State Representative Penny Houston (R-Nashville) makes constituents aware of the Department of Revenue’s (DOR) unclaimed property program. In addition to reminding citizens of the online registry, Rep. Houston recently distributed booklets for constituents in Berrien, Cook and Tift counties to easily review the DOR’s list of unclaimed property.

“I believe it is important that the constituents of Berrien, Cook and Tift counties are made aware that the state currently holds onto property that they might not know exists,” said Rep. Houston.

The unclaimed property booklets will be available at city halls and public libraries within Berrien, Cook and Tift counties. Each booklet is organized by county, with step-by-step instructions to ensure that constituents can easily locate property in their name. Rep. Houston also coordinated with State Representatives Clay Pirkle (R-Ashburn) and Sam Watson (R-Moultrie), who each represent portions of Tift County, to create the booklet for Tift County.

Private property that remains unclaimed for more than five years is reported to the DOR and then listed to a website where citizens can search for unclaimed property, file a claim and check the status of previously filed claims. Unclaimed property may include wages, savings accounts, customer refunds, accounts payable, insurance payments, shares of stock, escrow funds, royalties and contents from safe deposit boxes.