(TOPEKA, Kan.) - The State Treasurer's Office has over $190 million worth of Unclaimed Property waiting to be claimed and they will be looking to give it back to Kansans at the State Fair being held in Hutchison Sept. 7 to 16.
State Treasurer Office staff will work out of the Meadowlark building on the fair grounds to search the hundreds of thousands properties available for claim. Unclaimed property is inactive savings and checking accounts, uncashed checks, stock shares and bonds, dividend checks, insurance proceeds, mineral royalties, and utility deposits.
In addition to cash, stocks and bonds, safe deposit boxes are also turned over to the State Treasurer's office on an annual basis. There are currently over 8,400 safe deposit box properties on file. An average of 600 new boxes is received each year.
"Each year we are at the Fair, we have to encourage people to stop by the booth," said Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins, CPA. "No one ever believes we have money for them, even though we return millions of dollars to Kansans every year."
Making a claim is free and easy. There are no fees involved in searching for or claiming cash and property. To search, a last name is required and a first name is recommended if the last is common. Kansans who can't make it to the Fair may call the State Treasurer's office at 1-800-432-0386 or log onto www.KansasCash.com.
During the last fiscal year, a record amount of unclaimed property - more than $11 million - was returned to citizens by the Kansas State Treasurer's office. The average annual amount returned is $9 million. Each year $12 to
$15 million worth of Unclaimed Property is turned over to the Kansas State Treasurer's Office from banks, businesses and organizations on behalf of Kansans.
Jenkins, a former State Representative and Senator from Topeka, was re-elected to her second term as Kansas State Treasurer on Nov. 7, 2006.
During her time as Treasurer, Jenkins has expanded investment options in Learning Quest and oversaw the re-bidding of the program's investment contract with American Century Investments, returned an average of $9 million a year in unclaimed property to Kansans, initiated multiple financial literacy programs, and eliminated the reliance on state general fund dollars to operate the office. She is a Certified Public Accountant and former small business owner.
