Need A Windfall For The Holidays? A Check Might Be In The Mail

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI— Rhode Island Treasurer Seth Magaziner is mailing money — about $10 million — back to more than 35,000 people whose unclaimed property has been gathering dust in state vaults. And those 35,000 don't need to thumb through a long list of names and make a claim. On Nov. 20, he announced a change from past practice. Now, the money is being automatically sent to residents, whose addresses match the unclaimed asset. The new program is called "YOUR MONEY."

According to the press release, "YOUR MONEY matches unclaimed property with known addresses so money can be returned automatically. In the program's first match the Treasurer's Office has found more than $10 million in unclaimed property ready to be reunited with more than 35,000 Rhode Islanders during the 2017 holiday season."

Now, there's still some unclaimed property that won't be returned automatically, due to the fact the addresses don't match. It could be that the money belongs to an heir, for example. In those cases, people will need to make a claim.

In all, the treasurer's office has $295 million in unclaimed property. Estimates are one in five Rhode Islanders is owed money.

What is unclaimed property? It could be money left in checking and savings accounts, unpaid wages, securities, uncashed dividends, life insurance policies, uncashed checks, safe deposit boxes, etc.

How do you find out if you're missing out on money that's rightfully yours? You can search on the state treasurer's website. Once you find your property, you can click to claim it and again to file your claim.

Image via Shutterstock