Ohio bill, backed by local lawmakers, would make it easier to retrieve unclaimed funds

The New Year is bringing a new effort to help Ohioans fast-track the retrieval of their unclaimed funds.

State Rep. Bill Roemer (R-Richfield) said a massive amount of money is waiting to be claimed.

“We have over $4 billion in unclaimed funds right now. I did a quick check, that’s almost $400 on average per person,” said Roemer. “Given the fact we just went through Christmas and New Year’s and people have bills, an extra $400 in somebody’s pocket would be a lot of money.” 

The funds are from forgotten bank accounts, assets, security deposits, unknown refunds and uncashed checks. 

Rep. Roemer and State Rep. Mike Dovilla (R-Berea) introduced House Bill 480 to remove some of the delays and hurdles retrieving the money so more people can obtain their cash. 

“If it’s up to $1,000, we’re going to make it a whole lot simpler. You’re not going to have to reopen those wills and probate. It doesn’t require notarization, so we’re going to make it easier for people,” he said.

 Roemer told FOX 8 about an elderly woman who was having trouble getting a large sum of money from the unclaimed funds account.

“I worked with an elderly lady in the Youngstown area and we were able to identify $11,000 approximately for her,” he said. “Turns out there was a $25 check that held the process up, but we were able to work with Ohio Department of Unclaimed Funds and that’s going to change her life.”

He was also able to locate funds for Bath Township and said the Summit County Humane Society got a windfall of $272,000, which allowed them to get a new mobile veterinary van.

“So I would encourage everybody to go in and check your own name, check your relatives names, and one thing people miss, if you have a small business, it could have unclaimed funds,” he said.

 
A search on the Ohio Department of Commerce website takes only minutes.

He suggests saving the information and persistence.

“If you run into a problem, you could work with your state representative if it’s a significant amount of money,” he said. “Be persistent. You might have to submit your claim a second time because I know those folks are very responsive, but they’re also very busy.” 

Finally, he wants to remind everyone that even after the bill passes, people have 10 years to collect the money from when it was initially deposited.

He said they just want to get the money back in the pockets of the people where it is rightly deserved.