(Part 1 of 2)

In 1880 Joe Juneau, a Canadian Prospector, ushered in the gold rush era by finding gold in Alaska. America's chilliest state also boasts the largest oil field in North America and its primary source of revenue is the natural gas and oil industry. There is another source of wealth that most residents of America's Last Frontier have not yet discovered- Alaska unclaimed money and assets. Alaska has the lowest population density in the entire country – which means that life isn't really very busy or hectic compared to the country's more packed cities like New York. It is strange, then, that according to a report by Fairbanks' The News-Miner, tens of thousands of residents of Alaska have unclaimed property being held for them in Juneau, the state capital.


People and businesses sometimes lose track of their assets while changing addresses, names, or closing shop and just simply forgetting. Unclaimed property comes from abandoned assets like long-dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks and stock dividends, insurance policies, income tax refunds, and other financial assets. The Alaska Unclaimed Property Act requires the establishments holding these to turn them over to the state if their rightful owners can not be found after a specified period of inactivity. This 'dormancy period' in Alaska is one year for utilities, five for stock shares and savings and checking accounts, 7 years for non-bank money orders and 15 years for traveler's checks. Contents of safe deposit boxes are the only tangible assets covered under the act.

(to be continued)

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