Unclaimed Property in Florida Keeps Increasing
The problem of unclaimed property or money is increasing at an alarming rate in the state of Florida as the Chief Financial Officer possesses around $1 billion dollars as unclaimed money that are still waiting for their rightful owners.
Despite the efforts by state government in Florida, the problem of lost money is still on a constant rise. The state treasury claims to have returned $188 million dollars to its rightful owners last year, but the pile of Florida unclaimed property currently stands at $1 billion.
The state agencies believe that sending public notices have helped a lot but more programs need to be introduced for spreading awareness related to the importance of unclaimed properties on finances. The primary sources of unclaimed money in Florida include tangible properties in the form of jewelry, coins, currency, stamps, historical items, and other miscellaneous articles from abandoned safe deposit boxes.
The state has issued that the residents of Florida who believe their unclaimed funds are with the state treasury have to submit a copy of their driver’s license or any other identification proof that consists of your present residential address along with the document stating your ownership over the unclaimed property. If in any case there is more than one owner of the property and one owner is deceased then, death certificate of that owner is presented along with the documents.
As a part of state initiatives, the department managing these unclaimed funds is sending notices along with the claim form to the account holders at the last known address. Even the Chief Financial Officer of the state ‘Jeff Atwater’ has announced that there will be no time limitation or any fees for the applicant to come and claim what he or she believes to be theirs.