Have you ever taken a coat out of the closet for the first time of the season and found some cash in one of the pockets? Isnt that a great feeling?
There are few things better than found money. Its like winning the lottery without playing. The holiday season can often find us looking for a little bit extra to spread a bit of cheer.
So heres the deal, theres more than $350 million in unclaimed property being held by the Kansas State Treasurers Office. State Treasurer Jake LaTurner and his team want to return all of it to the rightful owners.
To help facilitate this, theyve set up a one-stop searchable database, kansascash.ks.gov, or if youre feeling festive, christmascash.ks.gov.
Do yourself a favor, go visit the site and search for your name. It takes about 20 seconds. While youre at it, search your spouses name and tell your friends to do the same. You can do it from your phone. Literally, anywhere theres an internet connection you can search.
Were not saying youll get rich quick, but you never know what might be waiting for you. Perhaps a bit of pocket cash awaits or maybe something unique like memorabilia. They have some of that too.
Time may be money, but taking a few seconds out of your day seems worth the investment, regardless of if theres a payout. At worst, youre out 20 seconds. At best, the state of Kansas helped make your December a little bit more merry and bright. You can always check back later, too. You never know what might be waiting for you in their vault in Topeka.
If the state has something for you, the site has a checkout system to let you file a claim.
Perhaps youre not tech-savvy, well theyve even thought of that. You can call their hotline, 785-296-4165, for personal assistance.
According to the Treasurers Office, last year Kansans did approximately 40,000 searches returning roughly $7 million. Since July 2018 the office has returned $38,761,901.29 in unclaimed property. The average claim paid is $241.42. Thats not exactly pocket change.
We think this is a great and underutilized state service. Kudos to the team responsible for building and running this resource. Youve made government accessible to citizens across the state.
Happy searching, Kansans! Hopefully, the holidays will come early after just a few clicks.
