Wyoming holding more than $100 million in unclaimed property

Wyoming holding more than $100 million in unclaimed property
 
SHERIDAN (WNE) — Despite record amounts of payments over the past few years, Wyoming’s Unclaimed Property Division of the State Treasurer’s Office is holding on to more money than ever, as the amount of money now being held exceeds $100 million.
“We have stepped up our efforts to reunite owners with their unclaimed properties, but the amount turned into the state continues to outpace the amount we are able to return,” Wyoming State Treasurer Curt Meier said. 
Thanks to the $3.54 million deposited in October and another $3.91 million deposited so far in November, the amount of money held by the state has swelled to more than $100.6 million.
Meier said there are more than 900,000 individual properties in the state’s database, meaning the vast majority of owners will only get paid if they initiate a claim on their own online.
Unclaimed property is turned over when a business, agency or governmental entity owes money, securities and/or the contents of a safe deposit box, among other items, to someone and for whatever reason cannot locate the owner for a specified duration of time. The property is turned over to the state of the last known address, if an address was ever known. If there was no last known address, it is turned over to the state in which the business was incorporated.
To make a valid claim online, visit https://statetreasurer.wyo.gov/unclaimed-property.
Owners will need to provide information about themselves and may need to submit official documents.
Wyoming law requires the state to hold unclaimed property in perpetuity until it is claimed by the rightful owner.