Delaware’s Office of Unclaimed Property encourages you to “check for a check” on February 1st, National Unclaimed Property Day

Statewide, DE (February 1, 2024) – Delaware’s Office of Unclaimed Property has once again joined the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators’ (NAUPA) third annual National Unclaimed Property Day campaign to encourage all Delawareans to search for and claim unclaimed property. National Unclaimed Property Day is a nationwide initiative to help raise awareness to reunite individuals with their unclaimed property.

“I encourage all Delaware residents to ‘check for a check’ and take a few minutes today to search for any unclaimed property they may be owed on MissingMoney.com,” Brenda R. Mayrack, Director of the Delaware Office of Unclaimed Property, said today. “You never know what unclaimed property Delaware or another state might hold for you or a family member.”

Delaware residents should search for unclaimed property held by Delaware and other states through the State’s Unclaimed Property website (https://unclaimedproperty.delaware.gov/) or through MissingMoney.com (https://missingmoney.com/) to search across 49 states at one time. Depending on the type of property, owners may have to submit a claim or additional documentation to proceed.

Unclaimed or “abandoned” property can include money left in old bank accounts; uncashed paychecks, refunds, and travelers checks; unreturned utility deposits; uncollected insurance payments; unused balances on gift cards; and forgotten stocks and dividends. Every year, 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. New properties are added daily, so Delawareans are encouraged to search today and check back at least annually.

Delaware joined MissingMoney.com, a coalition of 49 participating states in October 2022. MissingMoney.com is a free multistate unclaimed property search website sponsored by NAUPA, which allows individuals to conduct one search across almost all states simultaneously. MissingMoney.com will display any states where there is a match and provide information and links to the official government websites to begin the claims process. The MissingMoney.com site directly integrates with Delaware’s claims processing database for real time information.

Approximately 1 in 7 people nationally may have unclaimed property held by Delaware or another state. Delaware has returned over $1.5 billion in cash and securities to over 70,000 claimants during the last three fiscal years.

Director Mayrack also reminds Delawareans to watch their mailboxes this time of year for owner notification letters. All companies or holders of unclaimed property are required by law to send a letter to the owner’s last known address prior to reporting the property to the state. With Delaware’s March 1 Spring Reporting deadline fast approaching, Delawareans may avoid the escheatment of their property all together by responding to these letters promptly.

The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) is comprised of the unclaimed property programs of all 50 states, including Delaware, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as several foreign jurisdictions. The organization’s objective is to facilitate collaboration and otherwise support program administrators in reuniting all unclaimed assets with rightful owners. NAUPA is an affiliate of the bi-partisan National Association of State Treasurers.

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Using Technology to Identify Owners Based on Recent Tax Filings is One of Several Ongoing Initiatives to Return Unclaimed Property to Delawareans

Statewide, DE (September 12, 2023) – The State’s annual MONEY MATCH Program automatically returns lost money to Delaware taxpayers without the usual need to file a claim or gather paperwork, Delaware State Escheator, Brenda R. Mayrack announced today. This week, Delaware will mail approximately 4,700 checks and return over $570,000 directly to Delaware taxpayers.

“MONEY MATCH demonstrates how state government can use technology to put money directly into the pockets of almost 5,000 Delaware taxpayers without requiring any action on their part – except to cash the check,” said Mayrack.

MONEY MATCH matches the State of Delaware’s unclaimed property database with verified address and taxpayer information so that lost money can be returned to its owner automatically and without requiring the filing of a claim and supporting documentation. In many cases, individuals might not be aware they were missing unclaimed property until the check arrives in the mail.

This is the fourth time Delaware has conducted the MONEY MATCH Program, which now occurs annually each September. In total, the MONEY MATCH Program has returned over $5 million to over 35,000 Delaware taxpayers.

MONEY MATCH is one of several ongoing initiatives of the Delaware Office of Unclaimed Property to increase the return of property to owners:

• In July 2023, the Delaware Office of Unclaimed Property expanded its MONEY MATCH Program to include the state’s volunteer fire companies, identifying and returning over $150,000 in unclaimed funds, without requiring paperwork or the filing of a claim, to over fifty of Delaware’s volunteer fire companies.
• On February 1, 2023, Delaware participated in National Unclaimed Property Day, a multistate awareness campaign of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) to encourage people to search for their unclaimed property. Last year, state unclaimed property offices returned more than 4 billion dollars.
• In October 2022, Delaware joined a coalition of now forty-nine states participating in MissingMoney.com, a free multistate unclaimed property search website sponsored by NAUPA. MissingMoney.com allows individuals to conduct one search across almost all states simultaneously to find their lost property. MissingMoney.com will display any states where there is a match and provide information and links to the official government websites to begin the claims process. The site directly integrates with Delaware’s claims processing database for real time information.

“MissingMoney.com has been an excellent tool for our office to return property to owners more efficiently,” explained Mayrack. “Delawareans are able to easily search for and submit claims for their unclaimed property, whether you use our website or missingmoney.com, which aggregates property data for nearly all other states.”

Unclaimed property can include money left in old bank accounts, 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, not all types of property are included. Delawareans are still encouraged to search for unclaimed property held by Delaware at https://unclaimedproperty.delaware.gov/ or at https://missingmoney.com/ to search across forty-nine states at one time.

In 2021, the MONEY MATCH Program was recognized as a Champions Award winner among the 2021 Governor’s Team Excellence Award Recipients.

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

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Expanding Efforts to Reunite Owners with Their Lost Money

Delaware’s Office of Unclaimed Property has joined the second annual National Unclaimed Property Day campaign to encourage Delawareans to find and claim their missing money.  Delaware residents should search for unclaimed property held by Delaware and other states at https://unclaimedproperty.delaware.gov/ or at https://missingmoney.com/ to search across forty-five states at one time.

“The Delaware Office of Unclaimed Property is pleased to join all other states participating in National Unclaimed Property Day this year,” said Brenda R. Mayrack, Director of the Delaware Office of Unclaimed Property.  “As we learned during the pandemic, discovering lost assets can be of great assistance to families in need.”

In 2021, to increase awareness of unclaimed property, the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) launched the first National Unclaimed Property Day on February 1.  National Unclaimed Property Day serves as a national initiative to help raise awareness for and reunite individuals with their unclaimed property.  More information about NAUPA and National Unclaimed Property Day is available at http://ucpday.org.

“Approximately 1 in 7 people nationally may have unclaimed property held by Delaware or another state,” said Mayrack.  “I remind all Delawareans to take advantage of the second annual Unclaimed Property Day, on February 1st, to search for your name in Delaware’s and the MissingMoney.com databases.”

According to NAUPA, more than 4 billion dollars in unclaimed property was returned to its rightful owners by all state unclaimed property offices in FY 2022.  Delaware returned over $205 million dollars in claims during FY 2022 and returned over $500 million during the last three fiscal years.

In October 2022, Delaware joined a coalition of forty-five states participating in MissingMoney.com, a free multistate unclaimed property search website sponsored by NAUPA.  MissingMoney.com allows individuals to conduct one search across forty-five states simultaneously.  MissingMoney.com will display any states in which there is a match and provide information and links to the official government websites to begin the claims process.  The site also directly integrates with Delaware’s claims processing database for real time information.

“MissingMoney.com offers Delawareans the chance to easily find property that may be held by other states and begin the reunification process,” explained Mayrack.  “MissingMoney.com has been an excellent tool for our office to return property to owners more efficiently.”

Director Mayrack also reminds Delawareans to watch their mailboxes this time of year for owner notification letters.  By law, all companies or holders of unclaimed property must send a letter to the owner’s last known address prior to reporting the property to the state.  With Delaware’s March 1 Spring Reporting deadline fast approaching, Delawareans may avoid the escheatment of their property by responding to these letters promptly.

Unclaimed property can include money left in old bank accounts, 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.

The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) is comprised of the unclaimed property programs of all 50 states, including Delaware, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as several foreign jurisdictions. The organization’s objective is to facilitate collaboration and otherwise support program administrators in reuniting all unclaimed assets with rightful owners. NAUPA is an affiliate of the bi-partisan National Association of State Treasurers.

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 Delaware’s Office of Unclaimed Property MONEY MATCH Program
reunites over $460,000 to Delaware Taxpayers

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

Statewide, DE (September 12, 2022) – The State’s MONEY MATCH program automatically returns lost money to Delaware taxpayers without the usual need to file a claim or gather paperwork, Delaware State Escheator, Brenda Mayrack announced today. This year, in September 2022, Delaware will mail approximately 3,500 checks and return over $460,000 directly to Delaware taxpayers.

“We developed MONEY MATCH to make it as easy as possible for many Delaware taxpayers to get their missing money back,” said Brenda Mayrack. “In the current economic climate, we know many Delaware families benefit greatly when they can receive additional funds, especially if they can recover their unclaimed property automatically, based on their most recent state tax filing and without filing a claim.”

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. In many cases, individuals might not be aware they were missing unclaimed property until the check arrives in the mail.

This is the third time Delaware has conducted the MONEY MATCH program. In February 2021, Delaware mailed checks to more than 19,000 people, returning over $3 million back to its rightful owners. In September 2021, Delaware mailed checks to over 6,500 additional people, returning over $900,000 back to its rightful owners. In total, the MONEY MATCH program has returned almost $4.4 million to almost 30,000 Delaware taxpayers.

More information about MONEY MATCH is available at unclaimedproperty.delaware.gov/app/claim/money-match. Unclaimed property can include money left in old bank accounts, 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.

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

The State’s MONEY MATCH program automatically returns lost money to Delaware taxpayers without the usual need to file a claim or gather paperwork, Delaware State Escheator, Brenda Mayrack announced today. This is the second time Delaware has completed the Money Match program. In February 2021, Delaware mailed checks to more than 19,000 people, returning over $3 million back to its rightful owners. In September 2021, Delaware will be mailing checks to over 6,500 additional people, and returning over $900,000 back to its rightful owners. 

“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. “After the challenges of the last eighteen months, we know many Delaware families benefit greatly when they can recover their unclaimed property automatically, based on their most recent state tax filing.”

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. 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, 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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