Finance Wanted.

By Russ D Johnson

The smallest state capital in the U.S., Montpelier, is located in Vermont. It's also the country's largest producer of maple syrup and the state is also home to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream company. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield first opened shop in Burlington, Vermont on May 5, 1978 and the company's headquarters presently call Waterbury home. According to a recent press release from the Treasury Department, seems that the New England state has even more sweet stuff to offer besides maple syrup and ice cream and it's in Treasurer Jeb Spaulding's office- Vermont unclaimed money.

The state currently has roughly $42 million in VT unclaimed property that belongs to around 200,000 residents. Abandoned financial assets in the possession of banks and other financial establishments are turned over to the State Treasury Department after a specified period of 'dormancy'.

The state then holds on to the lost funds and financial assets for safekeeping until rightful owners come to claim them. By law, the government is required to exert efforts in locating residents who are due a claim and Treasurer Spaulding has actually been able to reunite some of the unclaimed money in Vermont with their jubilant owners.

In Vermont, the average unclaimed property amounts to about $750. A lot of individual claims are for less than $50, but there have been windfalls for some residents. A retired teacher was surprised with $150,000 from forgotten stocks her husband had purchased in the 1960's and even state agencies are on the VT unclaimed money list. The state Transportation Agency has $60.87 from three different accounts and Vermont Senate President Peter Shumlin is owed money by the state. Even members of the rock band Phish have unclaimed money coming to them. The highest unclaimed account yet is for a whopping $980,000 waiting for the lucky Vermonter to take it home. "In this case, it must be a fairly extraordinary person," Spaulding comments "There appears to be unclaimed property in the same name in other states. We seem to have determined she's very likely deceased with no will and no identified heirs."

According to the Treasurer, "Unclaimed property refers to accounts in financial institutions, companies, non-profits, even state governments that are some kind of financially related property, whether it's a tax rebate or a savings account or travelers checks, or gift certificates, insurance policies. And when the institution, whether it's a private or public entity, loses contact with the person whose property it is, for a certain number of years, usually it's three or five years, they turn it over to the state to try to find the rightful owners. Every state has an unclaimed property office, and there are some easy ways for people to search and find out whether a particular state has something for them."

Spaulding also warns his state's residents against individuals who may try to take a big chunk of their money by offering to help them find their unclaimed money for a fee. Under Vermont Unclaimed Property Law, it's illegal for unclaimed money finders to charge more than 10% unclaimed money found in Vermont. Doing an unclaimed money search yourself is the best way to go- it's a fairly simple process, provided you know how and where to search.

Unclaimed money and property expert Russ Johnson has been assisting Americans in finding their unclaimed money online since 1997. His site, http://www.unclaimedmoney.net, is updated regularly and offers guaranteed official searches for Vermont unclaimed money and missing money across the country.