Great Colorado Payback seeks to return unclaimed property

There’s a chance – at least 1 in 7 – that there’s unclaimed property, like gift certificates, unpaid wages or uncashed checks with your name on it. And the Great Colorado Payback wants to make sure that you’re reunited with your money.

Last fiscal year, The Great Colorado Payback returned almost $50 million to nearly 55,000 claimants through its Unclaimed Property Division. To simplify the claims process, a pilot program which proactively returns funds was started, returning $4.1 million to 13,700 rightful owners without requiring additional paperwork for identification purposes. The average claim last year was $1,832.

Money or property turned over to the State Treasury for safekeeping is held for the owner or heir of the account, and there are no time limits for filing a claim.

The Colorado State Treasurer currently maintains a list of over 1.7 million names of individuals. Corporations, municipalities, schools, nonprofits, hospitals and small businesses are also listed among the many individuals whose property is available to be claimed, including over $960 million in cold, hard cash. To date, the Great Colorado Payback has reunited over $600 million to their rightful owners.

Feb. 1 is National Unclaimed Property Day, so why not celebrate by visiting colorado.findyourunclaimedproperty.com to find out if you have unclaimed property?