Got stray cash? Gordon names Feb. 1 “Unclaimed Property Day” – nearly $350M waits in Wyoming

Oil City News and KOTA Territory contributed to this report

Gov. Mark Gordon has officially dubbed Feb. 1 Unclaimed Property Day, urging Wyoming residents to poke around the state’s online register – because the Treasurer’s Office is sitting on nearly $350 million in unclaimed assets.

The pot includes everything from forgotten bank accounts, utility deposits and unpaid life-insurance checks to stocks, mutual funds, rebate cards and even the occasional abandoned safe-deposit box contents. Nationally, the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators says about one in seven Americans has unclaimed property somewhere – and Wyoming adds new money to its list every month.

“This is about basic fairness and good government,” Gordon said, calling on people to make sure what’s theirs actually finds its way home.

State Treasurer Curt Meier noted his office paid out more than $41.3 million across roughly 6,000 claims in the last fiscal year – and that big checks do show up: recent payouts included a $976,000 check mailed to someone in Seattle and $688,000 to a Cheyenne estate.

Meier’s practical tip: search often.

“It’s worth checking the database every year or two because new money is added every month,” he said.

How to look: go to mycash.wyo.gov to search Wyoming’s database. If you’ve lived in other states or think money might be tied to an old address, check missingmoney.com, which aggregates multiple states’ listings. Claims usually require ID and sometimes extra paperwork – especially for estates or business accounts.

The state keeps unclaimed property indefinitely under Wyoming law, so there’s no ticking clock to panic over. Still, the Treasurer’s Office said its biggest hurdle is public awareness: plenty of money sits unclaimed simply because people don’t know it’s there.

Bottom line: Feb. 1 is a good excuse to do a quick online sweep. You might be surprised what’s waiting.