Visalia Unclaimed Funds

Visalia residents have three main places to search for unclaimed money. The California State Controller database holds billions from dormant accounts and unpaid wages statewide. Tulare County runs its own program for unclaimed property from estates and tax refunds. The City of Visalia may hold utility deposits and city payments. All three sources are free to search with no claim deadline. Most people find money they forgot about from old jobs or closed accounts. Search under your current name and any past names. Check family members too. Money from Central Valley employers and banks may be waiting in these databases for you to discover and claim it back.

State Controller Property Database

California holds over $11 billion in unclaimed money. The State Controller manages this massive program for the entire state. Banks report dormant accounts after three years. Employers send unpaid wages after one year. Stock firms transfer dividends never claimed. Insurance companies report life insurance when beneficiaries cannot be found. All this property goes to Sacramento and stays until owners claim it.

Search right now at ucpi.sco.ca.gov/en/Property/SearchIndex for free. Type your name in the box. Results appear fast. Each entry shows who sent the money, what type it is, and how much. Click a match to see more. The site tells you if you can file online or must mail a form to Sacramento.

Small claims are quick. Amounts under $1,000 can usually be filed online with just ID. Upload a photo of your California driver's license. Enter your current address. Sign the form electronically. Submit. The state reviews most simple claims in 30 to 60 days. You get a check if approved. No fee is charged to Visalia residents.

Big claims need notaries. Any claim of $1,000 or more must be signed by a notary public. Print the Claim Affirmation Form from the website. Fill it out. Take it to a notary with your ID. The notary verifies you and stamps it. Mail the notarized form with ID copies to Sacramento. These claims take longer but usually finish in 60 to 120 days.

Tulare County Unclaimed Money

Visalia serves as the county seat of Tulare County. The county treasurer runs unclaimed property programs for local funds. Tulare County holds unclaimed monies from estates of deceased persons with no known heirs. When someone dies without a will and no family comes forward, assets go through probate. If no one claims the estate, it escheats to the county. Years later, relatives may file claims if they prove their relationship.

The county also keeps old warrants that were never cashed. A warrant is a county check. When Tulare County issues a tax refund or other payment and you do not cash it, the warrant becomes stale. After three years, the county can take ownership under California law. But you never lose your right to claim it back later.

Check the Tulare County program at tularecounty.ca.gov treasurer unclaimed monies for information. Contact the treasurer at (559) 636-5250 to ask if they hold funds in your name. The county does not charge fees to claim your own money. File directly with the treasurer office to avoid paying third parties.

California Government Code 50050-50057 allows counties to escheat dormant funds after three years. But state law also protects your perpetual right to claim. No deadline exists for getting money back from Tulare County.

City of Visalia Unclaimed Funds

The City of Visalia may hold unclaimed money from city services. Utility deposits are common. When you close a water or trash account and move, the city should refund your deposit. If the check gets sent to an old address and comes back, the city holds it for you. Business license refunds and vendor payments can also go unclaimed when checks are never cashed by businesses or contractors.

Contact the Visalia Finance Department to ask about unclaimed funds. The city can search records by name or business name. If they find a match, they tell you what documents to provide. Most cities need proof of identity and a signed claim form. The process is free when you file directly with the city.

Cities often send unclaimed funds to the state after keeping them locally for several years. So if Visalia transferred your money to Sacramento, you will find it in the State Controller database. Always search the state system first since it consolidates property from many sources across California.

How Property Becomes Unclaimed

Code of Civil Procedure Section 1513 sets dormancy periods for different property types. Bank accounts go dormant after three years with no activity. No deposits, no withdrawals, no contact with the owner. The bank tries to reach you first. They send letters to your last address. If mail comes back or you do not respond, they wait three years. Then they report the account to the state.

Wages have a shorter timeline. Employers must send unpaid wages to the state after just one year of no contact. Final paychecks, commission payments, expense reimbursements, and any other wage payments that were never cashed all go to Sacramento after 12 months. Even a small check from an old Visalia job may be waiting.

• Bank accounts after three years with no activity or contact
• Payroll and wage checks after one year of no contact
• Stock dividends and bond interest after three years
• Insurance proceeds when beneficiaries are not found
• Utility deposits not refunded within three years of closure
• Money orders after seven years from issue date
• Traveler's checks after 15 years before escheating

Holders report annually. Most businesses report in November and send funds in June. Life insurance firms report in May and remit in December. New property gets added twice per year. If a Visalia employer just reported your name, it will appear in the next update from the controller.

Filing Claims in Visalia

Begin at sco.ca.gov/search_upd.html to search the state database. Enter your full legal name. Try variations. Search your maiden name if applicable. Look up deceased family members. You can claim on behalf of estates if you are an heir or executor with proper documentation.

When you find a match, click it for details. The site tells you if online filing is available. Most claims under $1,000 can be done electronically. Upload your ID. Fill in your current mailing address. Sign digitally. Submit. The state processes simple claims in 30 to 60 days typically from Visalia.

Claims of $1,000 or more need notarization. Print the Claim Affirmation Form. Complete all fields. Take it to a notary with your ID. The notary checks your identity and stamps the form. Mail it with ID copies to Chief, Unclaimed Property Division, P.O. Box 942850, Sacramento, CA 94250-5873. Include additional documents if requested based on the property type.

Claiming for deceased owners takes extra steps. You need the death certificate of the person who owned the property. Spouses and children send proof of relationship like marriage certificates or birth certificates. Small estates under $166,250 can use a Declaration Under Probate Code 13101. Larger estates need Letters from probate court in California.

Note: The State Controller charges no fee to search, file, or process unclaimed property claims.

Additional Unclaimed Money Sources

Some funds do not go to the State Controller. Pension systems handle retirement separately. CalPERS manages public employee benefits at calpers.ca.gov unclaimed property if you worked for government. CalSTRS handles teacher pensions at calstrs.com/unclaimed-property for education workers in Visalia.

Tax refunds stay with the Franchise Tax Board. Call 800-852-5711 if you never cashed a California income tax refund. They reissue checks over six months old. Recent refunds are quick to replace. Older ones need Form 3900A or 3900B and take up to 18 months.

EDD holds unclaimed unemployment and disability benefits. File Form DE 903SD to claim old UI or SDI payments. No fee is required since 2016. Call 1-800-300-5616 for unemployment or 1-800-480-3287 for disability questions from Visalia.

Nearby Central Valley Cities

Other cities in the Central Valley also have programs. Check these if you lived or worked there:

• Tulare - Neighboring city in Tulare County
• Porterville - Southern Tulare County city
• Fresno - Major city to the north
• Hanford - Kings County seat to the west

Visit the Tulare County page for county-wide programs covering Visalia and all other cities in the county.