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Indiana's Unclaimed Assests On Auction

Last updated on Thursday, February 9, 2012

(INDIANAPOLIS) - Indiana’s auction of unclaimed assets is now on Goodwill’s online auction site, announced Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller today.

The items up for auction are contents of safe deposit boxes that were turned over to the state as unclaimed property. Some of the more interesting items up for auction include a Gerald Ford signed football card and antique tobacco pipes.

As stated by IC 32-34-1-31, within three years of receiving abandoned property the attorney general is required to sell that property to the highest bidder at a public sale. Once the items are auctioned the proceeds are left for the original owner for 25 years from the reported date.

"By this time most people know and have checked IndianaUnclaimed.com for lost or forgotten money, but what many don't know is that safe deposit box contents are also turned over to the state," Zoeller said. "These lost or forgotten boxes can often have valuable items that can now be viewed and auctioned with the help of Goodwill Industries."

"Goodwill is pleased to work with the Attorney General's Office in offering the unclaimed property for sale online through Shopgoodwill.com," said Kent Kramer, Vice President of Retail for Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana.

Specific items for sale by the Attorney General's office on shopgoodwill.com can be viewed here or by clicking the Goodwill link on indianaunclaimed.com.

Financial institutions and other holders are required annually to turn over the assets of accounts in which there has been no activity for three to five years, depending on the type of account. Unclaimed property includes investment earnings, insurance proceeds and benefits, wages, and money from savings and checking accounts. Less than 1 percent of unclaimed assets are tangible, physical items, such as those found in safe-deposit boxes. It is important to note that unclaimed property does NOT include abandoned vehicles, real estate or other such items.

In total, the state's unclaimed property database holds more than $350 million in assets. In 2011, the attorney general's office returned more than 77,000 properties totaling more than $44.2 million in unclaimed property. This exceeded 2010's amount by more than $4 million.

The Unclaimed Property database can be searched 24-hours a day, 7 days a week at www.IndianaUnclaimed.com.

The Unclaimed Property Division's toll-free number is 1-866-IN-CLAIM (1-866-462-5246). This is a free service of the Indiana Attorney General's Office.

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