Unclaimed property consists of many types of intangible and tangible properties that have remained unclaimed by its rightful owner for a specific period of time, including local governments. Examples of unclaimed property include financial assets such as dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, insurance policy proceeds, and stocks that have been left inactive or forgotten by their owners for a certain period. The abandonment period for each type of property is defined by the Unclaimed Property Statute.

 

The Unclaimed Property Administration (UPA) in the New Jersey Department of the Treasury is responsible for managing unclaimed property (https://www.nj.gov/treasury/unclaimed-property/). The UPA holds the property until it is claimed by the rightful owner or heir. Owners or heirs can search for and claim their property through the UPA online platform (https://unclaimedfunds.nj.gov/app/claim-search).

 

DLGS has created a step-by-step instructions for local governments to search for and claim unused property, which can be found on the DLGS Miscellaneous Publications webpage at https://www.nj.gov/dca/dlgs/resources/misc_publications/Unclaimed%20Property%20Instructions.pdf. The UPA online claims process is FREE and takes only a few minutes to complete. A third-party vendor is NOT necessary.