Making the Most of Unclaimed Property in Ohio

Locate unclaimed properties of Ohio to use in your business

Making the most of unclaimed property in Ohio will require you to determine the holder of the property. Cities and counties may serve as custodians of unclaimed property until certain criteria are met. At that time, custodianship of the property is then turned over to the state. This allows claimants to search for their property in a central location.

Unclaimed property in Ohio can be an inexpensive way to obtain business equipment as companies frequently lose property through misfortune or carelessness. The appropriate agency will require specific forms and procedures in order to approve your claim on the property. OH unclaimed property generally falls into one of the following categories:

1. Liquid assets such as uncashed checks, a bank account or the contents of a safe deposit box.
2. Ohio abandoned property that the original owner is unlikely to claim. This is commonly a wrecked vehicle or real estate with delinquent taxes but may also include a treasure trove. Property owners usually have a superior claim to a treasure trove than a trespasser who discovers the property.
3. Ohio state unclaimed property that is confiscated by law enforcement. This is frequently the result of a drug or tax seizure.
   

 

Find agencies that handle state of Ohio unclaimed property

Start at the state level if you are looking for property that belongs to a specific person and work down.
Try: The Ohio Department of Commerce maintains a database of unclaimed property in the state that you can search by name. The Butler County Treasurer has a current list of unclaimed funds whose owner's last known address was in Butler County.

Learn more about the laws regarding Ohio unclaimed properties

Each state has laws regarding the disposition of unclaimed property. These laws should specify the conditions that allow the state to assume custodianship of the property and any conditions that allow the property to revert to the state.
Try: LAWriter provides the text for Chapter 169 of the Ohio code which deals with unclaimed funds. Bailey Cavalieri practices unclaimed property law in Ohio and also publishes a treatsie each year that summarizes unclaimed property laws for gift cards.

Buy a vehicle in an Ohio state treasury unclaimed property auction

Look at the various auctions that occur regularly throughout Ohio if you are interested in bidding on a car. Vehicles are typically the mainstays of unclaimed property auctions and consist of abandoned vehicles, vehicles seized by law enforcement and surplus vehicles.
Try: The Police Department for the city of Cincinnati holds regularly scheduled auctions for unclaimed and abandoned vehicles. GovDeals.com handles the auction of abandoned vehicles for Franklin County.

 

• The process of turning over unclaimed property in Ohio to the state is called escheatment and legal documents may therefore refer to the property as escheat. Businesses usually encounter Ohio escheat in the form of an unclaimed pay check and are generally required to make a good faith effort to find the owner.

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