You May Have Buried Treasure; Check the List

By PATRICK LUCE (Patch Staff)

Boston residents, you may have heard the unclaimed property commercials airing on radio and television stations, and wondered, “What’s the catch?” or “Is it really true?”

Well, there is no catch, and does not cost money for the free search, according to Massachusetts officials.

Massachusetts State Treasurer Deb Goldberg recently announced that more than 54,000 properties have been added to the state’s unclaimed property list. This is a public service provided by the state’s Department of the State Treasurer.

In fact, office hours have been extended for a month.

The Unclaimed Property Division’s extended call center hours will be:

Sept. 14 - Oct. 24

Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

The Commonwealth is holding more than $2.4 billion in unclaimed property, and according to the Massachusetts Unclaimed Property Division, under the Office of the State Treasurer, approximately one out of every 10 people has unclaimed financial assets.

This newly released list includes only individuals and businesses with unclaimed property over $100. If you think you may be one of these people, the Unclaimed Property Division can help you get your cash back.

What Is Unclaimed Property?

Unclaimed property is any asset showing no activity for three years or more. It does not pertain to real estate, but does include:

• Savings or checking accounts;
• Unpaid wages;
• Underlying shares;
• Customer deposits or overpayments;
• Credit balances;
• Refunds;
• Money orders;
• Paid-up life insurance policies; and
• Benefit checks.

CLICK here to begin your free search.

The Treasury releases an updated list of unclaimed property assets every six months as the new accounts are turned over to the Commonwealth. There is no time limit for a person to claim this property and, in many cases, claimants will receive interest.

Most accounts are considered abandoned and are turned over to the state after three years of inactivity. Last year Treasury returned over $112M in property to its rightful owners, making the Commonwealth the state to return the most money on a per-capita basis.