How To Claim Your Cash From The State Of Utah

So, for various reasons, millions of dollars in lost or unclaimed money is turned over to the State of Utah every year.

According to Marlo Oaks, the state treasurer, this money comes from a variety of sources:

Unclaimed wages or commissions
Savings and checking accounts
Stock dividends
Insurance proceeds
Underlying shares
Customer deposits or overpayments
Certificates of deposit
Credit balance
Refunds
Money orders
Safe deposit box contents.

"Any financial asset with no activity by its owner for an extended period of time is considered unclaimed property," Oaks said.

So the state of Utah has a clearinghouse website -- mycash.utah.gov -- for all that money.

They've actually made it pretty easy to find out if there is money out there that belongs to you.

All you have to do is fill in your first and last name and your city of residence (zip code is helpful, but not mandatory) and the site's bots do a search on your behalf.

Sadly, it found no money belonging to me, but Oaks's department claims to have returned nearly half-a-billion dollars of unclaimed funds to people and there are hundreds of millions more just waiting for the owners to step forward.

"Millions of dollars in lost or unclaimed money are turned over to the State of Utah every year. This money comes from places like dormant bank accounts, old stock certificates, and uncollected insurance checks. This is the official government website for managing and returning this unclaimed property to the residents of Utah."

The Utah Unclaimed Property Division also has a Facebook page.

UUPD also issues this warning: "To prevent your accounts from becoming unclaimed or abandoned, keep accounts active and make sure that you make a deposit or withdrawal, update your address, or contact your financial institution at least every three years."