Have you ever wondered what happened to the cashiers' check that you never used or that stock dividend check that you never received? Have you ever wondered what was in that old safe deposit box that you heard your grandparents talk about but you never actually saw?

If you have ever wondered about any of these questions, then this article is for you.

Every year, my office returns over $8 million in unclaimed property to its rightful owners. Unclaimed property includes (but is not limited to) lost wages, cash and stocks or bonds. Additionally, under Kansas law, banks are required to give my office the contents of any safe deposit box that has been "abandoned" or is otherwise unclaimed.

When my office receives any unclaimed property, we catalog it by owner and deposit it directly into the unclaimed property fund. However, when we receive contents from safe deposit boxes the process becomes much more strict.

The contents of an abandoned safe deposit box is identified and carefully catalogued. Once this process is complete, the contents of the box is kept together, sealed and stored in our vault. We are required to keep property for a period of three years, after which we auction off the contents and store the value of the sale under the owner's name. The contents of these boxes include: jewelry, stock certificates, family photos, baseball cards and just about anything else you can imagine. However, regardless of the type of property we receive, either the material or its monetary value is held in our system until the rightful owner(s) can be located.

Currently, we have over $100 million in the unclaimed property fund and I need your help to get it back to its rightful owners-chances are, it could be you!

If you would like to search for unclaimed property you can access our records via three separate and FREE methods. First, if you have access to the Internet, you can go to my web page at http://www.kansasstatetreasurer.com and search by your name, city or county. You can also look up the names of your friends and family. Second, if you do not have access to the Internet, you can call my office at 1-800-432-0386 and one of our assistants will be able to help you out. Third, you can send a note with the names you want searched to: Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins, 900 SW Jackson Street, Suite 201, Topeka, KS 66612-1235.

It is important to note that all of these searches are FREE of charge to you. Please be aware that there are individuals that try to return your property for a fee. While this is not illegal, it is unnecessary to pay a fee when we have a qualified and trained staff ready to assist you in getting your money back without cost to you.

I appreciate the opportunity to serve as your State Treasurer. Please feel free to call my office if there is ever anything that we can do for you!

Editors note: If you would like an electronic version of this column or would like a listing (by county) of individuals with unclaimed property, please send an email to jenalea@treasurer.state.ks.us or call (785) 296-3342 to receive a free copy.