Photo: Getty Images
Texans who have unclaimed money could soon be getting checks in the mail.
Texas currently has about $7 billion in cash and other valuables that have gone unclaimed, according to the Texas Comptroller's Office. My San Antonio reported that the office just paid out a record $309 million during the last fiscal year, which is the third time the office has returned over $300 million in a single fiscal year.
Now, the office is implementing a new way of returning unclaimed property. The state will be sending out checks to the owners of unclaimed property, and the best part is that they don't even have to file a claim.
The process will be limited to checks under $5,000 that the agency thinks they can correctly link with an owner.
Kevin Lyons, agency spokesperson for the Texas Comptroller, said that in order for them to be sure that they're giving the correct property to the appropriate owners, the department will start with "targeted tests" of sending unclaimed property without a claim during this fiscal year.
Lyons said, "Until testing is complete, the vast majority of [the] property will be returned to owners upon the receipt and approval of a claim filed online."