Imagine stumbling upon a treasure chest filled with gold coins, hidden right in your backyard.
Well, Albertans, you might just have a modern-day treasure trove waiting for you, and it’s all thanks to the Alberta government’s unclaimed property registry.
With an estimated $154 million in unclaimed property just waiting to be reunited with its rightful owners, this is one treasure hunt you don’t want to miss!
As of March 31, there were approximately 347,582 unclaimed items in the unclaimed property repository.
That’s right—millions in cash, cheques, money orders, and other goodies could be yours with just a quick search online.
What’s in the Treasure Chest?
The unclaimed items include everything from forgotten traveler’s cheques and old RRSPs to personal property from dissolved corporations and societies.
By law, these unclaimed properties are reported and transferred to the Alberta Treasury Board and Finance, Tax and Revenue Administration (TRA).
Once transferred, anyone with a rightful claim, including legal representatives and creditors, can stake their claim.
“Who doesn’t like free money?” asks Nate Horner, president of Treasury Board and minister of finance.
In a July 18 press release, he urged the public to deep dive into the database. “Alberta’s unclaimed property registry is free and easy to check, and a quick search of the registry could help reunite someone with money that they may not even know they were entitled to.”
How to Join the Hunt
The process is simple and free.
Just hop onto the MissingMoney website, a portal used by Alberta and other North American jurisdictions.
This nifty tool allows you to search for unclaimed property across multiple regions.
You have ten years to claim your lost money before it gets transferred to the government’s general revenue fund, which helps pay for programs and services for Albertans.
Among the treasures, there’s one golden nugget valued at over $850,000!
If claimed, it would set a new record, beating the current record of $368,124, which was paid out in 2019.
Success Stories and More
In 2023 alone, $1.4 million was returned to 650 lucky individuals.
Since the registry’s inception in 2008, it has reunited more than 8,500 owners with a total of $13.8 million.
The sources of these unclaimed funds vary from unclaimed deposits and uncashed wages to loan overpayments and dormant investment accounts.
So, what are you waiting for, Alberta?
Dust off your metaphorical treasure maps and start searching. There could be a forgotten fortune with your name on it, just a few clicks away!