NC Cash News:
NC Cash travels to Charlotte on Tuesday January 24th to attend “Making Home Affordable” – a foreclosure prevention assistance program. NC Cash will be searching names of those qualified homeowners attending the event to see if they are owed any unclaimed property.
Struggling to make your mortgage payments? There may be options available to you save your home from foreclosure. Click here to learn more.
On June 23, Governor Perdue signed legislation which modifies the statutes governing unclaimed property. View the 2011 Unclaimed Property Legislative Changes and a copy of House Bill 692.
On May 29, the Unclaimed Property Team headed to Charlotte to participate in the national Speed Street event. Attendees had a chance to stop by the booth to search their names to see if they were owed unclaimed property. They also received valuable financial tips and had a chance to guess the number of pennies in a piggy bank. Here are some quick highlights from the event:
• On May 29 at the Food Lion Speed Street event, a total of $12,459.65 was returned to the rightful owners.
• Watch Treasurer Cowell's Unclaimed Property check presentation.
• Watch Treasurer Cowell's live 5:30 interview with WBTV 3.
What is unclaimed property?
Unclaimed property consists of bank accounts, wages, utility deposits, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, bonds, and contents of safe deposit boxes that typically have been abandoned for one to five years. Funds become unclaimed because the company loses track of the consumer, due to an incorrect address or other missing information. By law, these funds are escheated, or turned over, to the Department of State Treasurer for safekeeping. As new funds are added, the NC Cash website is updated, which means that your name could be listed right now.
How can you find your own NC Cash?
Reclaiming your money is very simple. First, enter your name in the search boxes above to see if money is owed to you. If there is a match, carefully read, fill out and sign a claim form. If the amount is greater than $50, you must have your signature notarized. Then send all forms and all required documentation to the Unclaimed Property Address at the bottom of the form. If you need assistance, please call 919-508-1000 and select option 1. After the claim form and the necessary documentation have been received, your claim will be processed as quickly as possible. The Department of State Treasurer also provides a staffed booth at conferences, fairs and meetings where you can search for unclaimed property right at the booth. Please click here to see when NC Cash will be in your neighborhood.
NC Cash Opens Doors for North Carolina
The amount in the program has almost doubled from $255 million to more than $500 million in the past nine years. With over two million properties in the database and nine million North Carolinians, there is a one in four chance that a North Carolina citizen has a claim. In the past year, over $48 million in unclaimed property has been returned.
NC Cash Invests in the Future
The interest earned on the fund goes to the State Educational Assistance Authority (SEAA) to pay for grants, loans and scholarships for North Carolina college students attending public universities and community colleges. In 2010, the unclaimed property program assisted over 100,000 students. For more information on the available scholarships or how to apply, please visit the College Foundation of North Carolina, a free service to students to help plan, apply and pay for college.