Yahoo Finance How to search and claim nearly $2 billion of your money and property held by Florida
Florida has about $2 billion in outstanding unclaimed property —and some of it could be yours.
About four million Floridians, or 1 in 5 of Florida’s 20 million people, have property waiting to be claimed. The average return per Floridian is $875, Ryan Walker, spokesman for Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Petronis, told the Miami Herald in an email.
Where does this bounty come from?
State treasury offices collect millions of dollars in unclaimed property. People may not have cashed or collected payroll checks, received money from their tax returns, collected insurance proceeds or gathered the contents of safe deposit boxes and bank accounts before closing them.
Most of the money is from dormant accounts in financial institutions, insurance and utility companies, and securities and trust holdings, according to the Florida Department of Financial Services.
Unclaimed property can also include valuables including watches, jewelry, coins, currency, stamps, historical items and miscellaneous stuff from abandoned safe deposit boxes. The Department of Financial Services periodically holds unclaimed property auctions, where abandoned safe deposit box contents are auctioned by the Division of Unclaimed Property, the state said.
“The dollar value from the sale of each item is applied to the owner’s account, where it remains, indefinitely, for the owner or the owner’s heirs to claim,” the department says on its website.
According to Florida law, unclaimed assets must be held by business or government entities for a set period of time, usually five years. If the holder is unable to locate, re-establish contact with the owner and return the asset, it is reported and remitted to the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Unclaimed Property.
How can you collect your money or property from Florida?
▪ Check the Florida Division of Unclaimed Property website at FLTreasureHunt.gov to see if anything might be yours or a family member’s. There is no charge to search or file a claim on the site.
▪ Type your name or business name in the green search field and if any property comes up with your name attached click on the results that match your search and click an Add button to place it in a virtual cart —much like purchasing on Amazon. Follow the simple instructions to file a claim for that property.
▪ “I’m encouraging every Floridian to search now for unclaimed property for yourself, your friends, your loved ones, and even your business at FLTreasureHunt.gov. It’s your money, don’t wait, claim it today,” Petronis said on the state site.
How do you prove the money is yours to claim?
▪ You’ll be asked to enter contact information and some identifying details like a Social Security number and your birth date. You can file a claim for a deceased person’s property if you are the heir to their estate.
▪ You will then receive an email receipt. Print it out and follow the instructions, which will include filling out the form and providing the requested documentation to prove your identity. This may include a photocopy of a driver’s license, a piece of mailing such as a utility bill or some other paperwork that shows the names and matching address of the lost property owner or owners. If one of the owners is deceased, an original death certificate will be requested.
How long does it take to receive money?
The Department of Financial Services has 90 days once it receives your complete claim package to make a determination.
