The Kentucky Treasury is holding $9.8 million in unclaimed property from Warren County – funds and other assets held indefinitely until the rightful owners make their claim, Kentucky State Treasurer Mark Metcalf said.

A bank generally holds onto deposits in a dormant checking account for around three years, Metcalf said. At that point, it becomes the Treasurer’s responsibility to return funds to the owners, he said.

This property can be “any number of things,” he said – among them, uncashed checks, insurance policies where cash hasn’t been paid to an heir or beneficiary, landlord deposits and precious metals.

“One of the most startling examples is we’re holding 30 bars of silver,” he said. “In some cases, we’ve been holding property for 50 or more years.”

The primary challenge is finding the rightful owners; in many cases, the property owner moves, and there is no forwarding address, Metcalf said.

The Treasury uses state and national databases to find rightful owners; it also uses interest earned on the property, some of which is invested, to contract outside services. It has returned money in record amounts, with more than $19 million in property claimed since January, Metcalf said.

Still, more unclaimed property is coming in than going out, he said.

Unclaimed property statewide increased from roughly $800 million at the beginning of 2023 to $832 million in January, he said; it’s now more than $840 million.

To make a claim, visit treasury.ky.gov.