You may be richer than you think you are. The following came from Senator Don Perata.

I went to this database, and although I found nothing for myself, I did find some money belonging to a cousin in Arkansas.

The State of California is holding over $4.1 billion in unclaimed property that belongs to approximately 6.8 million individuals and organizations. These assets have been turned over to the state through California’s Unclaimed Property Law, which requires financial institutions to deliver property to the State Controller’s Office after there has been no customer contact for three years. Property holders often forget that an account exists, move without providing a forwarding address, or die without informing their heirs about the property. 

To find out if any of this unclaimed property belongs to you, please visit the state’s unclaimed property website at: http://scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP/

For answers to frequently asked questions about the Bureau of Unclaimed Property, visit the California State Controller’s website: http://www.sco.ca.gov/col/ucp/faq/index.shtml