Unclaimed property adds up to millions

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

People lose track of the darndest things, and sometimes the key to locating them is to check with the state's Unclaimed Property Program.

You won't find missing socks or the forgotten combination to your gym locker. But Sandra Kam, the manager of the Unclaimed Property Program, said she gets some interesting items with dollar signs attached.

Among them: uncashed checks, deposits left with utility companies, balances from forgotten checking or savings accounts, stock certificates, the contents of safe deposit boxes and a $394,000 inheritance.

"That one, the $394,000 estate, is a one in a million thing," Kam said.

Most of the amounts are smaller, she said. But they add up.

Between July 2001 and April 2002, Kam's office took temporary custody of $6 million in unclaimed money.

So far, the state has returned $2.5 million to the rightful owners, some of whom didn't realize they were missing any money.

Kam said banks, title companies and other private institutions are required to report unclaimed money to the state each year on Nov. 1.

Amounts of more than $100 are retained by the institution while the state runs ads in local newspapers and on their Web site, listing the names of owners and the institutions they should contact.

Smaller amounts go directly to Kam's office and stay there until the owners claim them.

Larger amounts still unclaimed after the ads are run also go to Kam's office to await word from the rightful owners.

Sometimes the owners never come. Kam said her office has more than $78 million dollars in an invested trust fund, waiting for people to claim it.

So far, no deadline has been set in Hawai'i on the amount of time the state will wait.

Those who think they might have a claim to some of it should contact the Unclaimed Property Program at 586-1589, or take a gander at the program's Web site.

Information about how to find unclaimed property in other states can be found at the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators Web site.

Some people, who thought the $75 they left in an inactive savings account five years ago would remain there forever, are irritated to discover their money has been turned over to the state, Kam said.

Others, including the distant Hungarian relative of a man who died in Hawai'i leaving a $394,000 estate and no close relatives, are very pleased to hear from Hawai'i's Unclaimed Property Program.

The relative eventually got the money.