Illinois is one of many states that boasts billions in unclaimed money and unclaimed property with $2.9 billion waiting for its rightful owners to claim it. According to a report, one in four residents of Illinois have money owed to them. The state has over 400,000 accounts waiting to be claimed with an average value near $1,000 per claim.
According to the Illinois website, common types of unclaimed money include:
Unclaimed property laws began in the United States as a consumer protection program and they have evolved to protect not only the owners, but their heirs and estates as well. Once property is in the custody of the state and its unclaimed property program, the state will maintain custody of the property in perpetuity until the rightful owner or heirs come forward to claim.
checking and savings accounts, uncashed wage and payroll checks, uncashed stock dividends and stock certificates, insurance payments, utility deposits, customer deposits, accounts payable, credit balances, refund checks, money orders, traveler’s checks, mineral proceeds, court deposits, uncashed death benefit checks and life insurance proceeds. Unclaimed property does not include real estate or vehicles.
NY State Looking For Unclaimed Money Owed To Construction Workers
Since 2014 the NY state comptroller has found over $27 million in prevailing wage violations. So far he has paid out more than $12 million, but is still looking for over 1200 workers who are owed money from over 50 construction companies who underpaid their employees on state contracts.
New York State boasts one of the largest unclaimed money totals overall with over $14 Billion in unclaimed property. Their site is one of the nicest on the web and offers information regarding outreach events, asset protection, online searching, claim filing status and more. Last year NY collected over $800 million and returned close to $460 million to rightful property owners.