Check for unclaimed property in Wyoming
by Wyoming State Treasurer’s Office
February 18, 2022
CHEYENNE, WYOMING – The Unclaimed Property Division of the Wyoming State Treasurer’s Office issued a check exceeding $100,000 to a couple from rural Sublette County earlier this month. The couple held a savings account, but the bank holding the money reported that it had not heard from the couple for five years, so bank officials followed Wyoming escheatment law and turned the money over to the State’s Unclaimed Property Division. The couple received a letter from the Treasurer’s Office notifying them that money had been turned over to the State, and they went to www.mycash.wyo.gov and initiated a claim on Jan. 14. Supportive documents including a signed claim form and a copy of each of their driver’s licenses were submitted in early February, and they were issued a check a couple of weeks later.
This is the second month in a row that an individual has received a check exceeding $100,000 – a Kemmerer resident was paid $117,000 in January.
After this and other payments throughout the month of February, there is still roughly $100 million left in the Wyoming Unclaimed Property fund, including $1.197 million earmarked for those who reside in Sublette County.
Those wanting to see if they are owed any of the properties held by the State are encouraged to watch the 2-minute instructional video at www.mycash.wyo.gov before searching the online database.
"With about $100 million available across the State, why wouldn’t you want to take a couple minutes to see if you are owed any money?" Wyoming State Treasurer Curt Meier asked. "We returned $7.4 million over the past fiscal year that ended June 30, and then in the month of July alone we returned securities valued at more than $6.7 million."
Meier said staff members work to locate and contact owners of larger properties, but there are more than 900,000 individual properties in the State’s database, meaning the vast majority of owners will only get paid if they initiate a claim on their own at www.mycash.wyo.gov.
"Even if you got a check from us a year ago, it’s worth the time to search to see if any of these new properties turned over to the State belong to you," Meier said. "We have received more than $11 million in new funds since the start of this fiscal year."
Unclaimed property is turned over when a business, agency or governmental entity owes money, securities and/or the contents of a safe deposit box, among other items, to someone and for whatever reason cannot locate the owner for a specified duration of time. The property is turned over to the state of last known address, if an address was ever known. If there was no last known address, it is turned over to the state in which the business was incorporated.
With this in mind, those who ever lived in another state may want to visit www.unclaimed.org and click on the state (or states) on the map to get redirected directly to other official unclaimed property sites.
To make a valid claim at www.mycash.wyo.gov or any other state’s site, owners will need to provide information about themselves and may need to submit official documents. This could be as simple as a copy of a driver’s license, but additional documents may be required for those claiming as an heir or a business. Wyoming law requires the State to hold unclaimed property in perpetuity until it is claimed by the rightful owner.
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