The Florida Unclaimed Property Act
Every year hundreds of millions of dollars in financial assets get turned over to the State of Florida. These assets have a rightful owner, but that owner has not come forward to claim them and cash them in. It's up to Florida's Chief Financial Officer to hold these assets to try to connect them with their owners. Chapter 717 of the Florida Statutes, called the Florida Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, governs this system. And fortunately for the owners of these assets, the system places few barriers on reclaiming this property at no cost.
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Unclaimed Property
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Financial institutions must hold onto abandoned or dormant financial assets for five years. These include stocks, refunds, bank balances or the contents of safe deposit boxes. If the institution cannot find the rightful owner of these assets, it must turn them over to the Florida Department of Financial Services, Bureau of Unclaimed Property. Intangible property related to business dealings with the state government or state agencies, become abandoned after three years. Traveler's checks can turn unclaimed after 15 years, and money orders can be deemed unclaimed after seven years. This does not apply to gift certificates, except those issued by financial institutions, such as banks, or money services businesses, including currency exchanges or check cashing companies.
Reporting
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Businesses in possession of unclaimed property must report it to the State of Florid. Any property from last calendar year must be reported by May 1 of the calendar year. Then it's up to the state to make one active attempt to directly contact the owners of property valued at $250 or more. An active attempt is not required for traveler's checks and money orders. If the business has no unclaimed property, it files a "zero" report to state as much.
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Auctions
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The state can sell tangible unclaimed property. The Bureau of Unclaimed Property holds auctions periodically to get rid of various unclaimed physical items several times a year. Proceeds end up in the State School Fund, benefiting education, and $15 million stays in the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to cover the costs of handling unclaimed property.
Finding Property
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The state maintains a database of its unclaimed property online at FLTreasureHunt.org. Users can search by their name or by the name of the business connected to the property. Florida has more than $1 billion of unclaimed property in its care.
Claiming Property
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Users of the website can claim the property online, beginning the process of verifying their ownership of the property. A person who receives notice in the mail of unclaimed property must sign the form and return it to the state. Depending on the nature of the unclaimed property, simple proof of identification may not be enough, but the state will tell owners exactly what proof is needed. Claims from estates, businesses or descendants of deceased owners face greater verification requirements to get the property. Once the complete claim package is verified the state has 90 days to send owners their property. The owner also gets any dividends, interest or increments that her unclaimed property generated. Some companies, including CPAs and attorneys, may offer to do this process for a fee, and Florida law allows them to do that. However, the state does not charge individuals to claim their property on their own.
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References
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