(Part 1 of 2)

The state of Washington is home to some of the world wide web's major players. Even Bill Gates, the United States' wealthiest man, hails from Medina, Washington and his company, Microsoft, is based in Redmond. Whitepages.com, Amazon.com, Classmates.com and Marchex also make Washington their home. The fact then that over one and a half million residents are owed an excess of $700 million in unclaimed money in Washington State is ironic, considering that looking for unclaimed property and money can be done on the web from the comfort of their bedroom or the local Starbucks.

According to the Washington State Dept. Of Revenue web site, typical unclaimed money includes abandoned mutual funds, uncashed payroll, utility and phone company deposits, traveler's checks, insurance, insurance proceeds, bank accounts, bonds, stocks, safe deposit box contents, and other types of financial assets. Unclaimed property doesn't include most tangible assets such as vehicles and real estate. State Law requires insurance companies, banks, credit unions, government entities, retailers, corporations, and utilities to turn Washington unclaimed property and money over to the state if the rightful owners can not be located after three to five years (depending on the item). The State's Unclaimed Money Law states: "State law protects unclaimed property until it can be returned. There is no time limit for filing a claim and rightful owners or their heirs can claim property reported since 1955. The state may auction the content of safe deposit boxes, however, if not claimed within five years."

Washington was the first state to have a working system for claiming lost property and money. As a matter of fact, the Washington State Dept. of Revenue recently won the Award for Outstanding Management and Organizational Initiative for its 'Unclaimed Property E-Claim System'. The total waiting to be reunited with their owners still exceeds $500 million however, despite the unclaimed money program being implemented to seek out more owners of Washington unclaimed money and that makes claiming easier for them.

(to be continued)

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