In July 2021 -- one year ago -- the Oregon State Treasury completed the successful transition of Oregon's Unclaimed Property and Estates programs from the Department of State Lands.

The transfer, initiated by SB 454 and approved by the Oregon Legislature in June 2019, moved oversight of the two programs to Treasury while continuing to protect Oregonians' assets. Oregon's Unclaimed Property Program holds more than $880 million in unclaimed funds and other property for owners to claim in perpetuity. The Estates Administration Program safeguards personal estates when Oregonians die without a will and known heirs.

Since the transfer to Treasury, the program has:

• Reunited 27,113 claimants with $38,455,535
• Reduced claims processing time by 3.5 months
• Received and processed $93.1 million in unclaimed property
• Escheated $351,095 to the Common School Fund
• Investigated over 1,200 estate cases and administered more than 200 estates
• Reunited heirs with $2,327,490
• Auctioned safety deposit box contents valued at $161,940
• Increased staff capacity from 15 FTE to 20 FTE

"These programs are vital to reuniting Oregonians with their property and assets, and I am proud of the team at Treasury that works diligently every day to make this a smooth and effective program," said Oregon Treasurer Tobias Read. "I encourage all Oregonians to go online and check to see if Oregon is holding money that belongs to them, because we want to return every dollar to its rightful owner as quickly and efficiently as possible."

Each fall, companies, nonprofits, and government agencies across the state must report and remit unclaimed property to Oregon State Treasury. During the 2021 reporting period last October -- the first since the program moved to Treasury -- a record $80.8 million was reported, representing property such as uncashed checks, unreturned deposits, forgotten bank accounts, and abandoned safe deposit boxes.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

"The Unclaimed Property and Estates team is here to help reunite people with their assets. We are excited that we have been able to expand our capacity and streamline service for people who file claims with us. I encourage people to search if they have unclaimed property that we are holding for them," said Claudia Ciobanu, Trust Property Director at Treasury.

Oregonians who want to see if the state is holding unclaimed property on their behalf can visit unclaimed.oregon.gov and search their name.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2022-07-29 13:14:30

Last Update: 2022-07-28 16:52:54