Lost Property Claim

My cousin recently notified us that she had found some unclaimed property the state was holding in my name and another in the name of my wife. In my case it was 2 shares of stock in Agere Systems, a company that no longer exists. However, when it was absorbed by a company by the name of LSI, I should have gotten 2.1 shares of LSI in exchange for my old stock. The market price for LSI at this point is $6. Thus my unclaimed property is worth about $25,

The state controller's office has simplified the process for claiming unclaimed property but it still is a daunting task. I have to submit a copy of photo identification, a document with my Social Security Number on it, any documentation that I used to have those shares in my possession. Also, I need to prove that I lived in the address on the unclaimed property (which should be easy because it is the same as my current driver's license) and then have the whole thing notarized. Since a notary will charge be upwards of $20 to $25, I'll be lucky to come out even.

We went through this process a couple of years ago with property I supposedly have in Utah which never came to anything. It was life insurance proceeds and I had to prove that I owned the insurance by presenting the policy. Of course, if I had the policy the proceeds wouldn't have gone unclaimed. Bureaucrats!