Apex couple gets unexpected $13K in unclaimed property

“Everywhere we went, we saw wallabies and kangaroos along the side of the road,” said Greysolynne Hyman of Apex.

And when Greysolynne and her husband Bob got home, they got the windfall of a lifetime.

“We just returned from a trip to Australia celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and there was that nice check waiting for us when we came back from that trip,” said Greysolynne.

Just before they left, the Hymans were contacted by a company in California who told them they had unclaimed property in Wisconsin. For a fee, the company would tell the Hymans all about it.

“They wanted 20 percent of whatever we got when we finally received the money,” said Greysolynne.

Suspicious, she called 5 On Your Side.

We told her she didn't need the company to collect her money. She could do it herself.

Greysolynne quickly went to the Wisconsin State Treasurer site, and started adding up their windfall.

She came up with more than $13,000.

So what she was thinking as she was adding it all up?

“Not much. I was numb,” laughed Greysolynne. “I was in shock after adding that up. I couldn't believe it!”

The money was a refund of premiums Greysolynne's father paid into a Wisconsin malpractice insurance pool, long before he died more than 30 years ago.

“I had checked the N.C. sites to see if we had any unclaimed property after some of your specials and I never found anything,” said Greysolynne. “But it never crossed my mind to check the state of Wisconsin site.”

And considering how easy it was to claim, they're glad they didn't pay the finder company.

“For the very large fee they wanted, we would have to have done most of the work anyway,” said Bob. “We would have to dig up all the documents, supplied them all of the documents.”

The best part is that less than a month later, they had their "missing money."

“Greysolynne mailed in the documents just as we were leaving for Australia and we came back to find the check,” said Bob.

“Now that's a welcome home,” laughed Greysolynne. "A great welcome home!”