States will vote at Yongxing Island wind power desalination facilities will be built(2009-03-19) Wind power equipment manufacturers, such as new energy industry will become the pillar industry in(2009-03-09) The United States wind power and other new energy future look(2009-03-09) One wind turbine manufacturing prosperity, but hidden behind the new problems.(2009-02-20) Inner Mongolia, the rapid development of wind power industry has six major characteristics of the ov(2009-02-15) Inner Mongolia Wind Power top the first county(2009-02-12) South Africa will be developed in cooperation with the Danish wind power project(2009-02-12) Ministry of Commerce of grave concern to China, India trade remedy investigations initiated frequent(2009-02-12) China drive shaft leading enterprises will invest 500 million in Changchun to build a production bas(2009-02-12) Job Vacancy From Main Line Bearing Company In Pakistan(2009-01-21) China's wind energy use to attract multinational companies to participate actively in(2009-01-18) Wind and solar energy utilization and development(2009-01-13) China is the world's largest wind power into the market(2009-01-04) Schaeffler (China) President Visited Qilin Company(2008-12-22) ZWZ Testing Center Passed Retrial of CNAS(2008-12-15) Job Vacancy in China from Boca Bearing Company(2008-12-10) Leeport Becomes Sole Agent of Safan in China(2008-12-05) The 9th CILOGRTE Held in Shanghai(2008-11-29) Energy will be pushing small and medium-sized wind power project(2008-11-20) The wind farm in Guanacaste will receive additional investment(2008-11-10)Garin Casaleggio, spokesman for thecontroller's office, said the backlog developed because of more aggressive efforts tocontact owners of lost accounts and from glitches in replacing anoutdated, 20-year-old computer system.
"It's like turning a battleship in a bathtub," saidCasaleggio. "We've taken extraordinary steps with the reformprocess ... and now we're working out the kinks with the newsystem."
Currently, the state controller's office is holding more than $5.1billion in unclaimed property belonging to some 8.2 millionindividuals and organizations.
In the last year, in the wake of lawsuits and court injunctionsover how account owners were notified, the controller's office hasseriously stepped up efforts to reunite that money with itsrightful owners.
Between September 2007 and June 2008, the controller's office saysit sent out 2.5 million letters to holders of unclaimed property --double the 1.2 million issued in the previous decade.
That's resulted in a corresponding spike in the number of claims,which are up 91 percent from January to June this year, comparedwith the same time a year ago.
What's "unclaimed property?" It can be anything from along-lost utility bill refund to an uncashed paycheck from a summerjob. It does not include real estate property of any kind.
The most common types of property are bank accounts; contents ofsafe deposit boxes; stocks, bonds and mutual funds; uncashedcashier's checks or money orders; certificates of deposit (CDs);matured or terminated insurance policies; mineral interests androyalty payments; and trust funds and escrow accounts.
By law, most of these accounts wind up with the state if they'vebeen untouched for more than three years. It's often because theowner forgets about them, moves without leaving a forwardingaddress or dies, and the heirs are unaware the accounts exist. Andsometimes people neglect to answer mail from their financialinstitutions that would trigger a notice of activity.
There are some exceptions to the three-year rule: If it's apaycheck, it must be turned over to the state after one year. Ifyou have two accounts at the same bank and one is active, theinactive account usually can't be sent to the state.
About 40 percent of most claims -- the least complicated -- getreviewed and approved within 30 to 60 days. That's for simple itemslike a lost paycheck or utility bill refund. Checks are issuedwithin one to three weeks after the claim is approved.
More complicated claims -- those involving probate, complexownership or stocks that have had splits, etc. -- can take up to 12months to sort out.
Some have suggested that because of the state's budget crisis thecontroller's office is holding onto unclaimed payments andcollecting interest, rather than releasing the funds.
Asked to comment, Casaleggio responded with "an emphaticno." In fact, he said, "Even when there's no budget inplace, unclaimed property payments can still go out. It's one ofthose programs that's not tied to the budget."
Searching for unclaimed property is as easy as typing your name. Goto the state controller's Web site (www.ClaimIt.ca.gov) or call(800) 992-4647.
You can search for yourself, your friends, your relatives. A recentcaller to The Bee said he found accounts for 30 residents of hissenior living residence in Davis.
But it's not quite as easy to recoup funds that have been turnedover to the state. You must provide verification, such as a photoID, Social Security number, proof of address, or in some cases,proof of the property, like a stock certificate. This can slow theprocess.
To avoid that, the controller's office recommends initiating someactivity in your accounts.
"Even if it's withdrawing or depositing a dollar once a year-- anything to keep that account active," said Casaleggio.
For more tips, see the "Keeping Track" box.
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Copyright (c) 2008, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.
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