Escheat is the legal process of lapsing or reverting ownership of unclaimed private property to the government by operation of law.  Unclaimed checks are payments issued by the City, which are not cashed by their recipients within six (6) months after the date of issue. Unclaimed deposits are refundable deposits that meet the refund eligibility, which have been unclaimed for a period of over three (3) years.

For funds held by the City which remain unclaimed for a period of over three (3) years, the City must make every effort to return such funds to the proper individuals per Government Code sections 50050-50057. Sections 50050-50051 require the list of unclaimed checks and deposits be published as a public notice once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published in the local agency.  The unclaimed funds shall then become the property of the City on a designated date not less than forty-five days nor more than sixty days after the first publication of the notice.

Section 50052 provides guidelines for the claiming process.  Section 50053 states that if such money becomes the property of a local agency and is in a special fund, the legislative body may transfer it to the General Fund of the City. Per Section 50055, any unclaimed funds that are less than fifteen dollars ($15.00) and more than one-year-old, can be transferred to the General Fund without the publication of a notice.

Public Notice:

No notices are available at this time.

Claim Forms:

Claim Form for Unclaimed Funds

Contact Information:

Finance Department
8200 Westminster Blvd.
Westminster, CA 92683
Telephone: (714) 898 - 3311
City Hall Monday-Friday: 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.