Tennessee’s Treasury Department is sitting on $1.3 billion in unclaimed property that belongs to residents across the state, but unlike some other states, Tennessee won’t automatically return your money — you have to search for it yourself.
The massive sum represents money from millions of Tennesseans in the form of unclaimed checks, refunds and other property that has accumulated over the years. While the state returned a record-breaking $125 million last year — about 50% of what they collected — billions more remain unclaimed because most people don’t know it exists.
“It’s predominantly money that comes over in the form of unclaimed checks. Refund checks,” said Treasury Department spokesperson Shelli King…