Unclaimed Property Still Increasing in Florida
Unclaimed property is at an all-time high in the state of Florida. Currently, the Chief Financial Officer of Florida is in possession of almost $1 billion of unclaimed property accounts. These unclaimed property accounts come mostly from dormant accounts in financial institutions, insurance and utility companies, and, securities and trust holdings. In addition to money and securities, unclaimed property includes tangible property such as watches, jewelry, coins, currency, stamps, historical items and other miscellaneous articles from abandoned safe deposit boxes.
Residents of the U.S., who might have unclaimed funds lying in the state treasury of Florida, Florida law requires claimants to provide a copy of their driver’s license or another form of government-issued photographic identification. If your Identification does not reflect your current address, please include other documentation (such as a current utility bill, etc.) reflecting your current mailing address, in addition to your Identification and proof of ownership. If the account has more than one owner and one of the owners is deceased, a certified death certificate for the deceased owner is required in addition to the Identification for the person claiming the account.
In spite of very aggressive outreach programs, the volume of unclaimed funds continues to swell. If you have ever lived in Florida, there’s a chance we are holding unclaimed property for you. Please use the search form to the right to begin your search. If you find a match and believe it is yours, you can print and complete a claim form and mail it to the department, or you can request a claim form be mailed to you. The claim form will list the documentation required to prove your claim.
According to Alex Sink, Chief Financial Officer of Florida, “There is no statute of limitations on making a claim. You have the right to claim your property any time at no cost.” All your claim related queries can be sent to Florida Department of Financial Services · Bureau of Unclaimed Property · 200 East Gaines Street · Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0358
