The State of Michigan might owe you property or money - here's how to check

FOX 2 (WJBK) - The State of Michigan has a lot of money like $2 billion worth of property, and they are trying to give it all back.

If you don't think this might apply to you, FOX 2 recently found out the State of Michigan is currently holding on to $1,400 which belongs to this station. All you have to do to get that money, prove 'you are' who you say 'you are.'

The State of Michigan has an entire division assigned to take care of unclaimed property - not houses or acreage - but property as in money.

FOX 2: "How does the state acquire your property?"

"It's unclaimed, abandoned, lost property," said Terry Stanton, Michigan Department of Treasury. "Typically it's bank accounts, life insurance policies, credit balances."

Other times the property is something more exotic - jewelry, baseball cards, a coin collection.

"I have no idea what this coin might be worth," Stanton said. "But in the right hands, for the right collector, it might be worth a fortune. So that's why we have to have an appraiser come in."

Stanton is the guy in charge of finding the rightful owner of this property.

"Our job is to give it back to the owners, and we take it very seriously, and we do it well," he said. "Last year we returned $138.5 million. That was a new record for the State of Michigan."

The state doesn't take possession, but rather custody of money and property that belongs to Michigan citizens. It even puts it to use for the state until the owner comes to claim it.

"Last year we took in about $300 million," he said. "So at the end of the year, we do a transfer to the general fund where that money gets utilized in different ways. But we maintain enough in our account to be able to pay out the claims we know we are going to receive over the next year."

Finding out if any of that property is yours has gotten easier and more efficient - it starts with a simple search at unclaimedproperty.michigan.gov

"I suggest they go check every six months or so, we get properties throughout the year," he said.

If you find something that belongs to you, Stanton says the verification can be done rather easily.

"There are thousands of claims that we pay out in a month, some even quicker than that," he said.

For those who never look, the state says it's still looking out for you.

"If something got reported 30 years ago. it's still claimable if you can prove that it is yours."

But the state's vault isn't equipped to store 30 years worth of stuff. So they do something else with property that remains unclaimed for three years.

"Under statute, we have to auction off the properties," Stanton said. "We do that once a year, usually in the fall. And if we auction off grandma's gold necklace that's worth $5,000, the necklace wouldn't be available but the value would."

Meaning you can always get the cash, just not the item. It is another reason it's important to at least search the database because you never know.

So you are not always going to walk away with a fortune. For instance, Terry and his staff found Dave Spencer's outstanding dividends check for a whopping $4.50 from Pepsic stock back in 1994.

Find out what you are owed by going to unclaimedproperty.michigan.gov