If a stranger knocked on your front door and told you the state wanted to give you a quarter-million dollars--no strings attached-- you'd probably be skeptical. But if that same person phoned you first, then mailed a registered letter on official government stationery, then showed up at your home with proper identification and in a state vehicle with the state treasurer riding shotgun, you'd probably be inclined to take the money, right?
But last year in Kansas, with Dennis Wilson, who heads the state's unclaimed property division, and State Treasurer Tim Shallenburger standing on a resident's doorstep poised to cut a $250,000 check, the individual brusquely announced he didn't want it. "Go away," he told them.
It's not the first time someone refused a hefty sum from the state's unclaimed property division. The office, which is staffed by 10 civil servants whose sole mission is to safeguard and reunite lost and abandoned assets with their original owners, reports that one person turned down $2 million. Another turned his back on $1 million. "It's unbelievable, isn't it?" says Wilson. "Even I don't believe it."
And Kansas isn't the only state where this is happening. Nearly every state treasurer has a story about someone they tracked down who is well aware that the state's unclaimed property office is holding a large sum of money in their name, yet for some mysterious reason refuses to claim it.
Generally speaking, unclaimed property ranges widely in dollar amounts and includes assets such as savings and checking accounts, life insurance payments, undistributed dividends, stocks, bonds, safety deposit boxes and utility deposits, among other things. In Vermont, for example, the average amount of a claim last year was $180. In Nebraska, the figure was about $300.
Typically, the unclaimed funds are transferred to the state from companies, banks and other financial institutions after accounts have been inactive for years and attempts to contact the owner fail. The treasurer simply serves as a custodian of the funds until the rightful ownership has been established.
Often, unclaimed property administrators go to great lengths to return the money. Some allow citizens to search the state's unclaimed asset database online to see if they are owed any money. In Kansas, the treasurer sends a mobile unit to festivals and state fairs. For unclaimed assets over $25,000, the state will sometimes hire a detective agency to pick up the trail. Last year, Kansas returned nearly $6 million to grateful owners who didn't know they had it coming to them.
But it is the residents who flat out refuse the windfall that continue to confound officials. These folks usually don't explain why they don't want the money, or why they dodge phone calls and letters seeking to reunite them with a big wad of cash. "Perhaps something is wrong with them mentally and they don't comprehend the seriousness of it," Wilson speculates. "Other reasons might be embarrassment at having lost track of an investment, or maybe there is a pending divorce or lawsuit."
In Nebraska, however, one owner knew exactly what he was doing when he turned down close to $50,000--he refused the money on principle. The amount in question was the proceeds from an eminent domain case where the county government had forced him to sell a portion of his property to make way for a new road. After an unsuccessful court fight, he simply could not stomach the idea of cashing the check. It still sits, uncashed, in the state treasurer's office.
Most Nebraskans, however, are tickled to hear they are owed money. And that includes the state's wealthiest resident--billionaire Warren Buffett. Within a week of receiving notice of a long-forgotten dividend check for $75, Buffett had the completed claim form back on the treasurer's desk. "No doubt that's worth $75,000 by now," jokes Nebraska State Treasurer Dave Heineman.
