[ed. Public service announcement. I recently received a notice from Schwab about my checking account, which I keep as a backup for my primary bank checking account, and for purchases of various investment products. Here's what it said:
"PLEASE CONTACT US OR FUNDS IN YOUR INACTIVE ACCOUNT WILL BE TRANSFERRED.
We're writing about the Schwab Bank account noted above, which has been inactive since 1/9/2020. Unless we hear from you, we're required by Washington law to transfer the funds in the account to the State."
"PLEASE CONTACT US OR FUNDS IN YOUR INACTIVE ACCOUNT WILL BE TRANSFERRED.
We're writing about the Schwab Bank account noted above, which has been inactive since 1/9/2020. Unless we hear from you, we're required by Washington law to transfer the funds in the account to the State."
I'd never heard of this law before and was quite alarmed that because I hadn't used this account for a period of just three years, all funds could be transferred to the state (in this case, Washington state, where I live). After contacting Schwab and making sure they definitely would not give my money to anyone else, I asked for more information about this national program, which is apparently administered by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (a network of national state treasurers). Here's a short description from their website, which can be found at: unclaimed.org]:
The Department of Revenue is the custodian for unclaimed property, and administers an unclaimed property program to find the rightful owners.
Unclaimed property includes:
- Bank accounts.
- Insurance proceeds.
- Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
- Safe deposit box contents.
- Utility and phone company deposits.
- Uncashed checks, such as payroll, insurance payments, or travelers checks.
- Customer/patient credits.
The state's role
Unclaimed property laws began in the United States as a consumer protection program and they have evolved to protect not only the owners, but their heirs and estates as well.
The Department of Revenue administers Washington’s unclaimed property program as a free public service. More than $1 billion in unclaimed property has been turned over to the Department of Revenue since 1955. In fiscal year 2020, the department’s Unclaimed Property Section received property worth more than $185 million. The department returned $74 million of the unclaimed property received to its rightful owners."
Unclaimed property laws began in the United States as a consumer protection program and they have evolved to protect not only the owners, but their heirs and estates as well.
The Department of Revenue administers Washington’s unclaimed property program as a free public service. More than $1 billion in unclaimed property has been turned over to the Department of Revenue since 1955. In fiscal year 2020, the department’s Unclaimed Property Section received property worth more than $185 million. The department returned $74 million of the unclaimed property received to its rightful owners."
[ed. I'd suggest anyone with interest in this topic go to the unclaimed.org website, select your state and do a search on your name just to make sure you don't have any funds that were inadvertently confiscated because you hadn't used an account for a few years or weren't paying attention. I understand this may be necessary for situations where, for example, families havent gone through probate and a deceased member might have ghost accounts scattered in various places, but otherwise... Sheesh!]
