecticut Unclaimed Property

Does Connecticut Owe You Money? Learn About the State’s Unclaimed Property Laws

Does the state of Connecticut owe you any money? To date, the state owes over 800,000 people money, so you should do a search to see if you’re one of them. There’s a one in four chance that you are. On average, $2 million per month is being paid out to rightful owners and heirs. The Unclaimed Property Division has more than $300 million in escheated property to date, and acquires millions more every year.

No fee can be charged in Conn. for locating rightful owners within 2 years of the property being reported. The program has been around for over 70 years, and the annual amount of unclaimed property keeps getting higher and higher. Still, the state does a good job of providing information to holders and owners, and making the reclamation process as simple as possible. The state laws also protect owners from being scammed by companies offering “tracing” services.

The state treasurer’s office collects and protects assets that have been unclaimed by residents for a specific period of time. The period of time varies depending on the property type, with three to five years being the standard. Rightful owners and heirs always have the right to claim the funds and there is no time limit for making a claim.

The state law requires that assets be transferred to the Office of State Treasurer by banks, stores, insurance companies, hospitals, etc, whenever they lose contact with owners after the specified amount of time. The Unclaimed Property Division sends out forms to businesses every year. The forms can be used to fill out information about owners of unclaimed or abandoned properties by March 31 every year.

Unclaimed property includes bank accounts, uncashed checks and money orders, stocks and bonds, insurance policies, mutual funds, safe box deposits, etc. If you want to search the database, try variations of your name. Sometimes a simple error, such as a misspelled name or account mistake, is the reason why property goes unclaimed. If you find money that belongs to you, you can claim it. A claim form needs to be filled out, notarized, and sent to the State Treasurer’s Office.

As mentioned above, the law protects owners from being charged a fee for assistance obtaining the money within two years after it’s been reported. After the two years, the fee is limited to 10% of the recovered property’s worth. The agreement is only valid if it’s in writing with details of the property and is signed by the owner. Keep this in mind if you need a tracer to help you find and obtain your money.