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About 143,000 checks totaling more than $34 million in unclaimed property will be mailed this week to residents across every parish in Louisiana, state officials announced.

Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming urged recipients to cash the checks, which are printed on blue paper and mailed in windowed envelopes from the Department of Treasury’s Unclaimed Property Division.

“These are real checks from the Louisiana Department of Treasury, so please cash them,” Fleming said. “Every year, some checks go uncashed because people don’t believe they’re real or have changed addresses. Let me guarantee—they are real. It’s your money.”

The distribution is the state’s largest since 2018, the first year lawmakers allowed the Department of Revenue to share address information with the Treasury to help return unclaimed funds.

Unclaimed property includes forgotten bank accounts, payroll checks, utility deposits, insurance payouts, stock certificates, and royalty payments. Fleming’s office said one in six Louisiana residents is owed a share of the more than $1.2 billion in unclaimed assets currently held by the state.

Jefferson Parish will receive the largest number of payments, with more than 13,500 checks totaling $3.3 million. Orleans Parish will receive about 13,000 checks valued at $3.4 million. The highest average payouts are headed to smaller parishes, including La Salle, De Soto and Claiborne.

In addition to the nearly 143,000 automatic checks, the Treasury will also send out 2,500 claim forms to individuals owed larger amounts that exceed the threshold for automatic disbursement.

Residents can search for unclaimed property or file a claim by visiting LaCashClaim.org or calling 1-888-925-4127.