Unclaimed Property Belonging to People in Van Nuys, CA

• Van Nuys has 62,707 unclaimed property records on file, worth $49,656,037 combined.
• The average record is worth $792, but 590 records are worth $10,000 or more.
• Wells Fargo, MetLife and Pacific Bell Telephone are among the largest reporters for the area.
• The most common categories are premium refunds, general refunds, wages, and outstanding checks.
• There is no deadline to claim, and a recovery firm's fee on §1530 property cannot exceed 10 per cent by law.

How much unclaimed property is held for people in Van Nuys?

The State Controller’s records show 62,707 separate unclaimed property entries tied to Van Nuys addresses, together worth $49,656,037. That figure covers a wide range: the average record holds $792, which usually means a small refund or a final paycheck that was never cashed. But 590 of these records are worth $10,000 or more, which is a different order of magnitude and often points to an insurance benefit, a matured account, or a larger business refund that was never claimed.

These are not projections. They come from the State Controller’s own downloadable property files, the same records a holder is required to report once an account has gone dormant for the statutory period. The number changes as new reports come in and as owners file claims, but the scale of it for a single community like Van Nuys is a useful reminder of how often this money simply sits unclaimed.

Which companies reported the most unclaimed property from Van Nuys?

Unclaimed property does not appear out of nowhere. A bank, insurer, employer or utility holds an account, loses contact with the owner, and after a set period is legally required to report and eventually hand the funds to the State. For Van Nuys, the largest reporters include:

• Wells Fargo Bank NA (Apecs 1009) — 1,304 records, $752,514
• MetLife Inc. — 897 records, $994,240
• Pacific Bell Telephone Company — 713 records, $151,853
• Anthem Inc. — 663 records, $252,756
• Citibank N A — 647 records, $239,718
• Metropolitan Life Insurance Company — 545 records, $978,581

If you or a family member ever held an account, policy or paycheck with any of these institutions while living in or near Van Nuys, it is worth checking by name.

What kinds of property are these records?

The categories tell you what to look for in your own history. In Van Nuys, the most common types are:

• Premium refunds — 3,608 records, $1,470,684
• Refunds due — 3,473 records, $1,326,889
• Wages, payroll, salaries — 3,328 records, $1,189,936
• Miscellaneous outstanding checks — 3,186 records, $1,217,447
• Other — 3,046 records, $1,339,698
• Individual policy benefit or claim — 2,760 records, $2,495,773

Premium refunds and policy benefits point to insurance. Wages point to a former employer that could not locate a last paycheck. Outstanding checks can come from almost any business relationship. None of these categories requires the original account to still exist; the State holds the value even after the underlying account is closed.

How do I find out if any of it belongs to me?

The only reliable way to know is to search by name, including any names you have gone by, and by variations of a Van Nuys address you have lived at. Records are indexed by the name on file at the time the holder reported the account, which may be an old spelling, a maiden name, or a business name if you once ran one. You can search our index of State Controller property records to check.

If a record turns up, the next step is confirming it is genuinely yours and assembling what the Controller requires to pay it out. Our guide on what documents the State needs covers this in more detail, and our page on how to claim walks through the process from search to payment.

What does it cost, and is there a deadline?

There is no deadline. California holds unclaimed property indefinitely until the owner or their heir claims it; the only exception is an estate that has been permanently escheated to the State, which is no longer recoverable (State Controller, Unclaimed Property). Nothing about a Van Nuys record ages out.

If you use a recovery firm for property reported under Code of Civil Procedure §1530, state law caps the fee at 10 per cent of what is recovered, and no fee can be collected until after the Controller has approved the claim and paid the owner (CCP §1582). We charge within that cap and only after money is paid out. You can also read our own explanation of what the law says about finder fees before deciding whether to search on your own or have us handle it.

What if the property belongs to a relative who has died?

Some of what the State holds for former Van Nuys residents belongs to people who have since passed away. Those funds may pass to heirs, but who is legally entitled to inherit is a question for an estate attorney, not for us. What we can tell you is how the process differs: property that reached the State through a county probate case, rather than through a business report under §1530, is not subject to the 10 per cent fee cap, because that cap only reaches property reported under §1530 (CCP §1582(a)(1); State Controller, Investigators).

Our probate estates page explains how the Controller’s separate Estates of Deceased Persons File works, and our guide to claiming as an heir or executor covers what is typically required. If you would rather not manage the paperwork yourself, our full-service recovery handles the search, the documentation and the filing, and we are paid only if the claim is paid.

Questions People Ask

Figures on this page are from our copy of the State Controller’s published file as it stood on 30 September 2026. The State republishes the file weekly, so current totals will differ. Search is always against the latest copy.