Controller's office a cash cow

It's not like hitting the lottery, but it beats hunting for spare change in the couch cushions.

When it comes to locating long-lost cash, one of the most overlooked places is the state controller's office.

Like a financial lost-and-found department, California's unclaimed property program is sitting on billions in forgotten money owed to thousands of businesses and individuals. It's from dozens of sources: overlooked bank accounts; stocks, bonds and dividends; uncashed paychecks; abandoned safe deposit boxes; misplaced insurance policies; utility bill refunds; or even that security deposit from your first college apartment.

In the last five fiscal years, California's unclaimed property office has returned $1.37 billion from more than 1.4 million accounts held by individuals and businesses, according to state controller's spokesman Jacob Roper.

How could so many lose track of so much? "A lot of larger assets we're holding are inheritances that people don't know about," said Ruth Holton-Hodson, who oversees the state's unclaimed property program. "Older generations were very private about their incomes and often didn't share that with their children. They search our site and find, 'Oh, my goodness, Grandma had a bank account or Aunt Sally had 15 shares of GM.' "

In other cases, people rent an apartment, pay utility deposits, open a savings account. They move. They forget.

By state law, if those accounts sit untouched for three years, financial institutions and others must return the money to the state controller's office for safekeeping.

The state's unclaimed property office has been around since 1959 but in recent years it's become more aggressive about getting the word out, partly prodded by a lawsuit that accused the controller's office of dragging its feet on getting unclaimed accounts to their rightful owners.

Since 2007, thousands of letters have gone out to owners of unclaimed money.

"In this economy, everyone can use every penny," said Holton-Hodson, whose official title is property owner advocate. She urges people to call the unclaimed property call center, (800) 992-4647, or use the Web site, www.Claimit.CA.gov, to search for unclaimed funds. "It's not complicated and if they don't understand the process, we'll walk them through it," she said.

Some, like Ab Copeland of Davis, have turned finding those pennies into a hobby. Last year, after we wrote about the state's unclaimed property office and how to access it, the retired computer systems designer got busy.

At 89 and living with his wife in a Davis retirement community, Copeland started methodically typing in names of fellow residents. In about a month, he discovered more than $30,000 in unclaimed property among the retirement village's residents, he said.

Copeland contacted every person on his list. Some had $4,000 to $5,000 awaiting them in unclaimed accounts.

Once a claim is filed, the state has 180 days to process and return your money. Most claims are processed in a matter of weeks. Those that are more complicated, such as an inheritance involving multiple heirs, can take months to sort out.

Copeland, meanwhile, having exhausted his trove of fellow retirees, has since turned his attention to local businesses, such as In-N-Out Burger and McDonald's.

Copeland types up his findings of how much the corporations haven't claimed, then sends a letter suggesting -- politely -- that the company consider donating the amount to a favorite charity. In McDonald's case, he recommended the Ronald McDonald House.