New, Sensible Approach Uses Technology to Identify Unclaimed Property Owners Based on Recent Tax Filings

The State’s new MONEY MATCH program will automatically return lost money to Delaware taxpayers without the usual need to file a claim or gather paperwork, Delaware State Escheator, Brenda Mayrack announced today. Delaware is mailing checks to more than 19,000 people, returning over $3 million back to its rightful owners.

“We’re continuing to look for ways to create better and more efficient services for Delawareans across state government,” said Governor John Carney. “This program is a commonsense solution to get money back to the appropriate owners. Thank you to the Department of Finance and the Office of Unclaimed Property for improving this process.”

“We developed MONEY MATCH to make it as easy as possible for many Delaware taxpayers to get their missing money back in their pockets where it belongs,” said Brenda Mayrack. “Many families struggle to meet their expenses each month. This money can help them buy groceries, put gas in their car, or be saved in a ‘rainy day’ fund.”

MONEY MATCH matches the state’s unclaimed property database with verified address and taxpayer information so that money can be returned it its rightful owners automatically and without requiring the filing of a claim and supporting documentation. Delaware becomes the 7th state to implement a similar system. In many cases, individuals might not be aware they were missing unclaimed property until the check arrives in the mail.

More information about MONEY MATCH is available at https://unclaimedproperty.delaware.gov/app/claim/money-match.

Unclaimed property can include money left in old bank accounts and safe deposit boxes, uncashed paychecks, unused balances on gift certificates, unreturned utility deposits, uncollected insurance payments, and forgotten stocks and dividends. Businesses are required to turn over these amounts to States after a certain number of years if contact is lost between the holder of the property and the property owner.

While MONEY MATCH automatically reunites many Delaware taxpayers with their unclaimed property, all Delawareans are still encouraged to visit unclaimedproperty.delaware.gov to see if the State is holding their unclaimed property.

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Delaware’s Director of the Office of Unclaimed Property (OUP), Brenda Mayrack, is warning residents about fraudulent scam text messages that are circulating across several states, including Delaware. These messages invite recipients to follow a link to access the “DE un-claimed asset database.” Please be advised that OUP never communicates with claimants or potential claimants by text.

Similar text messages have been reported in New Jersey, Michigan, Louisiana,and Idaho. This type of message is not an authorized form of communication from OUP and should be treated with extreme caution. Never follow any link from a questionable source – ignore or delete these messages and visit the OUP website to securely and safely search for Delaware unclaimed property, to file a claim, or check the status of a claim at https://unclaimedproperty.delaware.gov.

State Escheator and Office of Unclaimed Property Director Brenda Mayrack this week announced that Delaware’s Office of Unclaimed Property will be moving its website to unclaimedproperty.delaware.gov. By federal policy, U.S. government-related domain names (“.gov”) are only available to official governmental organizations in the United States. Originally launched in October of 2015, delaware.findyourunclaimedproperty.com has provided the public with easy access to the state’s searchable unclaimed property database, and allowed visitors to submit and check claim status online. The basic website and all of its functionality will remain the same, and visitors to the old address will be automatically redirected to unclaimedproperty.delaware.gov in the short term.

“Given the high number of unclaimed property scams we see across the country, we want to increase confidence among owners trying to recover property held here in Delaware,” said Director Mayrack. “With the new domain, users will be able to immediately recognize that they are using an official state website.”

Additionally, the site now offers enhanced property searching. Potential claimants may perform their own searches online anytime, or they may submit a request for an enhanced search to be completed by Delaware’s Unclaimed Property staff.

Unclaimed Property holders, which include banks, insurance companies and other business entities, should note that they must now file all reports via the website – the Office of Unclaimed Property no longer accepts filings on paper or other digital media. Holders (inclusive of most business entities, except banking organizations and insurance companies) who must comply with the state’s approaching March 1, 2019 spring reporting deadline should note the new website to ensure timely filing of their reports. All holders must report by uploading a National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA)-compliant file or by using the Manual Online Reporting option. Manual Online Reporting allows holders with only a few properties to enter the property and report details online, and avoid the expense of creating a NAUPA-compliant file. For technical assistance with reporting, please see the Updated Holder Reporting guidelines available online, or contact Delaware’s Holder Reporting Unit at: escheat.holderquestions@delaware.gov or 302-577-8782, option #2.

Dover, DE – The clock is ticking for Delaware companies that may wish to convert their abandoned and unclaimed property audits to a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement offered by the Secretary of State.

Eligible firms have until Dec. 11, 2017 to choose a VDA conversion.

Companies that elect to enter into a VDA participate in a collaborative settlement process whereby the holder and the state agree upon a quantification methodology and an amount to be reported by the holder. The VDA allows holders to leverage audit work that has already been performed and incorporate it into the agreement to ensure efficiency. A Delaware VDA also provides indemnification against future unclaimed property proceedings by other states.

“The VDA program is a rigorous but fair process,” said Delaware Secretary of State Jeff Bullock. “For hundreds of companies it’s proven the fastest and easiest way to come into compliance with Delaware law, and remain in compliance going forward.”

Since its inception in 2012, more than 850 companies have enrolled in the VDA program and approximately 450 settlements have been reached to date.

Earlier this year, Gov. John Carney signed into law significant changes to Delaware’s unclaimed property law. These changes created a more streamlined statute that is more consistent with other states’ unclaimed property laws. One key revision grants unclaimed property holders under examination by the Delaware Department of Finance the opportunity to participate in the Secretary of State’s Voluntary Disclosure Agreement program.

Conversion documents must be received by the Secretary of State by Dec. 11, 2017 to be eligible for participation in the VDA program.

Visit https://vda.delaware.gov/ for more information. Further questions may be directed to VDA Administrator Alison Iavarone at alison.iavarone@delaware.gov or 302-577-8959.

The Delaware Department of Finance’s Office of Unclaimed Property is preparing to send out letters on Monday, May 8, 2017, in an effort to reach unclaimed property owners.

Unclaimed property can include forgotten savings and checking accounts, un-cashed checks, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, and utility deposits and refunds. After years of inactivity, these accounts are now considered abandoned, and have been turned over to the state for safe keeping.
While it may be hard to believe that anyone could overlook an investment or savings account, in recent years, the Office of Unclaimed Property has processed over 50,000 claims in recent years – successfully reuniting citizens with more than $402 million in previously unclaimed funds.

You don’t have to wait for the Unclaimed Property Office to contact you – you can search the Unclaimed Property website any time. And filing a claim is easy – just visit https://delaware.findyourunclaimedproperty.com, and search for unclaimed property held in your name. Your documentation can be submitted online through the state’s secure servers – making the entire process safe and fast.

For more information, visit the website – or you may also contact the Office of Unclaimed Property at (855) 505-7520, or email escheat.claimquestions@delaware.gov.