Modesto Unclaimed Property: $46,520,324 on File

• The State Controller holds $46,520,324 in unclaimed property tied to Modesto across 63,122 records.
• 462 of those records are worth $10,000 or more, though the average record is $737.
• There is no deadline to claim California unclaimed property, so nothing is lost by waiting, but nothing is gained by it either.
• A recovery firm's fee is capped at 10 per cent of what is recovered for property reported under §1530, and no fee is owed unless the claim is paid.
• Wells Fargo, MetLife and Pacific Gas & Electric are among the largest sources of unclaimed Modesto property on file.

How much unclaimed property is there for Modesto?

Our index currently shows 63,122 unclaimed property records connected to Modesto, California, with a combined value of $46,520,324. Most of these are modest: the average record is worth $737. But 462 records are worth $10,000 or more, and some of those belong to people who have no idea the State is holding anything for them at all.

These figures come from property reported to the State Controller under California’s unclaimed property law, which requires banks, insurers, employers and other holders to turn over money and assets after a period of inactivity. The State does not go looking for the rightful owner. It simply holds the property, sometimes for decades, until someone files a claim.

Which companies reported the most Modesto property?

Unclaimed property almost always traces back to a specific holder: a bank that closed an account, an insurer that owed a refund, an employer that never cashed a final paycheck. In Modesto, the largest reporters on file are:

• Wells Fargo Bank NA (Apecs 1009) — 1,307 records, $857,965
• MetLife Inc. — 1,023 records, $1,017,735
• Pacific Gas & Electric Company — 823 records, $472,712
• Wells Fargo Bank NA — 609 records, $662,076
• Gutierrez v. Wells Fargo Bank NA Qualified Settlement — 577 records, $166,366
• Citibank NA — 532 records, $177,916

If you banked with Wells Fargo, held a policy with MetLife, or paid a utility bill to PG&E in Modesto at any point, it is worth checking whether your name appears against one of these entries.

What kinds of property is being held?

The property is not exotic. It is the ordinary residue of ordinary financial life. The largest categories on file for Modesto are:

• Individual Policy Benefit/Claim — 2,654 records, $2,683,516
• Escrow Accounts — 2,631 records, $1,497,301
• Premium Refunds — 4,102 records, $1,479,716
• Misc Outstanding Checks — 3,455 records, $1,403,825
• Refunds Due — 4,221 records, $1,347,991
• Wages, Payroll, Salaries — 3,464 records, $1,083,960

A closed escrow account or an unpaid insurance benefit can carry real value. A forgotten final paycheck usually does not, but it still belongs to someone, and it still sits on the State’s books until claimed.

Separately from property reported this way, some Modesto families may also be named as heirs to a probated estate that reached the State through the county probate court rather than through a bank or employer report. That is a different filing category with its own rules, covered on our probate estates page.

Is there a deadline to claim property in Modesto?

No. California places no deadline on claiming unclaimed property. The State holds it indefinitely, whether it was reported last year or twenty years ago, until the owner or their heir comes forward (State Controller, Unclaimed Property). The one exception is an estate that has been permanently escheated to the State, meaning the State has taken title outright; that property is no longer recoverable by anyone.

For everything else, there is no clock running. That does not mean it is worth ignoring. Property sitting unclaimed earns no interest for the owner, and the paper trail linking you to an old account only gets thinner with time.

What does it cost to use a recovery service?

California Unclaimed Property Services is a private firm, not the State Controller’s Office, and we are not affiliated with or endorsed by it. The State calls firms like ours “investigators,” and it regulates what we can charge.

For property reported under Code of Civil Procedure §1530, which covers the categories above, a recovery fee cannot exceed 10 per cent of what is recovered (CCP §1582). That cap does not reach estates that come to the State through county probate; the Controller states there are no fee restrictions on those filings. Either way, an agreement is invalid if it asks you to pay before the Controller has approved your claim and paid the money out, and it cannot be signed in the narrow window between a holder’s report and the property actually reaching the Controller.

Our own fee follows the statute: 10 per cent of what is recovered, owed only after the State has paid, and nothing if nothing is recovered. You can read the full rule on our finder fee law page.

How do I find out if it's mine?

The fastest way to know is to check. You can search our index against the Modesto records described here, along with the rest of the 14,613,528 property records and 37,166 probate estates we track statewide. If your name, or the name of a relative you may be an heir to, turns up, our full-service recovery handles the documentation and filing. For claims of $1,000 or more in cash, and for any securities or safe deposit box claim, the State requires notarization regardless of the amount, which is one of the details we walk clients through in the documents guide.

Questions People Ask

Figures on this page are from our copy of the State Controller’s published file as it stood on 26 September 2026. The State republishes the file weekly, so current totals will differ. Search is always against the latest copy.