Yahoo Finance $159 million waiting for some lucky Australians
Australians are urged to claim their share of $159 million sitting in a trust account.
A Public Trustee Queensland spokesperson told Yahoo Finance that there are currently hundreds of millions of dollars waiting to be claimed.
"The current single largest amount of unclaimed money is $419,870.22 from a deceased estate," said the spokesperson.
"One of our largest claims was over $500,000 from an unclaimed land sale, while many of our smaller claims are just a few cents."
The public trustee in each state stores money that has been unclaimed from both the public and private sector organisations.
The cash might have lost contact with the original owner because of a change in address, name or contact details.
"Last financial year, the [Queensland] Public Trustee received a total of $18.1 million in unclaimed moneys from a variety of sources, such as utility companies, real estate agencies, pawnbrokers, investment companies and deceased estates."
This year the Queensland trustee has given out about $3.8 million in response to 2,684 claims. On average the organisation makes about 50 payments to claimants each week.
The database of unclaimed monies is updated every Monday, and can be searched on pt.qld.gov.au.
"If you find money you think is owing to you, download the claim form and follow the lodgement steps required," the spokesperson said.
"Claims are generally processed within 14 business days if a full and complete claim form is submitted by the owner of the money."
If you don't live in Queensland, Yahoo Finance has previously reported on similar search engines for Victoria and NSW.
Follow Yahoo Finance Australia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
