[StBernard] Unclaimed Property Update

[Westley Annis]

UNCLAIMED PROPERTY UPDATE

  June 21, 2007

 	  	  	
Inside This Issue	

	

	*	A Message From State Treasurer John Kennedy
	*	Unclaimed Property Q & A
	*	State Treasury and Lakeside Mall to Host Unclaimed Property
Event
	*	$206 Million in Unclaimed U.S. Savings Bonds Belongs to La.
Citizens
	*	$89 Million Belongs to Baton Rouge Area Residents
	*	Treasury to Hold Unclaimed Property Holder Seminars
Statewide

 	
 	 
A Message From State Treasurer John Kennedy

 	 
 	 With roughly two weeks left in the 2007 fiscal year, the Treasury
has collected $47.8 million in unclaimed property and refunded $18.3 million
to citizens.  There is still a chance for us to match last year's record of
$48.3 million in collections, and we've already beaten our previous fiscal
year record for refunds by $2.7 million.

To search for your missing money, visit www.latreasury.com, or call us
toll-free nationwide at 1-888-925-4127.  You can also send an email to
unclaimed at treasury.state.la.us for more information.

John Kennedy
State Treasurer

 	 
Top

 	 
Unclaimed Property Q & A

 	 
 	 Q:  In addition to collecting unclaimed money, does the Treasury
hold abandoned physical property for citizens like houses, jewelry or old
currency?

A:  Unclaimed property does not include physical property like houses, land
or jewelry.  The Treasury holds some safe deposit box proceeds for citizens
and stocks and bonds, but the majority of unclaimed property is intangible.


Unclaimed property is money and securities in the normal course of business
that are unclaimed after a certain period of time.  When a business cannot
locate an individual the unclaimed property belongs to, usually because of a
wrong address, the money is turned over to the state for safekeeping.
Examples of unclaimed property include savings and checking accounts,
uncashed payroll checks, certificates of deposit, stocks and dividends,
insurance proceeds, oil and gas royalty payments, utility deposits and other
refunds. 




 	 
Top

 	 
State Treasury and Lakeside Mall to Host Unclaimed Property Event

 	 
 	 The state is holding more than $300 million in lost money for
Louisiana citizens, and New Orleans area residents can see if any of it
belongs to them at an Unclaimed Property Awareness Day on Saturday, July 28
at Lakeside Mall located at 3301 Veterans Memorial Blvd. in Metairie.  We
will be at the Veterans skylight location in the mall from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
to help anyone who finds unclaimed property to file a claim for his or her
money.  

We held our last unclaimed property event at Prien Lake Mall in Lake Charles
where we returned $87,600 to southwest Louisiana residents including $26,000
for one individual!  Over the past 10 years, we have traveled to shopping
malls, community centers and other venues statewide, returning $115.5
million to 183,000 Louisiana citizens.  

If anyone is hesitant to go to a shopping mall to look for money, let me
assure you there are no strings attached with the unclaimed property
program.  It only takes a few minutes to look up your name or the name of
someone you know, and it's a free service. 

Individuals planning on attending the unclaimed property event should bring
a driver's license and some other form of identification with a Social
Security Number to claim their money. The typical turnaround for most
unclaimed property claims is six to eight weeks. The quickest way for the
Treasury to process a refund is if there is a Social Security Number and an
address match for a claim.






 	 
Top

 	 
$206 Million in Unclaimed U.S. Savings Bonds Belongs to La. Citizens

 	 
 	 There are roughly 35 million U.S. savings bonds totaling more than
$15 billion nationwide that have fully matured and no longer earn interest
yet remain unredeemed.  Of this amount, around $206 million belongs to
Louisiana citizens.  

The U.S. Treasury has made somewhat of an effort in recent years to return
unclaimed savings bonds to citizens, but it hasn't been enough.  The federal
government needs to open up its records regarding unclaimed U.S. savings
bonds to state unclaimed property offices so that we can assist citizens in
collecting their money.  That's a job we do very well!



Operation Rightful Owner is a joint effort of the National Association of
State Treasurers and National Association of Unclaimed Property
Administrators to pass federal legislation to reunite bondholders with
matured unredeemed U.S. savings bonds.  The federal legislation would call
for the U.S. government to open up its records pertaining to savings bonds
to state unclaimed property offices.  The information would then be put into
a national database so that states could locate residents and let them know
their bonds have matured.  



Each state in the nation has an unclaimed property program in operation, and
we return this money day in and day out.  State unclaimed property offices
have a proven track record of returning unclaimed property to its rightful
owners, and we have the necessary resources to locate citizens.

In 2006, state unclaimed property offices nationwide refunded 1.9 million
claims totaling more than $1.7 billion.  Louisiana typically returns around
$15 million a year to citizens and has given back $151 million since the
state's unclaimed property program began.  



If the federal government would give states the information needed to locate
the owners of these unredeemed savings bonds, we would do everything in our
power to get this money back in the hands of citizens.  For more information
about Operation Rightful Owner, visit www.naupa.org. 

 	 
Top

 	 
$89 Million Belongs to Baton Rouge Area Residents

 	 
 	 Did you know the Treasury is holding more than $89 million in
unclaimed property for residents in Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas?
Some of these lucky citizens include:


ASCENSION

Ronnie in Brittany

$757.50 

Rene in Geismar

$1,203.34 

Patricia in Gonzales

$704.14 

 

 

EAST BATON ROUGE

 

Alice in Baker

$3,126.26 

James in Baton Rouge

$896.00 

Allen in Baton Rouge

$640.12 

 

 

IBERVILLE

 

Herbert in Maringouin

$3,573.53 

Charlotte in Rosedale

$574.08 

Nolan in White Castle

$882.00 

 

 

LIVINGSTON

 

Clarence in Denham Springs

$1,791.12 

Jennifer in Holden

$602.34 

William in Livingston

$616.00 

 

 

POINTE COUPEE

 

Frederick in Fordoche

$1,020.33 

Laura in Morganza

$1,452.80 

Mary in Oscar

$1,244.50 

 

 

WEST BATON ROUGE

 

Owen in Addis

$1,288.52 

Kelvin in Brusly

$1,203.34 

Willis in Port Allen

$2,143.20 

 

 

WEST FELICIANA

 

Mary in Angola

$7,702.15 

George in St. Francisville

$1,007.76 

John in St. Francisville

$1,653.30 

To see if you could also have unclaimed property listed with the state, call
toll-free nationwide 1-888-925-4127 or visit www.latreasury.com!



 	 
Top

 	 
Treasury to Hold Unclaimed Property Holder Seminars Statewide

 	 
 	 This July, the Treasury will be conducting seminars statewide for
unclaimed property holders who want more information about their
responsibility reporting unclaimed property to the state.  Unclaimed
property holders include but are not limited to business associations,
corporations, banks, sole proprietors, public agencies, organizations (both
profit and non-profit) and insurance companies that have money belonging to
someone else that is subject to unclaimed property law.  

If you are a business owner or head of an organization that is required to
report unclaimed property, be on the lookout for us to visit a city near
you:

 

July 6

Metairie

Jefferson Parish East Bank Regional Library

July 10

Shreveport

Louisiana State Exhibit Museum

July 11

Lafayette

Clifton Chenier Center

July 17

Baton Rouge

Galvez Building Conference Center

                                    

Our seminars are held from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and are absolutely free.
For more information or to register for an upcoming holder seminar, contact
the Treasury at (225) 219-9377 or email seminars at treasury.state.la.us.

 	 
Top

Search our database of    $300 Million in Unclaimed Property at
www.LATreasury.com <http://www.latreasury.com/> 

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