With the new year comes a new credit card statement, and if you find yourself in need of extra funds, there may be some waiting for you. 

The Ohio Department of Commerce is reminding people to check on unclaimed funds they may have with the state. 

An unclaimed fund is lost or forgotten money that businesses and banks report to the department after accounts become inactive, typically after 5 years. 

The money comes from inactive checking accounts, savings accounts, refund/credit balances, uncashed cashier’s checks, stocks & bonds, forgotten utility deposits or last paychecks.

According to the Department of Commerce, the state is currently guarding $3,657,324,918 as of August 2022. The average claim is around $700. 

Retrieving an unclaimed fund is simpler than expected. 

According to Public Information Officer with the Department of Commerce Jarrod Clay, the process isn't hard.

"The department wants this money to be claimed, the process is not difficult, but it is thorough, we want to make sure people are who they say they are, " says Clay. 

According to Clay, a lot of people will start the process of getting their unclaimed funds, but once they realize how tedious it is, abandon it the money. 

"It's like going to the BMV, you have to have a lot of paperwork, but the department does not want to hold onto this money, we want it to go into the right hands," said Clay. 

Last year, the department returned more than $134 million in unclaimed funds. 

There is also no time limit or deadline to claim these funds. Families can also look up unclaimed funds for a deceased relative. An executor of an estate, a beneficiary of a trust, or an heir, can initiate a claim. All the department asks is that family members have appropriate documentation.  

To find any unclaimed funds, you can head to unclaimedfunds.ohio.gov  to search your name and any unclaimed funds attached to it. After, you will need to generate a claim form, gather the supporting documents, and either mail them to the Ohio Department of Commerce or upload them to the website.