Oklahoma's $1 Billion In Unclaimed Property: Could Some Of It Belong To You?

The Oklahoma State Treasurer's office said more than $1 billion in unclaimed property is being left on the table in our state.

This unclaimed property can be anything from bank accounts and mineral rights to jewelry and insurance payouts, and it's all waiting to be returned to its rightful owner.

Items that might have been abandoned or forgotten get turned over to the state. Each year, the state returns between $35-$50 million, but a significant amount still remains unclaimed. Kathy Janes, the Director of Unclaimed Property at the State Treasurer's Office said the Tulsa area alone has about $140 million in unclaimed property.

The good news is that there is a way to check if you have unclaimed property. You can visit yourmoney.ok.gov, enter your name, and see if there are any matches.

Janes said even if you don't think you have unclaimed property, checking periodically is a good idea.

"We could have holders that are reporting all year long, so their name could come in, and if they'll check periodically, that's a good habit to have. There's one website that the majority of states are on. It's missingmoney.com," Janes said.

Janes said the other benefit to checking and claiming some of the unclaimed property is that going through the state treasurer's office to claim the property allows you to do so without having to pay a ton of fees.

"It's a wonderful program because normally you're having to pay someone. In this case, we're giving you your money back, and it's reuniting, and there's not a cost other than you might have a few court costs or something like that If you have to get a death certificate, a certified court document or something," Janes said.

The state said new properties come in every quarter so keep an eye out for any unclaimed property you might have.