Ohio unclaimed property totals span over $3 billion in unclaimed money and actual property. In addition to uncashed checks and insurance policies there is actual property left behind waiting to be claimed.
Ohio is a rare state in that it holds onto its unclaimed property indefinitely, waiting for the rightful owners to claim it. These items are forgotten about or even unpaid security deposit boxes with treasure troves of items left behind. In a recent article the Ohio unclaimed property department opened its safe to show some of the rare items being held.
Some of those items included: A Vatican coin, USSR coin from the battle of Stalingrad, a Stirling set of US presidential coins, a silver coin necklace, a dollar bill from 1886 and more! Each item that comes in is a piece of history and more importantly items that families probably intended to pass down.
Ohio Unclaimed Property Totals Are Over $3 billion
Like many states, Ohio had a banner year in terms of how much money it returned last fiscal year. Over 36,000 claims were processed with over $136 million returned to its rightful owners. These numbers are possible thanks to increased outreach efforts by the state treasurer’s office. Just this summer, at the Ohio County Fair the unclaimed money department returned $195,000 to over 550 claimants. Thats an average of $352 per claim! Last year the total was much higher at $336,000 with an average of $512 per claim.
Ohio is one of a handful of states that have interest bearing accounts, but it does depend on the length the account has been unclaimed for. From 1968 through July 1991 any account that was unclaimed gained 6 percent interest! Ohio is also one of many states that have no limit on the length of time they have had the account. These unclaimed property accounts will not expire.