(Part 1 of 2)

Quite a number of pop culture icons call Michigan their home – the 'Motown' music label, Madonna (hailing from Bay City), Diana Ross ( a native of Detroit), Eminem, Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger… the list of topnotch musical artists goes on and on. It's also home to the automobile capital of the world Detroit, also known to natives as Motor City (which is where the term 'Motown' comes from) and 'The World's Cereal Bowl'- Battle Creek, MI which is home base of the Kellogg's company. Without a doubt, many assets essential to United States culture have come from 'The Automotive State'. There are lesser known assets in Mich. that even most residents don't know about though – hundreds of millions of dollars in Michigan unclaimed money! This cash is just sitting in the Michigan Unclaimed Money Department instead of where it belongs, in the hands of the rightful owners of the lost financial assets.

According to the State Treasurer's office, "The Michigan Department of Treasury has millions of dollars in lost or forgotten assets from dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, valuables left in safe deposit boxes and stock certificates. Because these properties were considered abandoned and unclaimed by the bank or company entrusted with them, they are turned over to the state, as required by law. The Michigan Department of Treasury is the custodian of these assets and returns them to their owners (or the owners' heirs) when they are rightfully claimed."

The owners of Michigan unclaimed monies may have lost track of their money upon relocating to another city or getting a new job. This is very common in the fast-paced lifestyle we're all now living, and not remembering to leave things like forwarding addresses is very common. Because of this, mailed checks and notices often don't get to the addressees and are returned to the sender (like businesses and financial institutions or the IRS), where they stay until the 'dormancy period' passes, and state law dictates that these assets be handed over to the state. In Michigan this period is 5 years for most unclaimed funds.

(to be continued)

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Time runs out on Citizens insurance rebates
$10.85 million of assessments paid in 2007 unclaimed at end of 2011

Big tax refunds ($5K!) for low dollar earners go
Millions could go

Unclaimed Stock: Find Lost Shares
This week, I'm answering questions from readers, because there's an unclaimed money question that keeps coming up again and again. That tells me there's a need, so here goes. Here are two samples of the questions I've gotten:

State gives owners of unclaimed property a chance to retrieve it
Hundreds of folks with unclaimed money – old bank accounts, overlooked stock shares, forgotten refunds – are getting a chance to retrieve it without going through state government.