Thousands of dollars in unclaimed property could be available for Lincoln and surrounding county residents courtesy of the unclaimed property office of the Mississippi State Treasury.

District Three Supervisor Nolan Williamson provided The Daily Leader with a list detailing unclaimed property items belonging to residents of Lincoln, Copiah, Lawrence and Walthall counties at Monday’s board of supervisors meeting. District Five Supervisor Dudley Nations received the list from Sen. Sally Doty.

Close to 500 items are listed in the documents that include refunds, policy benefits, money orders, utility deposits, outstanding checks and other monies belonging to citizens.

Williamson encourages area residents to look into the unclaimed property.

“This is something that everyone should look into. Over the years, it’s human nature to forget about some of these items, say interest from a bank account no longer in use … or the last check from a previous job. Much of this property belongs to folks who aren’t aware of it. I encourage everyone to look into it,” Williamson said.

The Unclaimed Property Act requires banks, savings and loans companies, insurance firms, utility companies and business associations to surrender any cash, checks or stocks that have been abandoned or untouched for five years to the Office of the State Treasurer. The office is then charged with trying to locate the rightful owner of the property.

To claim property as an individual, applicants must provide a photo ID, Social Security number, documentation of owner address, documentation of owner’s name change (if applicable) and a notarized signature of individual claiming property.

If the property owner is deceased, a copy of the owner’s death certificate and a copy of filed will or obituary is required.

Those claiming a property of business must provide a photo ID such as a business picture ID, a driver’s license or military ID card, an employer identification number, business card or authorization letter on company letterhead, documentation of owner address and a notarized signature of corporate officer/owner claiming property.

All claims can be sent to the office of the state treasurer, unclaimed property division. Information about unclaimed property, including name, address and a description of the property can be found online at www.treasurerlynnfitch.com.

Claimants can print and complete an unclaimed property form found on the website, then email the completed, notarized form to unclaimed@treasury.ms.gov.

The office of the state treasurer has returned more than $128 million in unclaimed property to its rightful owners since 1982, according to the treasurer’s website.

In 2012, the office returned close to $10 million back to rightful owners, the third largest year in the state’s history.