| The Beaver State is known for being the home | | | | period for most of these monies. Once the |
| of the massive, 11,000 foot Mt. Hood, but it is | | | | dormancy period has passed, the holder is |
| home to a lesser known mountain that should be | | | | required to pass the forgotten funds along to the |
| of greater interest to OR residents. Currently, | | | | state, which then holds it until the rightful owner is |
| Oregon unclaimed money totals more than $250 | | | | able to track it down. |
| million. That's right, more than a quarter of a billion, | | | | The reasons that it is difficult to reunite unclaimed |
| owed to more than 1 million people. This translates | | | | funds with the rightful owners are numerous, but |
| in to roughly 30% of the population, which means | | | | they generally all boil down to a lack of knowledge |
| the odds that any given citizen is owed a portion | | | | about where and when to search. While many |
| of this money are 1 in 3. | | | | sites may claim to be "official" or insist they offer |
| Each year, the state of Oregon receives between | | | | a complete database, very few actually provide |
| $30 and $40 million in unclaimed property, but only | | | | legitimate records, and even the official state |
| returns about $10 million to the rightful owners. | | | | records are incredibly unreliable. Once an asset is |
| Since the owners of the other $20 to $30 million | | | | turned over to the state, someone at the state |
| weren't located, that money gets added to the | | | | has to manually enter the record in to the missing |
| total, so that $250 million on stands to grow. While | | | | money list, but this isn't done immediately, so it is |
| it may be tough to believe that 1 in 3 Oregon | | | | good practice to check back often. Additionally, |
| residents are due a claim, these monies really | | | | because of all the varying dormancy period |
| come from sources that we all use everyday. | | | | lengths, a person might perform a search one |
| The OR Department of State Lands describes | | | | day and then give up if they found no claims, |
| some of the most common sources as | | | | when if they had only checked back the following |
| follows:"Unclaimed property includes savings | | | | year they might have found a significant claim |
| accounts, checking accounts, unpaid wages or | | | | that simply had a longer dormancy period. |
| commissions, stocks, dividends proceeds, refunds, | | | | When searching for lost money, there's more to |
| money orders, paid-up life insurance policies, utility | | | | it than simply entering a name in to the search |
| deposits and contents of safe deposit boxes." | | | | box of any old site. Obstacles that plague rookie |
| Each type of asset can become "unclaimed" after | | | | searchers are easy to overcome, but far to |
| it has been deemed abandoned. To be considered | | | | many go out on their own and are unable to |
| abandoned, the asset must sit dormant for a | | | | locate money that belongs to them, which is why |
| period of 1, 2, 3, or 5 years, or in less common | | | | the totals grow all across the nation. Spending a |
| cases, 7 or 15 years (for money orders and | | | | little time learning professional search methods can |
| traveler's checks, respectively). Generally speaking | | | | greatly increase the odds of filling our wallets with |
| though, 1-5 years is the assumed dormancy | | | | money we had forgotten about. |