[VaSteve]

Google "escheat". This is the term for unclaimed property that is turned over to the state. Like Vangndy and Neil said, some people work those records looking for stuff that hasn't moved in a while and try to "inform" you of it. If you look in the paper, there's often public notices of such stuff. If you look in the paper, there's lot of puplic notices of lots of stuff nobody reads. Fascinating really.