SALT LAKE CITY - Could you use a little extra cash right now? Of course you could.
It's almost like winning the lottery, you could have unclaimed funds and not even know it.
Every year, more than $40 million is turned over to the State of Utah to be returned to its residents but only $15 million is actually returned, a statistic that Utah’s State Treasurer, Richard K. Ellis, is trying to change. Because the money continues to accrue, there is currently more than $380 million in unclaimed funds.
In an effort to return more of that money to the rightful owners, the Utah Unclaimed Property Division is launching a new, simplified program called MyCash.
The Utah State Treasurer's Office said the new program and website aim to make it easier for residents to search for—and collect— money that may be owed to them.
Click here to check if you have unclaimed money
“All states in the U.S., including Utah, have a ‘lost and found’ for your money but because the money is often referred to as 'unclaimed property,' it confuses people and they don’t realize that it’s actual money that could belong to them,” Ellis said.
Ellis said unclaimed property comes from things like dormant bank accounts, old refunds, uncashed paychecks or even forgotten safe deposit boxes.
Generally, if the property has not had any activity for three years, it is considered abandoned and must be surrendered to the Unclaimed Property Division of the State Treasurer’s Office.
“Oftentimes people don’t even know that they had money coming to them," Dennis Johnston said, Director of Utah’s Unclaimed Property Division. "They move and forget they had a deposit with the utility company. They overpay a hospital bill and it takes time before it gets figured out or they get named as a beneficiary on someone’s life insurance policy and don’t even know it."
To search the site for your name or business, visit mycash.utah.gov.
“We hope people will take a couple minutes each year to search the site for their name or business and we hope they’ll spread the word to their family and friends so we can return as much money as possible,” Ellis said.
Lived in other states? You can check those as well.
About 40 other states participate in the program.
There is no charge for this service.
