Found money: Kansas State Treasurer helps Fort Scottians check for unclaimed property

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- Kansas State Treasurer Ron Estes discussed unclaimed property with local residents during a visit to Fort Scott on Friday.

Estes' office is currently safeguarding about 850,000 pieces of unclaimed property worth more than $230 million for their rightful owners or heirs. As part of his "Unclaimed Property Returns" tour, Estes and his staff members are traveling to all 105 counties in Kansas talking about and searching for Kansan's unclaimed property.

"As a native of Wichita I enjoy my time in all parts of Kansas," Estes said. "I am proud to offer one of the most vital functions the treasurer's office provides directly to people in their communities."

Estes and his staff stopped at Buck Run Community Center on Friday to help area residents who stopped by check their names or the names of family and friends.

"In this economy everyone could use a little help and we feel it is important to be sure that these resources get back to their rightful owners," Estes said. "The 'Unclaimed Property Returns' tour is a wonderful opportunity for us to connect Kansans with cash and property currently being held by our office for free."

Unclaimed property includes inactive savings and checking accounts, uncashed checks, stock shares and bonds, dividend checks, insurance proceeds, mineral royalties and utility deposits.

In addition to cash, stocks and bonds, safe deposit boxes are also turned over to the state treasurer's office. There are currently more than 15,000 safe deposit box properties on file. About 600 new boxes are turned over to the treasurer's office each year.

Estes said there is no statute of limitations on how long the state can hold on to unclaimed property.

"It just stays there," he said. "We keep the money and try to track folks. It gets (more) difficult the longer we have it. We try to get it returned as soon as possible."

If a business has a utility deposit, an insurance company has insurance proceeds, or there's money left in a bank account, mutual fund account or lockbox and that business or bank can't find the owner, after five years, they have to turn that over to the state. The state then takes possession so it can return the proceeds to its rightful owner, Estes said.

Making a claim is free and easy. There are no fees involved in searching for or claiming cash and property. To search, a last name is required and a first name is recommended. Kansans who can't make it to upcoming events on the tour may call the treasurer's office at (800) 432-0386 or visit www.KansasCash.com to search for unclaimed property.

Estes was sworn in on Jan. 10, 2011 as the 39th State Treasurer for the state of Kansas and is the first statewide elected official from the City of Wichita in 20 years. He was originally elected Sedgwick County Treasurer in 2004 and was re-elected to that position in 2008. He has also served as the treasurer for the Kansas County Treasurer's Association and was recently elected to serve as the Midwest Regional Vice President for the National Association of State Treasurers.

Estes was born in Topeka and is a fifth generation Kansan. His family continues to run a farm in Osage County. He and his wife, Susan, have three children.