A real-life example of “Christmas in July” recently occurred in Northampton County, where more than 200 people received money owed to them by the state in the form of unclaimed property.
Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Northampton County Executive Lamont G. McClure announced the distribution of unclaimed property worth more than $110,000 on July 25.
“It’s an exciting day to be making such a large return to Northampton County,” Garrity said in a news release. “Since taking office, I’ve had the chance to visit Easton and Bethlehem, and I know that the residents of Northampton County work hard and want to know that every taxpayer dollar is being used wisely. I’m glad to safeguard unclaimed property, but our goal is always to return it to the rightful owners.”
“We are pleased that $110,000 of unclaimed property is being returned to Northampton County residents,” said McClure.
The $110,388.13 returned to the county included 217 individual properties ranging in value from $0.01 to $22,558.58, the treasurer’s office said. The oldest property was from 1986 and the newest was from 2019. Property returned included funds from accounts payable and uncashed checks, bank drafts, cashier’s checks, claim checks, credit balances and other forms of unclaimed property.
Since Garrity took office in January 2021, the state treasury has returned more than $15.6 million to 57 local governments, including counties and municipalities, the news release said.
The department is currently working to return more than $4.5 billion in unclaimed property to its rightful owners, it noted.
It is estimated that roughly one in 10 Pennsylvanians is owed unclaimed property, with the average claim worth about $1,600.
Unclaimed property can include dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, insurance policies, contents of forgotten safe deposit boxes and more. Under state law, businesses are required to report unclaimed property to the Department of Treasury after three years of dormancy.
The department keeps tangible unclaimed property for about three years before it is auctioned. with the exception of military decorations and memorabilia, which are never auctioned. Auction proceeds are kept in perpetuity for their owners to claim.
To learn more about unclaimed property in Pennsylvnania or to search the department’s database to see if you are owed unclaimed property by the state, visit patreasury.gov/unclaimed-
