When Philip Britton was asked by a friend to research whether any of her deceased relatives had unclaimed property, he logged on to New Jersey’s unclaimed property database to check.
As the Pennsville resident continued to explore the site, he found unclaimed property listed for a local parish, which merged in 2010, and a local Catholic school that had closed in 2000.
“This prompted me to search the Diocese of Camden, parishes and schools within the Diocese,” said Britton, a member of Saint Gabriel the Archangel Parish, Carneys Point. “I found schools and parishes that had merged or had closed with unclaimed property. I also found local governments with unclaimed property, some going back 30 years.”
Britton contacted Father Robert Hughes, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Camden, to share his findings – which included more than $40,000 in total funds between the Diocese, parishes and schools. He also reached out to the local governments he found to notify them about their unclaimed property as well.
“The Diocese received in excess of $16,000, and given our reorganization, unexpected funds were definitely a blessing,” said Laura Montgomery, the diocesan Chief Financial Officer.
According to Montgomery, the effort has yielded a total of $41,000 in unclaimed funds for entities throughout the Diocese, including $13,700 for Catholic Charities, $7,100 for high schools and $4,200 for parishes.
After this experience, Montgomery spread the news to counterparts throughout the Diocese of Camden.
“I’ve sent emails to all of the parishes, schools and business managers urging them to visit the Department of the Treasury site to see if there are any claims for their locations,” she said. “They should know that I handled the process for the diocesan claims and that it was a very simple thing to do. Our check came within a month of filing the claim.”
According to the State of New Jersey, “The Unclaimed Property Administration (UPA) recovers and records abandoned or lost intangible and tangible property. The UPA’s goal is to return this property to the rightful owner and/or heirs.”
One common source of unclaimed property, according to the state, is a bank account that a customer might forget about. While in the past, commercial entities would eventually absorb funds from these so-called abandoned accounts into their own coffers, the state’s unclaimed property laws now ensure that property owners continue to retain ownership over their property. The State of New Jersey holds these funds in perpetuity, and is ready to turn them over to their lawful owners at any time – including with any interest accrued during the time it was held by the government.
Britton, who has helped others search the database for unclaimed property in their families, said that his experience using the site has been positive, as well.
“The initial form for filing information was easy, and I received a response back in two days,” he said. “The response asks for your identification, that of the person for whom you are filing, and if the party is deceased, their Social Security number or death certificate.”
He noted that some claims can go back decades, and finding the necessary information can be difficult. In other cases, he has seen individuals decline going through the process of claiming property if the amount was too low – in one case, $5.
Montgomery encourages the public to visit the website and check to see if there is property that might belong to them, or their family.
“Do exactly what I did: Go to the site and search by your name, your family’s names and see if there’s anything they are holding for you,” she said. “Although I didn’t have anything unclaimed, they could.”
To learn more and access the State of New Jersey Unclaimed Property Administration’s website and database, visit nj.gov/treasury/unclaimed-property.
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