While everyone is dreaming about how they’d spend the recent massive Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots, most folks don’t realize that they might be in line for a big win and they don’t even need to buy a lottery ticket.

Each state keeps unclaimed property and there’s a good chance that your name or company is probably on the “list”. Under state law, banks or companies must turn over unclaimed property to the Michigan Department of Treasury, who is custodian of the assets. These assets include funds from a dormant bank account, uncashed checks, valuables left in a safe deposit box, or stock certificates.  While the department will hold onto funds indefinitely, there are time limits placed on other assets. For property, the department will hold it for up to three years, at which time they will sell to the highest bidder at a public sale, or decline and reoffer if they deem the highest bid to be too low. The department will hold securities for up to one year, after which they would sell them. Over the last three fiscal years, the State of Michigan returned nearly $300 million in unclaimed property!  Additionally, the revenue from sales of items or securities are rolled into the state’s General Fund, which amounts to tens of millions of dollars each fiscal year.

Call it the Dutch in me, but at the start of every new year I find myself searching the unclaimed property database on the Department of Treasury’s website. It all started while I was working for a west Michigan legislator in the late 1990’s.  We’d search a ream of paper with names of constituents that had property being held with the state and then call to let them know. It was a darn popular strategy for building relationships with voters – letting them know we found a sunken treasure with their name on it! The list even contained family and neighbors. Man, I felt like Jacques Cousteau!

A recent quick search resulted in more than a dozen friends and family on the list as well as a ton of businesses.  Is it $1 or $1 million? Is it a rebate check, a massive unknown trust fund, or even a diamond ring? I feel fortunate that my name wasn’t on the list, but it is kind of disappointing that I won’t be experiencing the euphoria of winning an unexpected prize. Check out the database, you won’t regret it. Hey, if you’re on the list, you can thank me by sending a lotto ticket.

To visit the Michigan Unclaimed Property division, please click here.

Cheers!

Michigan Legislative Consultants is a bipartisan lobbying firm based in Lansing, Michigan. Our team of lobbyists and procurement specialists provide a wide range of services for some of the most respected companies in America. For more on MLC, visit www.mlcmi.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.